When artistes used to drop albums, they didn’t just log into TikTok or hit “tweet.” They hit the road. Club tours, campus pop-ups, street team flyers, meet-and-greets at radio stations, and offline activation were the default. That was the music ecosystem’s social network: physical presence, real-time energy.

Then came the pandemic, and everything shifted. artistes swapped physical engagements for Instagram Lives, Twitter Spaces, and virtual performances. Digital platforms became the primary means of fan interaction, and for a while, it worked.

But as the world reopened, the music industry didn’t simply revert to its old ways. Instead, social media’s grip tightened. Algorithms dictated visibility, TikTok became the new A&R scout, and artistes chased virality like it was chart placement. The number of views, likes, and shares eclipsed everything. A follower count became a résumé. An algorithmic boost was the new co-sign.

According to Mixmag, over 120,000 new tracks are uploaded to streaming services daily (as of 2023). That’s not just noise, it’s saturation. A deluge. “New Music Friday” is no longer a guarantee of discovery; it feels like a playlist roulette where even stellar songs can go unnoticed.

This saturation has led to a paradox: while digital platforms offer unprecedented reach, they’ve also made authentic connections harder to achieve. Fans crave more than just passive listening; they want experiences, moments that feel personal, exclusive, and real.

In response, something interesting and hopeful is happening: artistes are reconnecting with fans offline. Not just as a nice-to-have, but as a necessity to cut through the clutter and create moments that numbers can’t replicate.

We’ve seen it globally: SZA’s fan-first pop-ups. Ed Sheeran is playing surprise pub gigs. Travis Scott teamed up with The Rock and John Cena at the WWE. The Weeknd and Jimmy Fallon crashed a college graduation party last week to perform “Blinding Lights.”

Nigerian artistes are also tapping into this shift.

Skales’ “Shake Body” got a resurgence from TikTok, and he has taken advantage of that moment to hit the ground running. He has done club tours, performed at Barcelona post-match victory, meet & greet with fans and cross-marketing with the club and players. TikTok and DSPs gave Skales the battery to recharge, but the offline activation has been the engine that has kept “Shake Body” running.

Despite the trolls, Skales continued to focus solely on the fans. Instead of focusing on who didn’t support him, he honed in on those who did.

Davido’s fifth studio album ‘5ive’ has turned into a case study in layered fan engagement from private listening events, fan sessions, and pop-ups in five cities. All touchpoints, all human-first.

ODUMODUBLVCK dropped his surprise mixtape ‘THE MACHINE IS COMING’ and embarked on a University tour campaign to promote the project. You don’t realise how loved ODUMODUBLVCK is until you’re watching him perform live and loud. There’s a video clip of ODUMODUBLVCK walking around the stage, impressed with the crowd, but they kept singing. They knew the words, all of them. This was an artist who had received constant backlash from social media, but here he was, standing on stage in awe of fans singing back to him.

Llona, fresh off his debut ‘Homeless,’ is already midway through a national tour. Clips from the shows are making their way online, but the core moment, the electricity of human connection, is something no metric can measure.

Skales, Davido, Llona, and ODUMODUBLVCK have each found a new way to breathe life into their releases. The excitement of fans singing back to you is unmatched, or fans waiting outside your hotel for 2 hours just so they can take pictures with you.

These artistes aren’t running from digital platforms. They’re simply not relying on them. They’re making a case for a more balanced model, where real-world touchpoints become the fuel for long-term fan loyalty.

Let’s be clear: algorithmic relevance can get you noticed. But offline activation? That’s where superfans are made.