Summer Walker; The curious case of Social Media Artistry.
Music, ever shifting in form but never essence; has admittedly entered another key evolutionary transition as it acclimates to this epoch of technology. As artistes like Summer Walker continue to challenge the public’s perception of the profession
Music, ever shifting in form but never essence; has admittedly entered another key evolutionary transition as it acclimates to this epoch of technology. As artistes like Summer Walker continue to challenge the public’s perception of the profession, we are left to question the pillars in the music industry that have come down to us from its founding communities. Pillars like Record Labels, local and international performance circuits, distribution deals; elements whose unifying purpose is to connect the artiste with the audience. Nowadays, with the advent of social platforms like Instagram, the average artiste is not only able to connect directly with their audience(circumventing the necessity of a middle man), they can also build, feed and continuously grow said audience.
The public’s general perception of the music industry is evident in the way certain things are referred to. Record deals, being prefixed by the value of their advance indicates the thought priority. We hear about 6ix9ine’s pending 6 million dollar deal, and what we think is that he is being given a hefty sum. When what it really means is that, the Record Label is putting him into their machine to work for that 6 million dollars, while they also earn percentages of the music. That is the essence of a deal between a record label and an artist/e .
Summer Walker recently cancelled some shows in her tour, stating that her social anxiety makes it difficult to deliver on these direct public offerings. The reception was mixed. Of course there were those who were irate, and there were those who vehemently defended her for prioritizing her mental health. But the very simple fact remains, these are obligations she agreed to fulfill contractually when signing to the record label. The audience, is owed nothing but a refund. However the Record Label, who has given of their resources and coin, is owed a fulfilled contract. Not just money back. Ask Kanye, who has been trying without luck, to buy himself out of his EMI contract which they attempted to sue him for not fulfilling.
A record label is not a funding institution. As much as we would like to believe the hype, they are not here to fund the dreams and passions of society’s inspired minstrels. What they have in place, is a behemoth of a machine, that runs on business (which by definition is the exchange of goods or services for money). A behemoth, which they recruit artistes to work for. Meaning, it is a job. The decision of a label to sign an artiste is not a decision to support a talent, it is a choice to hire a skilled musician with proven selling potential, to work for their machine. It is calculated.
This is where it gets strange, because we know that social media is able to empower many independent artistes to the point where a record label becomes unnecessary. In fact, with the right leverage, an artiste can stipulate the terms of their own deal. The good news is, it is in fact possible for a mutually beneficial relationship to be achieved through contract between both parties. The bad news is, the average artiste isn’t aware of this when they enter the white hot phase of their career, which typically leads to poor deals. Which is where we have stars like Summer Walker, being caught up in undesirable contracts, with none to blame but themselves.
But this still begs the question, are Record labels relevant outside of their resources, and support? The answer, I believe, comes from the list of things the label is built to offer in a partnership. In particular, the direct marketing opportunities that include things like international touring circuits. The power of these offerings, lie primarily in analogue as an inextricable part of the human experience. Interacting with the audience, signing autographs, building rapport, all these kinds of activities help the audience to fit not just a face but also a physical moment to the music. This creates a deeper connection with the audience that digital media could never truly fill.
Good on Summer Walker for doing what is best for herself still.
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