IN THIS POST:
- Our Audience: Conclusion
- Audience research: survey
- Billie Eilish social media comments
- Online research and opinions
- Web 2.0: Audience engagement
- Live concert audience
- Audience feedback
OUR AUDIENCE: CONCLUSION
PRIMARY
Age: 13-24
Gender: Female
Economic grouping: BC1C2
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Gender: Female
Economic grouping: BC1C2
Sexuality: Heterosexual
SECONDARY
Age: 16-24
Gender: Male
Economic grouping: BC1C2
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Gender: Male
Economic grouping: BC1C2
Sexuality: Heterosexual
AUDIENCE RESEARCH: SURVEY
SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENT SECTIONS
ONLINE RESEARCH AND OPINIONS
Unraveling the Rise of Billie Eilish
This article identifies the similarities between Billie's audience, Khalid's audience and the audience of 13 Reasons Why. It explores Billie's 'blow up', identifying a core reason as her song 'Bored' appearing in the series '13 Reasons Why'. Another reason being her audience similarities with Khalid. All three explore 'teen' issues, including struggles with mental health and relationships. 13 Reasons Why explores a character named Hannah Baker, and explores her suicide voice recordings. Some of Billie's 'bored' lyrics include:
The games you played were never fun
You'd say you'd stay but then you'd run
Giving you what you're begging for
Giving you what you say I need
I don't want any settled scores
I just want you to set me free
Giving you what you're begging...
Giving you what you're begging for
Giving you what you say I need
I don't want any settled scores
I just want you to set me free
Giving you what you're begging...
These lyrics started her career into the 'dark pop' genre, with the beat contrasting with the lyrics and tone of the song.
Billie secured another major placement, as her song “Bored” was featured in the popular Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why, on March 31st 2017. 13 Reasons Why is, perhaps, a perfect sync for Billie as the demographic of the audience and nature of the show corresponds excellently with her audience and lyrical themes.
Khalid is another artist that fits beautifully with the themes and audience of the show, as well as Billie’s own audience (he was featured in Logic’s hit song, “1–800–273–8255,” about suicide). He has a similar aged and gendered fanbase, is another teen artist, and sings about similar topics in his own unique manner. Below are the demographics of Khalid’s Instagram following…eerily similar to Billie’s shown above. This collaboration, both with Khalid and 13 Reasons Why, epitomizes the incredible results when one finds the right partnership.
This article also provides charts on Billie's demographic, taken from her Instagram following.
In terms of demographic of the audience, according to Nielsen, the show’s audience skews 65% female and 35% male. Furthermore, about 75% of the viewers of the show are 34 years old or younger. Additionally, the show revolves around a teen suicide — fitting for Billie’s lyrical themes (to be discussed). This fit is absolutely critical — Billie didn’t get just any sync placement but one that fits perfectly with her audience. As noted below, Billie’s Instagram following is mostly female and between 13 and 24 years old, beautifully matching the demographic of 13 Reasons Why’s audience.
The majority of her Instagram audience is female, aged 18-24, while the general gender split is 69.7% female, and 30.3% male. The following most popular age group is 13-17, with (at the time of the article being published) Billie being aged at 16-17. I expected the primary audience on Instagram to be the 13-17 age group, as the Uses and Gratification theory suggests her popularity with that age group largely comes from identification.
As her music and audience has progressed, her career paths have matured, with her most recent song being 'No Time To Die'. This song is featured in the upcoming James Bond film. The progression to go from a suicide teen romance Netflix series to one of the film industries most popular film franchises is a clear attempt to expand her target audience, opting to bring in the 25-34 and 35-44 audiences. James Bond is also more popular amongst a male audience, with the genre (Spy/Action) being more appealing to men.
Latest. The season 2 premiere episode of “13 Reasons Why,” Netflix's controversial teen-suicide drama series, averaged 6.08 million viewers in the U.S. in the first three days of its release, according to Nielsen estimates. (source)
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| (source) |
This is a comparison between the
viewership of 13 Reasons Why and
James Bond. In 13 Reasons Why's first 2
series (most popular series), they
accumulated just over 12 million viewers
on Netflix. In James Bond's 2 most recent
films (No Time To Die yet to be released),
it accumulated around a $2b in Box
Office. This is a clear step up, as Billie
Eilish has increased her audience,
becoming more global and reaching a
wider audience.
This article explores the audience her debut album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO, received, as well as her authenticity as an artist. Similar to Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish has formed a very loyal and dedicated fan base, with many of the young females posting their love for her on different social media platforms. She has a strong influence over her fans, releasing her mercy/clothing line, creating her own art of subculture (largely evolving around the colour green/darker colours, taking in a mix of the pop subculture and the goth subculture).
The question is raised as to whether these 'obsessive' young fans have a negative impact on Billie's attempt to appeal to a wider audience. Considered 'irritable' and 'obnoxious', this excessive social media presence can put off a potential older audience.
