Sam Smith's Return to Music
I'm sure many of you forgot about Sam Smith. While it's only been a few years since his last album In the Lonely Hour was released in 2014, so much new music comes out daily that it is easy to forget about artists who don't constantly update radio DJ's with new singles out play out. However, In the Lonely Hour was an album that really stuck with me, so when I started seeing Spotify-sponsored ads with a portrait of Smith and the date September 8th on them, I was thrilled.
This was the only hint of new music that fans got until late Sunday night, when he took to Twitter (@samsmithworld) to announce that this Friday he would be releasing his new single "Too Good at Goodbyes". This was enough to tide fans over until the single could be released, as this was the first announcement of the single title, as well as a first look at the cover art for the single.
To further personalize the release, he sent out an automated tweet to every person who liked and retweeted the single announcement with a link to pre-save the single on Spotify- this means that when the single is released it will automatically be put into your saved songs on the app- and the incentive that if you do pre-save the single, you will get "an exclusive video from Sam". The tweet also included a GIF of lyrics (presumably from "Too Good at Goodbyes") that reminds fans of the emotional lyrics that Smith is all too good at using to play with listeners' heartstrings.
The individualized tweets and the exclusivity of getting a video from Sam Smith himself when fans pre-save the album is a genius marketing technique. It is so easy these days for artists and influencers to get lost in a sea of people online. I could just as easily have passed Sam's tweet, favorited it, and moved on, forgetting about the new single until it popped up on radio stations in a month. But about a minute after favoriting the tweet I received a notification that I was mentioned by Smith's verified account. I mean, who wouldn't want to be tweeted at and recognized by an international celebrity? Even if the same tweet was sent out to almost 37,000 people, it was still a very cool feeling that made me appreciate the personal touch that Smith was able to achieve even over Twitter.
I will be impatiently awaiting the new single's drop this Friday. You can pre-save "Too Good at Goodbyes" here.
I will be impatiently awaiting the new single's drop this Friday. You can pre-save "Too Good at Goodbyes" here.
Hey Charley, I agree that its been a while since we heard new music from him. It seems like all the top pop artists are trying new ways to sell their records. Taylor Swift recently released her music in an interesting way. With streaming becoming peoples main way of listening to music, artists are finding it harder to sell physical records. Artists have to get crafty with the way they release their music in order to catch anybody's attention. Maybe streaming will provide more to artists in the future.
ReplyDeleteIt is about time! In a world of Taylor Swift vs Kanye we just need artists to come back to come back and focus on music. As much as streaming hurts some artists it is great for the listeners. It can help artists in the way it is easier to get exposed. It is great to see artists are embracing this and are evolving. I can't wait to see what the future holds for music.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me so happy! I love Sam Smith and have been waiting for him to come out with new music for years. I hadn't heard about the new release until reading this, but that it a really clever way for him to announce it. I feel like a lot of his fans have an emotional connection with his music since his lyrics are so heartfelt and emotional, so customizing the announcement for people like that seems like a great way for him to strengthen that connection. I hope more artists start to try to actually connect with their fans like Sam.
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