In recent years, short form video content has been dominating the marketing world. Youtube Shorts, Instagram Reels and Tiktok play a significant role in what people consume. With the growing trend, many artists now incorporate fan accounts in their music marketing. But how did this trend emerge and are there any concrete examples of it? This is how fan accounts became part of music marketing
How artists use marketing agencies on social media
In another article, we discussed the new age of music marketing. In the article, we looked at artists who had hired marketing agencies which in turn had paid for content pushed by different influencer accounts in order to get more traction. The most notable example included Geese getting criticism for hiring the marketing firm Chaotic good to allegedly distribute a large amount of clips across social media.
When fan accounts become marketing tools
There is, however, a pattern surrounding world-renowned artists that you have probably noticed if your TikTok algorithm is heavily focused on music. Fan accounts frequently post high-quality, behind-the-scenes and previously unseen clips of artists. In some cases, the commercial connection is obvious, but in many others, the line between fandom and marketing is genuinely hard to distinguish.
One example is the account @sombrfans, which posts several videos of Sombr every day. In the bio, the account promotes tickets for Sombr’s upcoming arena tour. Many of the videos appear to have been filmed from backstage areas, behind the stage or from other locations that would not normally be accessible to a fan. The texts and captions almost try to imitate the tone of genuine fan posts but often fall short. It often feels as if they are written to trigger engagement rather than real emotions.
Although @sombrfans has never been publicly confirmed as a management-run account, it is far from unique in its format. Similar fan accounts dedicated to artists such as Benson Boone (@bonsenbeeno), Adéla (@adelamachine) and Audrey Hobert (@audreyhobertdotnet) appear to operate in a similar way.
Fan accounts are nothing new, they have existed since the early days of social media. What becomes more problematic is when an account presents itself as a “fan account” while giving little to no indication that the account may be directly connected to the artist themselves, often with the potential purpose of driving engagement, ticket sales or other revenue.
Why transparency matters in artist marketing
There are several examples of artists who run artist-centered pages with the intention of creating awareness about the artist. One example is Drake’s account @drakerelated who posts things related to Drake, another is Role Model’s @andthehourglass account who posts videos surrounding Role Model. The accounts appear to exist primarily for promotional purposes, with a clear focus on spreading information about the artists and increasing their visibility.
The ethics of manufactured fan accounts
If these accounts are commercially connected to artists and their marketing teams, the lack of transparency raises an ethical question. Fan accounts have traditionally acted as a direct bridge between artists and their fans, built around genuine enthusiasm and authenticity. Lately, that relationship has quietly gotten another added layer, a marketing channel that seeks to generate engagement, sell tickets and ultimately drive revenue.
If a fan account is being used as part of an artist’s marketing strategy, it should be made very clear. The problem isn’t necessarily that the fan accounts are being used for promotion, but that audiences may believe they are interacting with real fans when instead they are being targeted by a marketing campaign. Real fandom shouldn’t be exploited like this.
Conclusion
Recently, a new type of seemingly manufactured fan accounts have started to appear across social media. Large volumes of content are entering the platforms to end up in the algorithm of real fans. In some cases, the commercial nature is relatively easy to spot, while in others, it is hard to see. Major artists like Sombr and Benson Boone all appear to be associated with the strategy. The problem is not necessarily the promotional nature of the content itself, but rather in the lack of transparency surrounding it.