UnitedMasters is a distribution company that champions independent artists by providing premium music distribution services and by facilitating unique partnerships between artists and the world’s biggest brands. They enable artists to maintain full ownership over their master recording rights while introducing them to millions of new fans worldwide through their direct brand partnerships. UnitedMasters is a record label in your pocket.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the music industry was in shambles. SXSW along with all major music festivals and conferences were cancelled. Major tours were being rescheduled. The way fans experienced live music was changing right before our eyes. UnitedMasters saw first hand how it impacted the world’s biggest superstars but many forgot about the emerging artists who were ready for their breakthrough year.
The goal of UnitedMasters Open Mic was to give those emerging artists a platform to showcase their talent, reach new fans and connect with brands in the covid-safe, live environment that they desperately needed.
UnitedMasters knew that Instagram Live would be the perfect place to build this platform because their Instagram account was uniquely positioned as an outlet for championing independent music, with over 300,000 artists, tastemakers and brands such as The NBA, Nas, Kevin Durant, Steve Aoki, Joe Budden and more following the page. They aimed to bring in at least 5,000 viewers and have at least 15 artists join the UnitedMasters Open Mic on Instagram Live weekly.
Independence: Focusing on independent artists without large existing fanbases who would benefit the most from the spotlight.
Consistency: Hosting the show every week on Tuesday at 8PM ET for 60 minutes to give as many artists as possible the chance to be featured.
Live Host: Each week UnitedMasters has a live host who was emerged into the independent artist community.
Dual Live Feature: UnitedMasters allowed artists to join their Instagram Live -- giving them exposure to their followers and community.
Community Building and Community Service: Answering artist and music industry focused questions in the chat.
Spontaneity: Calling on artists at random and bringing in unannounced guests for interviews and exclusive content.
Since March of 2020 UnitedMasters hosted over 500 artist performances with an average of 10,000+ unique viewers tuned into each stream, with a high of just over 20,000 viewers.
The UnitedMasters Instagram account has gained over 200,000 new followers.
Featured artists have garnered the attention of BeatsByDre, Kevin Durant, Russ, Rapsody, BallerAlert and more.
Several featured artists were given the opportunity to perform on the NBA’s Instagram Live with global artists such as T-Pain, Neyo, and Blackbear. In addition, featured artists were offered recording contracts with larger independent labels following their performance on our IG Live (ex. Storm Ford).
Open Mic was one of a few of UnitedMasters initiatives that engaged the independent artist community (SelectCon, Cash4Change in partnership with Cash App and their TikTok Partnership). The platform grew +300% bringing more traffic to their Instagram Profile ultimately boosting installs of the UnitedMasters App.
