New forms of digital technology, such as YouTube, have given country artists a space to more deeply connect with their audiences and share aspects of their personal lives through videos (Liddicott; Forbes). At first, music videos were a means of telling stories that coincided with the song’s lyrics. However, YouTube allowed videos to be used to further artist brands and share exclusive content with audiences (Singh). According to a recent report, 75% of people watch music videos and 55% regularly watch them on YouTube, making it the largest video streaming platform and the perfect place for artists to offer exclusive content (Crupnick; Dredge, “Report: 55%…”). Over time, music videos have become another means to further generate artist-brands and artist to fan connections through the addition of more personal content, such as actual family members rather than actors (“How Internet Changed…”). Forbes claims that videos are now a key outlet for artists to market themselves and create this connection with fans (Forbes).
