The Streams Are Up, But The Fans Aren’t There. What Music Marketing Is Getting Wrong Right Now

BusinessHollywood & EntertainmentThe Streams Are Up, But The Fans Aren’t There. What Music Marketing Is Getting Wrong Right NowByOlivia Shalhoup,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Olivia Shalhoup covers entertainment marketing and social strategy.Follow AuthorApr 27, 2026, 04:03pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Fans of the band Years and Years celebrating the live performance at the Albert Hall music venue in Manchester, England, on Sunday 18th October 2015. (Photo by Jonathan Nicholson/NurPhoto) (Photo by NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)NurPhoto via Getty ImagesThe music industry has never had more tools to reach audiences. Algorithmic targeting, real-time analytics, trending audio campaigns, creator partnerships — the infrastructure is more sophisticated than it has ever been. Yet something is still off. Campaigns launch, get their moment, and fade without leaving a mark. Artists rack up streams without building fans. Content goes viral without creating connection.I asked music marketing executives the same question: what is music marketing missing? The answers differed in approach but pointed in the same direction.EmotionNina Schollnick, Digital Marketing at Red Light Management, frames it directly: "A TikTok trend or covering a song aren't strategies; people are tired of that same recycled playbook, they want something that actually brings them closer to the music. If your content is tired, the fans will feel it. The most effective campaigns right now are the ones that make the audience feel something before they even press play."The evidence is in what has actually broken through. Alex Warren's 2025 campaign — shaky iPhone footage, raw vocal takes, unedited bedroom-lit sessions — didn't look like marketing at all. That was the point. It felt like watching someone process something in real time,...