Only real ones remember Vine.
For those that have no idea what I’m talking about, the social media app Vine was TikTok before TikTok existed. The six second video sharing platform was simply the best, and it was a dark day when the app shut down in January of 2017.
Like TikTok does in the modern age (for now), Vine allowed for creative minds and talented individuals to put themselves out there. The challenge was that you only had six seconds to do what you wanted to do, which really made creators think outside of the box.
One person that utilized Vine back in the day was country music star Luke Combs. He actually credits getting his foot in the door of the music industry with some of the success he experienced and following he gathered on the short-form social media platform.
Combs spoke about Vine’s role in his early career on The Joe Rogan Experience last year, saying:
“The artist now has the power in a lot of ways, right? With the rise of the internet. I think I was really kind of one of the first people who was able to bring something to… like when I got my first deal, I already have a built in fan base.
That wasn’t ever really happening at that time. I was on this social media app called Vine. Do you remember that? I wasn’t mega big on there or anything, but I had enough fans where I was selling music.
And I didn’t realize that was weird until I got to Nashville. They were like, ‘Wait, you’re selling how much?'”
The “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old” singer went on to say that the following he had grown on social media helped him have negotiating power when he started having discussions with record labels. Combs didn’t think much of what he was doing online, but it ultimately helped him sign with Sony.
He’s one of the first country artists to transition their fame from social media to the music industry, a route that is now more commonly used by young artists trying to break into the business. Combs went on to say that using Vine was a no brainer for him back in the day:
“It just made sense, right? This is tool, and all I was doing on there was… the content on that app was six seconds long. It was like TikTok but six seconds. You would have to pick out what’s the most impactful section of a George Strait song, or of a Waylon Jennings song, or anything I can sing.
What’s the singing-est ass part of this song? And I would get on there and just sing that six seconds on my guitar. Then put it on there and people were sharing and sharing.
And then when I put my own music out, obviously I’m going to market to these people that already like my voice. And it just worked out.”
The country star goes on to say that posting on Vine wasn’t a part of some kind of “master plan,” but that it instead was a logical step, at least to him at the time. And just like the app Vine (RIP), Combs was ahead of his time in thinking that.
You can hear more about Combs utilization of Vine in the interview below:
And guess what? Vine might not exist anymore, but someone took some time to compile all of Combs’ best Vines and put them into one video.
Check it out:
