J Molley: The Internet Boy in music
JOBURG - More and more artists are finding new ways every day to make waves using the Internet.
There has never been a better time for aspiring artists to be active than right now. There is a special and very specific type of energy floating in the music industry, especially here in South Africa. The conventional structures in the music industry are slowly going out of style, particularly with the youth. These new artists represent a new era of independence and freedom in music.
The Internet is the main driving force behind a lot of this new change in the industry. From the way artists can record, mix and master their music, to the way they choose how to release it to the world. The Internet has made it possible for artists to stop relying solely on record labels to get their music heard by the public. More and more artists are finding new ways every day to make waves using the Internet.
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Jesse Molley, known as J Molley, is an 18-year-old rapper, singer and songwriter from Johannesburg. Molley is barely two years in the game, but has already established himself online and has a loyal following on social media platforms. With close to sixteen thousand Instagram followers (growing at about 200 to 300 followers a week), he continues to establish himself on social media, a key driving tool in his success.
The Internet is free for the most part and as an artist, you have freedom and control on how and when you want to release your music. “Not everyone has the connections for television and radio or the money so I really focus on trying to grow the Internet culture in SA because it’s still so far behind compared to the rest of the world. So that’s what I focus on mostly, pushing that movement,” Molley explained.
Things really started changing when he dropped his second single, 945, that went on to reach more than 10 000 plays in just three days.
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“My whole movement is centred around the Internet. I call myself the ‘Internet Boy’. It’s where I started. I uploaded everything on SoundCloud and YouTube and got all my fans organically through the Internet. I never needed any connections, no big name in the industry co-signing my movement, no radio or television,” said Molley.
With more than three hundred thousand plays online, it is evident that his formula of utilising and manipulating the Internet is a winning formula. There are only a handful of artists making waves like him in South Africa and he is at the forefront of it all. Artists, thinking like Molley, represent the future and the future is now.
Edited by Beryl Knipe
