With the launch of Meta’s new Twitter-esque social media platform, Threads, musicians can have even more irons in the social media fire – which won’t be news to the ears of artists who loathe to spend their days attempting to think of new content ideas for each of the platforms and feel the subsequent unpopularity anxiety as you wait to see how the engagement pans out.
But for every artist keen to expand their reach, this article will touch upon some of the key differences between Twitter and Threads, why the platform has been launched at this stage of the game, and whether or not the site will be a good place for music promotion.
What is Threads, and Why is it Here?
If you have logged onto Twitter lately, you will have noticed that Elon Musk seems to be on a one-man mission to tank the platform and shed himself of the status of being one of the richest men on this capitalism-scorched hellscape we call 21st century existence as he presses the self-destruct button by-proxy by bringing about questionable changes.
In his short tenure of owner and CEO of Twitter, Elon Musk has decided to cap the number of Tweets users can read, allowed people to buy their way into becoming a verified member, deprioritised non-verified users, and perhaps most insidiously, allowed users to be as misogynistic, transphobic, and racist as they please.
While Musk is attempting to gaslight everyone into believing that his platform is seeing record levels of user engagement, the quantitative data tells a very different story. The web analysis site, Similarweb, has revealed that since March 2023, there is a 18.7% decline in traffic, which is hardly surprising given that the platform is now a playground for Proud Boys, TERFs, Incels, white nationalists, and every other imbittered far-right which makes hating a demographic 99% of their personality under the guise of being a stand up person. Furthermore, 1 in 4 Twitter users now believe they won’t be inclined to use the platform a year from now.
With Twitter descending ever further down the gutter, Zuckerberg found the opportune time to launch his own Twitter-like platform, which is being marketed as the ultimate place to share ideas & trends via text. At the time of writing, the app has launched in over 100 countries; however, European residents may need to wait a little longer as the launch has been delayed due to privacy concerns.
Within 7 hours of the app launching, Meta counted 10 million members; as of the 6th of July, 30 million users had created a profile on the platform; however, even Zuckerberg admitted that there is plenty of work to do before it is as popular as Twitter. There is also plenty of doubt that the app will ever become as integral to news and political culture.
Differences Between Threads and Twitter
Threads is already being considered a formidable competitor to Twitter. Of course, Elon Musk doesn’t share that sentiment. Nor is he ever likely to, given his increased rivalry with Mark Zuckerberg, which has opened up the possibility of the two tech giants stepping into the ring with each other.
Here are the key differences between the two platforms, as things currently stand:
- Threads has a 500-character limit, whereas the character limit on Twitter is 280.
- Twitter is charging for its blue ticks, whereas Threads users can carry their blue badge over from Instagram.
- Threads is only available to users who have an existing personal Instagram account.
- Threads allows all users to post videos up to five minutes in length, whereas Twitter limits video content to two minutes and 20 seconds – for verified users.
- Only Twitter allows users to view what is trending; Threads users will be limited to what is on their home page.
- There is no option to save drafted posts on Threads.
- After the launch of Threads on Wednesday, the 5th of July, when you are scrolling through your Threads feed, you won’t see ads.
Will Threads be a Good Platform for Music Promotion?
For bands and artists who already have a significant following on Instagram, the new Meta platform is absolutely worth trying out for size. The connection between the two apps could be vastly beneficial for artists looking to streamline communication with their fans and audience.
As alluded to by Music Review World, Instagram Threads is a promising platform for music, tour, and merch promotion, as it enables artists to reach their interested and highly engaged audience directly.
While it is impossible to say whether the platform’s popularity will endure beyond the novelty stage and what engagement levels will be like compared to other platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, as things currently stand, the future of Threads looks promising. Especially with the current zero ads policy. That alone may tear users away from more-established platforms. Who can actually say they want to scroll past endless ads while they are trying to stay connected to their friends and favourite creators?
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For more guidance on how to up your social media game, keep checking out our music news updates. Or get in contact with our award-winning A&R team for one-to-one support.
Article by Amelia Vandergast