"Musical.ly Is Dying Out."
On Monday night I was told that, “Musical.ly is dying out.” This despite a $100 million fundraise, a user base that has doubled to 120 million since July, engagement that clears 10 million videos per day, and partnerships with every label under the sun. Armed with these data points and dozens of personal anecdotes, I wanted to lash out in defense of the amazing app on which I’ve built a fun and fulfilling business. But I was intimidated. The prediction was made by someone far wiser, experienced, and insightful than I: a 15-year-old boy with 7 million Musical.ly fans. “It feels like the biggest musers are posting less these days,” he said.
It’s important to take stock in the gut reaction of one of the platform’s earliest and most influential musers. If he’s right -- and the lip-sync bubble indeed has a leak -- we should still have 6-12 months to capitalize on this unprecedented opportunity to promote music.
Lucky for us, Musical.ly just launched it’s largest and most organized effort to influence mainstream culture. They’re going to start actively breaking bands.
Project Next Wave is a monthly promotional program that will introduce emerging artists to musers. Its aim is simple: “find the next hit song on Musical.ly.”
Here’s How It Works
Artists, labels, and managers submit their tracks using this form.
Musical.ly picks 15 finalists each month to feature prominently in a new section of the app’s song catalog.
The track with the most engagement after one week receives an insane amount of free promotion.
Note: Finalists are required to leverage their social media influence to promote the Musical.ly app. If an artist has limited reach, then industry partners (label, publisher, friends etc.) can agree to promote as well, which will help your chances of making the cut.
Song selection will also be an important factor. Remember, not all songs are right for the Musical.ly audience and your latest release might not be best for this program.
Hit me up if you need help navigating this exciting opportunity. I can share the full deck with you if you haven’t seen it. Good luck!
-Max
P.s. Lots of interesting articles this time, but VICE's is a must-read:
Musical.ly is Changing Music Marketing // VICE
The App Half of Teens Are Using That You’ve Never Even Heard Of // New York Post
Musical.ly: It’s About Marketing Opportunities, Not Endless Monetization // Ad Exchanger
Pittsburgh Steelers Are First Professional Franchise To Join Musical.ly // Sport Techie
Musical.ly, The Craze Turning Pop Fans Into Stars // The Guardian
Who’s Too Young for an App? Musical.ly Tests the Limits // New York Times