profi le INSTAGRAM
Instagram is rapidly becoming one of the industry’s most vital social platforms. We spoke to head of music partnerships Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood to fi nd out what it has to off er the biz...
MEDIA BY DANIEL GUMBLE
W
e first meet Instagram’s head of music partnerships Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood in a London Bridge café the day before this
year’s BRIT Awards. She’s telling us all about the work the social media platform has been doing in the build up to the event. The Instagram team built an Instagram photo studio backstage to capture the full line-up of winners, performers, and presenters, with photographer Mary McCartney on hand to snap the stars on the night. It also collaborated directly with artists in attendance to ensure as much relevant content as possible was generated on the night. And according to Wirtzer-Seawood, not only did the team’s backstage efforts work a treat, they highlighted Instagram’s ever-growing presence in the industry. “The BRITs was a really good example of the opportunities Instagram has to offer in the events space,” she tells Music Week several weeks later. “We worked very closely with the BRITs team to ensure there was content build out for Instagram Stories, Instagram Live and content for their feed. They were able to use the multi-post feature, which came out the day of the BRITs, and we worked closely with the talent so they also got that content and were able to post it to their own feeds.”
While many artists and events are now well-versed in the art of Instagramming and how to get the very best from the platform, there are plenty that have yet to fully get to grips with the great many features and functions it has to offer beyond the humble selfie and a picture of one’s dinner. For several years, Twitter and Instagram parent company Facebook were the dominant social networks, providing a more direct way of getting a new song or tour details in front of fans; shares, likes and retweets a seemingly simpler metric by which to measure their reach.
It is this perception that Wirtzer-Seawood is striving to change. And if her bright, exuberant approach to all things social media is anything to go by, it’s a task she is truly relishing. Since starting her career at DefJam, where she served as VP marketing, director of operations, and EA to president and CEO Kevin Liles between 1997 and 2001, she has specialised in the field of digital entertainment and how best to ramp
14 MAY 01
Me, my selfie and I: Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood
up engagement between artists and fans. In the years between DefJam and Instagram, she worked closely with Beyoncé as head of digital at the star’s Parkwood Entertainment company, spearheading all of her digital efforts, including her social presence, digital marketing and partnerships with Tidal and iTunes. Having amassed such extensive experience on both the business and the creative sides of the market, Wirtzer-Seawood says she is well placed to maximise Instagram’s impact for the world’s biggest artists. “I’m the conduit between the music industry and the platform,” she states. “Making sure labels, artists and managers better understand how to use Instagram to connect artists with their fans. To communicate and share their experiences, so fans become more deeply embedded in that artist’s efforts and releases. I do that in several ways. Many artists want to know how to grow their following. I am able to talk them through what they are doing and how they can do things a little bit differently to help engage with more people.” She continues: “With labels and managers, it’s about talking through their goals and how to accomplish them. My experience on the artists and the labels side has given me this unique opportunity to work with the industry in a broad sense and understand their needs.”
Wirtzer-Seawood points to some key artists who have been using the platform a little differently to maximum effect.
“Stormzy has gone Live a lot on Instagram, thanking fans for making his album No.1. On the day he was counting down to being announced as No.1, his account crossed the one million mark, and he became the most followed grime act in the world. “He’s also used Instagram to thank artists that have supported him; he’s reposted content from Coldplay’s account, Katy Perry shouted him out on her Story. The way he uses Instagram to maintain the momentum he’s had from his record has been huge and really important. He’s using that direct connection without it feeling like he’s constantly promoting and marketing something to his fans.”
She continues: “Someone like The Weeknd also uses it really well. When he’s on tour he shares these super polished photos but also videos of him singing in a hotel room or of his friends backstage. Then there are people like Ellie Goulding who, even when she’s not working a record, is active. She’s connecting with fans, she posts really fun workout content and things that she just does every day, but she’s maintaining that connection, which I guarantee you will just grow and
MUSIC Week
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