Young Atlanta Artist on the Rise Through Social Media

Most days, from midnight until the early morning, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) graduate and music artist Celso Miguel sits at his computer posting his beats to different social media platforms, such as YouTube and Instagram. He also uses the time to digitally “meet” and collaborate with other artists. Celso estimates that he spends over 40 hours a week marketing his music on social media platforms. Celso, a native of Brazil, is one of a growing number of aspiring artists who use the global accessibility of social media to not only build their own brand, but also to build a digital artist community of like-minded creators. Hundreds of thousands of artists of all kinds use social media as a platform for their artistic creations and to build an audience and gain name recognition.

Although the majority of us still use social media to post cute selfies and document anything and everything about our lives, social media is a great outlet for artists like Celso to showcase their work and connect with other artists. SCAD is one of the many art schools filled with young, talented artists who are often frustrated upon graduation because of their inability to access the insulated and cliquish art community. Oftentimes, as is the case in many creative industries, success is based more on who you know  rather than talent. A few of the lucky ones may be able to gain recognition through dogged perseverance and hard work, but the majority of graduates often find the doors closed.

Celso recalls that his interest in beats started as a young boy in his native Salvador, Brazil, when he became fascinated by the sound that rocks made when he threw them against his house. He enjoyed the way the larger rocks sounded different from the smaller ones. Celso then proceeded to make beats out of anything he could find: garbage can tops, tin cans, wooden spoons. His interest in music grew and Celso convinced his parents to let him take piano lessons. Celso then taught himself to play drums and bass. When he was in high school, one of his best friends suggested that he make a YouTube channel and post videos of himself creating beats from different objects. His popularity grew on YouTube, and Celso soon had over 100,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel. Soon the famous Viner King Bach discovered Celso’s videos and suggested that he come to the United States to collaborate with him on his Vine videos. Although the collaboration did not work out, Celso decided that It was time to move to America.

At sixteen, Celso moved to New York to stay with family members. Although his mother was hesitant to send her son so far away from home, she knew that Celso’s social media pages were increasing in popularity and that the opportunities for greater exposure were limited in Brazil. By this time, Celso even had a fan account dedicated to him and people were saying that he could become a star in America.

“When I first met Celso and heard his beats, I knew that I had to ask my older brother to get him into a studio and fast!” said Michael Darin, one of the first friends Celso made in New York. “His beats were mad dope.” After recording his beats in the studio, the brother of another friend convinced Celso to post his content on Instagram. Celso was seventeen at the time, and Instagram was a popular outlet for artists looking to gain attention from major record labels and for other music artists looking to collaborate. Celso actually shot down that idea because he wanted to make it as an independent artist rather than a mainstream Instagram influencer.

As months went by, Celso’s fan base on YouTube began to decrease. He had stopped putting out content for other people and started working on mini-projects for himself, but soon Celso realized that if he wanted more people to recognize his talent as an artist, he needed to put his pride aside and use Instagram to share his work. One year in, Celso had over 10,000 followers on his Instagram page. Considering that anyone with from 1000 to 5000 followers is considered a nano-influencer, Celso’s numbers were quite impressive. He was posting content daily and reaching out to other people who create beats, and soon he was collaborating with national and international artists through social media. Although some of the people he collaborated with wanted to meet in person, Celso refused because he liked his persona as a “solo Instagram artist.”

After graduation and wanting to major in sound design, Celso saw a commercial on YouTube about SCAD that drew him to the school, particularly the Atlanta campus. He applied and was accepted, and Celso moved to Atlanta that fall to start college. Celso flourished in school and in the city of Atlanta. He connected with the large and vibrant independent music scene there, and he also made many connections through classmates and social media contacts. Celso now had over 30,000 followers on Instagram and about 20,000 followers on Twitter. He decided that he did not want to continue college and instead wanted to focus strictly on his career in music and as a social media influencer. Although he was once dismissive and cynical about the influence of social media, Celso determined that if he wanted to increase the reach of his music, he needed to fully embrace the social media platform.

Currently Celso is in the process of creating a virtual online studio on YouTube and Instagram for college students and independent young artists who are interested in a career in the music industry. Celso now has over 315,000 followers on Instagram and is considered a bonafide social media influencer.

SCAD multimedia artist Malcom John said that he was influenced by Celso’s success to market his content on Instagram. According to Malcom, “Social media has become very important and in general a powerful tool, especially in this generation. Many people utilize social platforms and monetize their content or get sponsors to pay them for posting their content on their page. My approach to promoting my own content is simply figuring out my theme for my page and going from there.” Malcom posts his multimedia art pieces on social media and has seen his number of Instagram followers increase from 500 to over 15,000. He has also been commissioned by businesses to create commercial content.

Modern dancer Gage Sage also follows Celso on Instagram. He now creates modern dance pieces and posts them on his Instagram page for his 35,000 followers. “I always post on social media because it’s my only means of sharing my content. I don’t have a website yet or anything like that so it’s a lot easier to post on my social media pages and hope to get noticed from that. I also use a lot of hashtags to connect with people who are doing the same kind of artwork as me,” Gage said.

However, not all reactions on social media accounts are positive. SCAD animation major Abdullah Wais recalled that he almost dropped out of school when his work was criticized on Instagram. “I remember posting my first piece of work on my Twitter account and getting mocked for it. People didn’t take me as a true artist. It actually discouraged me for a while and I didn’t regain my confidence to post again until recently,” he said. In the end, according to Abdullah, the positive remarks from fans and the ability to receive creative feedback from other artists from around the world far outweighed his negative experiences.