From Instagram challenges, to TikTok dances, social media has proven an invaluable tool for niche and independent artists in reaching out to global fanbases. Fans have expanded their musical horizons and discovered music – that was previously only known locally – through these digital discovery platforms. By the end of 2020, a report by MRC saw streaming increase by 17% to a record 872.6 billion streams, with global music discovery service and live streaming platform, DICE seeing nearly 10 million Brits discover new, independents. Peggy Gou, FKA Twigs, Park Hye Jin, M1llionz, and Tetu Shani are just a few of the mass of independent and niche artists that have seen their social media presence trigger the sky rocketing of their careers during Covid-19. These independent artists have been able to intimately engage with fans globally as barriers have been removed to access these otherwise rather niche, hard-to-find artists. In these endeavours, DICE have hosted the likes of Arlo Parks, BICEP, Black Country New Road, and FKA Twigs.

Landmark research from DICE shows the fans that have discovered niche genres during lockdown, triggering the success and international cult followings many independent artists have seen as fans increased their reliance on social media, live streams, and digital platforms increase exponentially:

Key stats:

What genres have the nation discovered over the past year that they wouldn’t have ordinarily?
1,398,000 Brits discovered K-Pop during lockdown that they wouldn’t have ordinarily
1,094,000 report discovering Grime over lockdown
1,039,000 state they found Afrobeats during lockdown
9,911,000 Brits discovered independent artists during the last year and a half in lockdown
8,240,000 Brits say they are planning to see independent artists they discovered during lockdown live that they wouldn’t have seen pre-lockdown

Through live streaming, platforms such as Facebook – which has called for more live streams from independent artists on their platforms – have monetised digital gigs and concerts. These calls have come in response to the artists fans listen to having fundamentally changed due to new live streaming norms. This shift has encouraged support for independent artists in a truly unprecedented manner, as unexpected cult following emerge globally. South Korean DJ, Peggy Gou is a prime example, having amassed a huge fanbase globally from Europe to Rio, and even in South Africa through live streams and regular interactions with fans across her social media channels.
Similarly, the UK’s independent scene has seen the early stage careers of Arlo Parks, Nadine Shah, and AJ Tracey which have scaled independently, in part thanks to these digital platforms amassing huge numbers of fans; the shift has caught international momentum resulting in the simultaneous expansion of live-streaming and social media interaction with said fans. These artists have been able to use platforms such as DICE, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok to share their music with a significantly more receptive fanbase, keen for explorative escapism in the context of a corridor of lockdowns.

DICE – a global ticketing and livestream specialist – has been at the centre of this evolution as the definitive platform for independent artists, having hosted more than 6,000 live streamed shows since Covid-19 began. Independent artists are our new generation of break throughs, utilising these digital platform to compete on the main stage with major industry names; all without the significant financial backing of one of the three major labels. Previously bedroom producers, the now critically acclaimed independent artists such as Arlo Parks are AIM and Grammy award winners, a feat achieved in large part thanks to the accessibility of live streaming platforms such as DICE, TikTok, Instagram, and more.