More Than A Meme: Macy Gray Is The Marketing Blueprint For Legacy Artists

“Macy is a exclusive personality that has always benefited from being herself and there’s no more rapidly way to rebrand an founded act like Macy Grey than TikTok”

Considering that the start of social media, we have observed hundreds of tunes from legacy artists have their individual viral times and get to new audiences across generations. There have also been countless moments in which these kinds of artists have been trending soon after showing in amusing or controversial videos. This begs the concern: why are not a lot more legacy functions capitalizing on this momentum and re-energizing their fanbase by becoming existing on these platforms, producing their possess content?

In accordance to entrepreneur/music marketer Sean Taylor, AKA BrandMan Sean, a main reason for this is that they are skeptical about the value that social media will bring when they’re by now profitable. He believes that artists are lacking out hugely due to their reluctance to adapt when it arrives to investing their time remaining on a person system in unique. “There’s no quicker way to market place proven functions than by receiving them lively on TikTok. After you win TikTok, the other platforms tumble like dominoes”, Taylor states.

A person these kinds of artist who wasn’t persuaded that TikTok was for her was Grammy-award winner Macy Grey. The R&B/Soul singer was a firm believer that her main demographic wasn’t on TikTok and the platform would not be the very best way to shell out her time/price range to promote her audio.

Nonetheless, due to the fact doing work with BrandMan Sean’s written content internet marketing and promotion company, ContraBrand, not only ended up they equipped to transform her brain but they were being also armed with articles tips all set to strike while the iron’s incredibly hot adhering to Gray’s viral performance of ​​” The Star-Spangled Banner” at final month’s NBA All-Star recreation. This has labored to these kinds of fantastic influence that you could confidently cite Grey as being a trailblazing legacy act on TikTok.

Although her efficiency was performing the rounds across socials in the hours subsequent the activity, garnering tens of millions of views, present and new fans were being also equipped to connect with the American singer-songwriter right, hurrying to comply with her on TikTok and Instagram. Though lots of legacy acts have verified accounts, they are typically remaining operate by their administration getting applied as merely a audio advertising software. On the other hand, in Gray’s circumstance, she’s been publishing her possess movies, doubling down because her efficiency at the Rocket Home finance loan FieldHouse in Cleveland. As a end result, she went from all around 400 followers to in excess of 90,000 in just a make any difference of days.

“When it will come to Macy it is not even as a lot about getting new lovers like it is with more recent purchasers, it’s just additional about how do we reengage these people who now know who you are, and remind them that you exist”, explains Jacorey Barkley, co-founder of ContraBrand Agency. “You have to have to permit them know that you do have new songs coming out, which is what the digital advertisements and even the social times are all assisting to do. It’s effortless from an execution standpoint, and a substance standpoint, but it has been tricky from a standpoint of convincing Macy to hop on and give TikTok a check out as she’s previously successful”, Barkley states.

There have been a great deal of videos going viral that includes Grey in the past couple of weeks. From LeBron James hoping to maintain back again his laughter in the course of her rendition of the national anthem, to enthusiasts getting to social media to communicate about her aggressively hugging Jennifer Hudson backstage at the NBA All-Star activity, Gray’s massive persona is tailor-made for social media.

“The terrific issue about doing work with Macy is that each and every time she goes out in general public and does a little something with anyone she’s literally like a going for walks viral moment”, Barkley laughs. “That’s been really fantastic due to the fact even now we’re setting up out these video game programs and how to improve those viral moments and give them a minimal bit more legs instead than just permitting them just be 1-off things that took place listed here and there and in fact having a put for enthusiasts to and comply with and interact with her immediately.”

ContraBrand is a content advertising and marketing and promotion agency that very first produced waves in the industry immediately after doing the job with rapper/singer 24kGoldn, leveraging TikTok to accelerate trends that helped his solitary, Metropolis OF ANGELS, to around 200 million streams. That achievement led to numerous future TikTok campaigns, which includes aiding create a groundswell for his to start with Billboard #1 strike, Mood.

Gray’s not just been benefitting from staying a going for walks viral minute when all around other people as Barkley describes her, she’s also been creating her individual solo viral videos. Gray a short while ago participated in the trending #dropitchallenge, with her video racking up around 1.9 million sights to day.

Her caption ‘when you are 50 and u just can’t get all the way down….’ sparked lots of help in the remarks on TikTok, which includes Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Nicole Scherzinger, who wrote, “U did your point on it sis!!!”, as effectively as a admirer who wrote “I’m 34 And I’m with you. I love you, your songs makes my not versatile body shift just wonderful.”

ContraBrand Agency’s concentrate when developing strategies with artists lean greatly on utilizing narratives, influencers, and social traits across various platforms to build omnipresence in just digital communities. BrandMan Sean firmly believes that Gray can and will turn into the blueprint for how to efficiently sector legacy artists in the TikTok period.

“Macy is a unique identity that has constantly benefited from being herself and there is no faster way to rebrand an proven act like Macy Grey than TikTok”, suggests Taylor. “But be clear that TikTok is just the starting off issue. We have major concepts and there’s a lot far more to occur.”