KEY FINDINGS

Our Top Picks This Week

• Steve Albini On The Music Industry. (Link)

• Threads is testing cross-posting from Instagram globally. (Link)

• Music fans share backlash as Apple destroys vintage instruments in “tone-deaf”, “ugly and dystopian” new ad for iPad Pro. (Link)

• Instagram and Dua Lipa launch music sticker; Billie Eilish holds giant listening parties. (Link)

• Goldman Sachs analysts upbeat about music industry after a “turning point” year. (Link)

• The Revenge of the Home Page. (Link)

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FEATURE

From Influencer to Artist: Millie Ford’s Debut Release

Australia’s Millie Ford has amassed 1.5 million followers on TikTok and this year we’ve seen her expand into the music industry.

Initially, Ford captured the hearts of her followers with her popular skits, now she’s released her debut single and used her social media presence to amplify the release.

This is how she shifted from TikTok star to up-and-coming musician.

Music Content

In 2022, Ford dipped her toes into music content when she took to the ARIAs red carpet to prank musicians, claiming she’d released her debut single.

The prank was filmed in partnership with YouTube, and saw Ford provide sneak peaks of her fake single to artists. At the time, it appeared like any other influencer partnership with YouTube. In reality it was a first step into the music industry.

In January, a shift occurred in Ford’s content when she posted herself dabbling in GarageBand and questioning “why does it always have to be a musician who makes the song of the summer”. This was the first time we saw her in the driver's seat as an artist.

The following month, she followed this post up with an in-studio teaser.

@millie

Replying to @Taylor Irwin I’ve posted a sneak peek and pre-save in bio !!! 😎 👀 #project #songofthesummer

A week after, she posted with Dom Dolla promoting his upcoming tour:

@millie

Very proud of my ex-student Dominic Dollar ❤️ AUSSIE TOUR TIX on sale 12pm TODAY (Feb 20th) xxx

Promoting her debut release

In February, on Instagram, Ford officially announced that she’d be releasing “Lovestruck” in collaboration with Hellcat Speedracer. In the post, she clarified no skit, character or joke was involved this time around.

The single was released in March and premiered on triple j. During the first play, Ford filmed a reaction video and shared it to TikTok

@millie

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S FINALLY HEREEE #LOVESTRUCK #triplej

She also took to Instagram Reels to promote the single on release day.

milligram96

View more on Instagram

Since it’s release, “Lovestruck” has received support from Spotify’s New Music Friday, Acid Stag, and it’s earned further coverage on triple j.

On Spotify, the track has 85,000+ plays and on YouTube, its official visualiser has 3,200+ views.

The Takeaway

While we’re not recommending that every artist should go out and forge a full time career in influencing, we will say that Millie Ford’s approach to entering the music industry is a good reminder of the importance of a strong social media backing and just how interesting the long game can be, from an artist’s first steps into the industry to their debut.

^{Written by Olivia Gliku}