Two Is Better Than One
You don’t have to tough it out on your own; collaborate with other musicians and both of you will benefit. Photo by Julianne Littlefield
Getting more plays on your music is all about attention, and featuring an unexpected artist can help you get more of it.
Collaborations between music artists are often so common that we don’t realize the promotional genius behind them.
Featuring an artist from another genre on your next single might be just what you need to launch you to success.
ROSÉ, Bruno Mars and Alex Warren
One recent collaboration that took the internet by storm is ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” The hit pop song’s music video, released just nine months ago, already has over a billion views.
ROSÉ, a member of the K-pop group Blackpink, is having success with her solo releases, such as “APT,” and her videos have millions of views. The collaboration with Mars may have been so successful because they both have large followings.
Alex Warren, whose song “Ordinary” is currently number one on Billboard Hot 100, also released a new song featuring ROSÉ. This collaboration, titled "On My Mind,” already has 13 million views on YouTube, just a month after it became available.
A collaboration between Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga currently holds spot number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, so ROSÉ has been able to partner with two popular creators.
Triple the listeners
There’s no doubt that collaborations are highly popular. But the question is: why? One article gives us some answers.
According to a study published in Marketing Letters, songs that feature other artists, whether from the same or different genre, are more likely to reach the top 10.
In a collaboration, you're not only attracting fans of one artist but also the featured artist. Listeners that like both artists are drawn in too. This means three groups are attracted to the song, rather than one.
C’mon, branch out
The study also mentioned that when the featured artist is from another genre, the song gets characteristics of both genres. And these releases attract the attention of listeners who like a lot of different sounds.
These mixes are more likely than collaborations with similar artists to chart the top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100.
Creating a song with hints of another genre might seem dangerous to tainting your brand. But your image won't get too overpowered because collaborations are often singles. So, don’t worry too much about stepping out of your comfort zone.
Sometimes a new flavor is just what listeners need to stay engaged in an artist’s music.
References
Ordanini, A., Nunes, J. C., & Nanni, A. (2018). The featuring phenomenon in music: how combining artists of different genres increases a song’s popularity. Marketing Letters, 29(4), 485–499. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48701446