Beyond the song: Why artists need transmedia storytelling

In today’s fragmented marketing world, artists have to promote more than just their music – they have to build dedicated fandom. To achieve this, more artists are implementing transmedia elements – that is, adapting a brand story across multiple platforms – into their marketing strategies. The most recent example of this is the marketing campaign for BTS’s latest album, ARIRANG. Beyond the standard blueprint of promoting an album through singles and performances, ARIRANG’s campaign connected across several major platforms, with Spotify, Instagram, and Google all promoting the album through on-platform fan activities like scavenger hunts and trivia. 

Recent announcements from record labels suggest that campaigns like this are just the beginning. Last month, Warner Music Group signed an exclusive deal with Netflix to develop documentaries based on the label’s “legendary and contemporary artists and songwriters”, while HYBE and Spotify announced a partnership to produce K-pop video podcasts (per Music Business Worldwide and Bandwagon). While this level of transmedia storytelling is not easily accessible for most artists, having a transmedia marketing strategy is increasingly vital, regardless of career level.  

When song quality differentiates less, fandom matters more

As streaming revenue growth stabilises, fandom monetisation has emerged as a primary revenue growth driver. According to MIDiA's 2025 recorded music market shares report, expanded rights (of which fandom monetisation is a part) grew a staggering 21.5%. This segment will only become more important as advancements in AI make it easier to release professional-quality music, and detecting what is AI-generated becomes increasingly difficult. 

In a world where anyone can generate a professional-sounding song, artists must differentiate beyond music quality, focusing more on building fandom and presenting a strong artistic identity. However, the growth of fandom and expanded rights also means it’s more important who holds those rights. Artists often have the upper hand in this case, as labels’ success in this domain depends on their ability to acquire expanded rights from artists – who do not always want to relinquish them. 

Transmedia storytelling can help strengthen artistic identity by connecting the artist’s brand across platforms, adding a multi-dimensional aspect to their music. In genres like K-pop, this multi-dimensionality is built into the DNA of the genre – and this shows in the way K-pop labels lead the pack when it comes to fan monetisation. However, for most genres, multi-dimensionality is something that still needs to be introduced, and implementing this strategy begins at the discovery stage.

A multi-platform strategy does not mean “be everywhere, all the time”

Blending music and identity is key when it comes to facilitating artist discovery. As explored in MIDiA's All eyes, no ears report, discovery is often a cycle rather than a funnel. The strongest discovery strategies drive fans to engage with both the artist’s music and their artistic identity from the beginning, allowing for more entry points into the discovery cycle. With this strategy, the most important first step is to establish a clear artistic identity and decide which platforms are best for expressing that identity (and reaching the fans most likely to connect with it). With a clear message, paths will naturally emerge to better share that artistic vision with the world. Every platform is different, so what works for one may not work for another – however, artists should have a cohesive brand identity while adapting their marketing to different platforms. 

Bedroom pop artist mxmtoon, for example, has utilised transmedia strategy to build a dedicated following across music streaming, TikTok, YouTube, and even Twitch. Despite engaging with her fans in a variety of ways – from podcasting to Twitch streaming, mxmtoon keeps a clear artistic vision, using her channels as a way to drive fans back to her music. While strong artistic identity and a cohesive marketing strategy is necessary for every artist, how to best implement this strategy differs based on an artist’s career stage. For the emerging artist, on-platform artist promotion tools may be the best method to build an audience without having to create direct-to-fan infrastructure from scratch. Conversely, established artists can make use of off-platform engagement strategies using platforms like Laylo or EVEN, bringing fans into their world rather than bringing their world to spaces where fans already are. 

As fandom becomes more important, what it means to be a promoting artist has changed. Artists now need to think more like an online creator than simply like a musician, endeavoring to build audiences across platforms. While music is still the foundation of an artist’s career, it is no longer the centre of it – identity is.