Why are so many rappers on LinkedIn?

Many music fans follow their favourite artists on Instagram or Twitter – but what about LinkedIn? Apart from the obvious perks – who hasn’t dreamed of congratulating their musical heroes on recent job promotions and work anniversaries? – it is, apparently, a prime spot for rappers, with more than 30,000 of them using “the world’s largest professional network” to make industry connections.

Rappers can be endorsed for skills such as “flow”, “music”, “rap” and “songwriting”. Some artists on the site have even seen tracks go viral – impressive, considering that only a quarter of the social network’s users are “active”.

Perhaps it should not come as a surprise, though: Jay-Z, Drake, Gucci Mane and Rick Ross have all reportedly had their own LinkedIn profiles (although a search for “BBK” returns Birkbeck university and the Bank of Bahrain, rather than the grime collective, Boy Better Know, that signed Drake in 2016). The word “grime”, however, apparently features in more than 500 profiles.

Eric Turner, a US-based writer and musician, paid $70 to run an advertising campaign for his rap EP on LinkedIn. “The results weren’t spectacular,” he said. “Just above 55% [opened the ad], and [I had] three click-throughs. None of the leads converted, but a few still listened.”

Still, compared with no engagement at all – all previous emails to the companies and publications he targeted with the ads had gone unanswered – it could be seen as an improvement, if not an out-and-out success.

Aspiring artists are often advised not to give up on their dream. Perhaps LinkedIn is the perfect platform for those taking a professional approach to their music career. Unlike YouTube, SoundCloud and other platforms geared more obviously towards music streaming, the site is more focused on making a meaningful connection. Plus, LinkedIn will passively aggressively follow up on your request five days later and let industry bigwigs know that you are still “waiting for your response”.