All eyes, no ears Why virality is not building fandom
Over the last five years, labels and artists have invested in social media, betting that a steady stream of artist content and influencer campaigns will engineer virality. The theory is simple: virality leads to streams, streams lead to fandom, and fandom leads to long-term, sustainable artist careers. With fandom pivotal for sustainable growth, the music industry does not simply want this vision to work – it needs it to.