Music case studies

1. The Vamps
2011–12: Formation
In 2011, James McVey, who was already managed by Richard Rashman and Joe O'Neill of Prestige Managemen, wanted to form a band. He subsequently discovered Brad Simpson via YouTube. Simpson later became lead singer and together McVey and Simpson wrote songs towards the later months of 2011. In 2012, Simpson and McVey met Tristan Evans via Facebook. The trio then met Connor Ball via a mutual friend. In mid-2012, the band started uploading covers of other songs via their YouTube channel.

Link to their YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/thevampsofficial

Link to official website: http://thevamps.net/

Link to twitter profile: https://twitter.com/TheVampsband

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2506271/The-Vamps-meet-social-superfans-propelling-top.html

The Vamps have taken that to a whole new level by recognising that the first fans they gained from their home-made YouTube demos (before they had a recording deal) could be the ultimate social-networking marketing tool. By treating their initial 200 followers as real friends (video-messaging them and generally treating them as ‘equals’), they created a new breed of superfan who would become instrumental in their subsequent success.

The Vamps started putting their demos (initially covers of artists such as Bruno Mars and Taylor Swift) on YouTube, their superfans have utilised social-networking sites to establish a growing army of followers. The band (all accomplished musicians and songwriters) believe those first superfans have played a huge part in helping their YouTube channel to gain over 24 million views and taking their debut single ‘Can We Dance’ straight to number two in the charts last month.

2. Carly Rae Jepsen

Link to official website: http://www.carlyraemusic.com/

Link to Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/carlyraejepsen

Jepson initially posted covers to songs, on her MySpace profile, on this site she began announcing details of her upcoming songs/albums. Following the steady appeal since her debut album, Canadian label 604 Records, co-founded by Jepsen's ongoing manager Jonathan Simkin, signed Jepsen to the label. Jepsen also began recording material for her sophomore album in 2011 with previous collaborators Josh Ramsay and Ryan Stewart. One of those songs, "Call Me Maybe", was chosen as the first single and released in Canada on September 21, 2011. In January 2012, dating pop singers Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were in Canada for the holidays and heard the track on the mainstream radio. After they tweeted about it on their personal profiles, Jepsen instantly gained international attention. The EP, titled Curiosity, was released on February 14, 2012 in Canada, coinciding with her rising popularity on YouTube and social media sites.

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, alongside others created their own video, lisping the lyrics and posted the material on YouTube. Due to their millions of fans Carly Rae Jepson profile began to rise dramatically.

3. Boyce Avenue

Link to Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/BoyceAvenue

Link to YouTube account: http://www.youtube.com/user/boyceavenue

Link to official website: http://boyceavenue.com/

In 2007, Boyce Avenue began posting videos of original music and covers of popular songs on YouTube. Many of these covers have over 10,000,000 views and have been released as digital EPs by 3 Peace Records. While producing the videos for YouTube, Boyce Avenue continued to create original material for their album, 'All You're Mean to Be', which was released on March 3, 2008. In January 2009, the band performed a stand-alone sold-out show in New York City at the Mercury Lounge. On October 2, 2009  WWE featured their single "Hear Me Now" in a video tribute to Eddie Guerrero on their decade of Smackdown show.

With their sights set on connecting with their online fan base, the band turned their attention to touring, playing four headlining shows in the Philippines. Shortly following this, the band began its first tour of the US.