As an aspiring musician, you may think that your art should speak for itself – and rightfully so! Your music is the heart of your craft, but there’s something else that has the unique power to persuade, connect, and amplify: numbers.
Numbers carry value, and can thus completely influence human behavior. They’re tangible, easy to contextualize, and have been proven to be perceived as more fact-based than verbally presented information. Data is powerful, and there’s a way to harness it as an artist.
The Psychology Behind Numbers and Persuasion
Whether it’s a restaurant’s online review or a company’s performance report, numbers greatly affect our decision-making – where should we go for dinner? which company should we invest in? Research by the Wharton School of Business showed that people have a “strong preference for numbers over words” in consumer behavior. This is because numerical precision has been proven to enhance credibility.
“People have a strong preference for numbers over words […] in decision-making”
Credibility
Credibility deeply influences audience perception, as has been demonstrated by a wealth of research. Having a certain number of streams or followers implies that your work or persona satisfies others’ standards of personal appeal and likeability, which tells newcomers that it may satisfy theirs too. This is the signaling role numbers can play in your music career.
Social Proof
“We all have an urge to be part of something that is proven to have amassed many others before us.”
Another factor is social proof, a concept popularized by psychologist Robert Cialdini. Social proof refers to people’s tendency to look to others’ actions to determine appropriate behavior. I’m sure it’s happened to you before: Spotify Wrapped day made you curious about an artist you’d never heard of who popped up on a couple of your friends’ stories, and you went to check them out only to find that they had a significant number of streams. Your next move was likely to listen, right? We all have an urge to be part of something that is proven to have amassed many others before us. This sense of desired belonging (another deeply researched area in psychology) sparks a curiosity that we previously may not have had without the data to encourage it.
Building Credibility Through Metrics as an Artist
Credibility is essential for any artist trying to break through the noise of today’s music industry. Numbers provide a shorthand for credibility by offering a quick way for new listeners or followers to gauge your impact.
Seeing an IG story post about a streaming milestone like “Thank you for 50,000 streams!” conveys to others that an existing community finds value in your work. Sharing your Spotify for Artists Wrapped which reveals that your music has been played in 22 countries signals to your audience that you’re starting to have global influence.
Sharing victories, whether it’s your first 1,000 Twitter/X followers or first 100K monthly Spotify listeners, can be very persuasive for both current and new fans. It also signals your potential to industry players such as playlist curators, bloggers, and record labels, who all look at metrics to assess an artist’s indicator of growth and success. Speaking of which, if you feel ready to reach out to industry contacts, you can get in touch with any curator of your choice on the Groover platform here.
Numbers Can Create a Sense of Belonging For Listeners
“People adopt certain behaviors simply because other people are doing it.”
Music has always been about community. When fans see how many others are also streaming your music, it reinforces the idea that they’re part of a larger collective. For existing listeners, sharing your metrics as your career grows will only strengthen their attachment to you and their role as one of your first fans. For people who are new to your music, watching your numbers increase will only encourage them to be part of the community that is already tapped into your work.
Psychologists call this the bandwagon effect: the phenomenon where people adopt certain behaviors simply because other people are doing it. If numbers create credibility and social proof which then results in people engaging, then those people will attract more people, creating a snowball effect of additional listeners and followers. Can’t complain there!
Your Spotify Wrapped isn’t just a celebration of your success, it’s a celebration of your fans’ support. When you post about how many streams a song got, how many followers you just reached, or how many countries your music was streamed in, it tells your fans that they’re part of a larger movement. Collective identity strengthens emotional connection, so give your fans the opportunity to unite around your successes, no matter how big or small. Share your milestone metrics!!
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Are you looking to promote your music? 👇
Sources:
- How Numbers Drive Behavioral Decision-Making: https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-numbers-drive-behavioral-decision-making/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CNumbers%20are%20so%20fundamental%20to,other%20representations%2C%E2%80%9D%20she%20said.
- Unlocking the Persuasive Power of Numbers: https://cmr.berkeley.edu/2024/11/unlocking-the-persuasive-power-of-numbers/#:~:text=Precise%20numerical%20information%20for%20a,enhance%20credibility%20and%20persuade%20consumers
- Numbers Are Persuasive If Used in Moderation: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/numbers-are-persuasive-if-used-in-moderation
- Numerical Persuasion Impacts Your Decisions: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/numerical-persuasion-impacts-your-decisions-jeiber-s%C3%A1nchez-b8csc
- How the Need to Belong Drives Human Behavior: https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/human-behavior
- Bandwagon Effect: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781118541555.wbiepc015
- What is the Bandwagon Effect? Why People Follow the Crowd: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bandwagon-effect.asp