Generally, her fans are largely believed to be teenage girls, and of course, that’s clearly the target demographic. The artist is still quite
young herself, and it’s refreshing to see that this target audience has someone like Eilish as a role model – she’s ambitious and hardly the figure of controversy that many young pop stars conform to. The primary issue is that such strong associations with youth culture may alienate older audiences, when in fact, her music may appeal to older audiences who instead just avoid her product under the belief that it’s not for them.
Her tendency to create relatable content for her audience to identify is seen to alienate the older audiences, despite the fact that her music differs from 'generic' pop. Here is a clear example of an older man firmly against Billie Eilish's music and 'movement'.
Quotes include:
- "This trash emo drug addict"
- "I understand it's a different generation of morons that like this emo garbage"
- "If you guys are fans of that horrible horrible music, then that's fine. You've got to take the L though. You know that music is trash"
Her debut album is actually a pretty accessible and interesting record, boasting some alluring material. It’s a shame to think that many older audiences have already shrugged it off because they think it’s for teenagers. This attitude will affect Eilish in the long run, as she’s already established that she wants to grow as an artist. Sometimes, in these cases, the fanbase doesn’t grow with you; they may just latch onto the next trend when it comes. Yet, Eilish clearly strives to be much more than a passing trend. It’s an impressive debut of wide appeal, but as things stand, it’s unlikely to reach as wide an audience as it perhaps should.
Brand Authenticity: Billie Eilish’s Masterclass in talking to Gen Z audiences
This article highlights her approachability and relatability. It covers her instagram posts, comments and style of language, emphasising her similarities to 'normal' teenage social medias. After winning 5 grammy's, she captioned her photo (of her holding the awards) with, "5 ARE YOU KIDDING ME". This unprofessional style of caption is highly relatable, as it is clear that she shares the shock and excitement with her young fanbase. This means that when her audience read this, they engage with the post, often liking, commenting or sharing the post. Her language matches the normal 16 year old teenagers language, and this image of Billie Eilish is created to connect with these fans.
In her captions, Eilish shows her fanbase she’s just another girl on the internet, fluent in internet-speak. Dragged out words like “NOWWWWW” and the slightly hysterical tone in “FIVE ARE YOU KIDDING” mimic speech, it is as if Eilish is talking not writing.
In others, she writes in lower-case entirely - vague phrases like “been gone” or “careful who ya talkin to” that come across as fragments of thought.
These captions sit well on Eilish’s instagram page, but would easily fit in as some 16 year old teenager’s snapchat caption, or as tweets on any young person’s twitter feed.
The article draws the similarities/differences between social media platforms, comparing Billie Eilish to Ariana Grande. Ariana Grande follows a theme (monochrome) on her instagram, whereas Billie Eilish posts random pictures, with no filters and no specific captions. It appears that, as she is a young celebrity, she is in charge of her social media (continuing the identification theory), whereas Ariana Grande's social media is controlled by her record label.
Examining results from our image semiotics model, no clear clustering was found for Eilish’s instagram pictures. Unlike most pop stars who cycle through various “themes” for their instagram - for example, Ariana Grande’s mostly monochrome feed with occasional glam selfie shots, Eilish’s profile has everything from media shots of her to shots of her leaning against an abandoned mattress in a street alley. A lot more real. And way more approachable.
Screengrabs of her music video/advertising collateral are followed promptly by a post showing her slumped down in a seat, with a Rick and Morty backpack. A picture of tour dates is preceded by a shot of Eilish leaning against the railings, in baggy ordinary-looking clothes and messy hair.
Eilish’s instagram aesthetic ranges from celebrity-like content such as magazine covers and paparazzi pictures to the homemade and common, showing her audience that she knows she’s not exactly a regular person with a regular life, but yet is relatable.
What is Billie's concert demographic like? Age and gender?
This link takes you to a reddit page, with the question being posed to the sites users. Generally, reddit have a slightly older audience in comparison to most social medias, therefore some of these opinions might be negative, reinforcing the opinion shared in the earlier article, stating older audiences are put off by the 'obsessive' fans. Here are some of the responses:
"10-20ish year old girls and gay boys. A LOT of younger teens who are vicious and will do anything to see her or get closer etc. and mom’s who will encourage their kids to do so. But I highly recommend even with the kinda shitty fans. Billie is an amazing performer"
"i think its probably 12-16 year old girls. thats my personal experience though.
it also seems to be the main demographic that attends her concerts."
"No one older than 25 unless its a parent. I’d say there was 1 boy every 7 girls."
All of these examples seem to be fans of Billie Eilish and her music, however are overshadowed and put off by her younger audience. This suggests that her secondary audience could be the same that was suggested through an analysis of her instagram demographic, being 25-34. This may not be the type of fan to buy merchandise, or attend shows (pushing into the front row), however sit back and enjoy her music.
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