EVANGELIA YACOUMIS, 25101177, ASSIGNMENT CODE (BUS4C004P~001)
(instagram, 9/90/2025, @dearlilymusic)
Introduction
Dear Lily is a singer songwriter based in London, her sound is dreamy and blended but her lyricism is vulnerable and relatable. Her music is directed in the genre of dream pop/ alternative pop. She appeals to a young female demographic because of her vulnerability and freedom in the way she expresses her emotions through her music and lyricism. She provides a perfect outlet for teenage girls to relate to the topics of heartbreak, first love and insecurity.
She currently (7/11/25) has a growing number of 1,674 monthly listeners on Spotify. Dear Lily has released 3 tracks: ‘Eternal’, ‘Fragile’ and ‘The city’. Her most streamed track is ‘Eternal’ with a current (7/11/25) 53,945 streams on Spotify.
Why Dear Lily?
Dear Lily’s branding and image feel very ethereal, she leans into a boho chic fashion look which characterises her as an artist that is free, down to earth and safe. She is very natural and authentic looking and posts herself on social media surrounded by nature and greenery, which is what makes her feel safer. She isn’t superficial or fake which is what young people are needing to see in the media. An artist is so much more than just their music, they also act as role models and idols, Dear Lily is a perfect candidate for a listener’s role model as she emphasises her natural beauty. In her social media she enhances her natural features instead of trying to cover them up with over photoshopped and edited pictures, her hair is often imperfect and not done but in a freeing way. She feels like a breath of fresh air from an over polluted pool of artists that are perfectly moulded into an image that feels out of touch and a beauty standard that feels unattainable. Lots of pop artists are put on a pedestal that makes them feel superior to their listeners and Dear Lily is a beautiful contrast to that. She feels as though she is building a meaningful community rather than a fan club.
Current Positioning
Dear Lily’s current social media figures are 3815 followers on Instagram and 5997 on TikTok (18/12/25). Her music is very atmospheric and she creates a visual for her music through her social media posts and photoshoots being outside in rural places. Her fans have the opportunity to visualise the places that Dear Lily can take them to through her music. She is creating a safe place for her listeners to experience the same vulnerability that she writes about, normalising these negative emotions and perhaps even making them positive. Her posts are not overly polished which makes the artist feel like more of a real person rather than just a figure, this gives her the ability to build a stronger community of loyal fans as they may see her as more relatable.
In Dear Lily’s Spotify profile she states that she makes her music in her bedroom which connects her further to her listeners. The bedroom has always been a place of emotion for a teenage girl which is Dear Lily’s audience. Dear Lily opening up her bedroom feelings and thoughts to her listeners is showcasing her open vulnerability in her music which can be seen as a comfort to her listeners.
Dear lily has played a range of gigs including different festival support slots and venue headlines/ support slots. Recently she has played in ‘Yes’, Manchester (September 26th) supporting a band called ‘permanent (joy)’. She has also played a slot at ‘Moseley folk festival’ (august 31st). These are perfect opportunities to grow, as Dream pop can be partly considered a niche within the pop genre therefore it is a fitting for the artist to play at smaller venues and genre specific festivals to strongly establish herself within the niche in order to build a strong fan base and then work on expanding within the niche.
Dear Lily is already starting to build a strong fan base through the small intimate gigs that she does. For example, she has played a couple of live sessions outside in public places for her fans to come and watch and socialise. She has played a session in Brighton Park as well as a live session at Primrose Hill in London. She is not only expanding into different cities, but also building a strong bond with her fans as she is socialising and connecting with them after her gigs. Here she is almost bringing music back to its core values of being something that encourages community and togetherness, as well as showing that music should be accessible for everyone to enjoy. She is straying away from the mainstream stereotypes of high ticket prices and artists being disconnected from their fans to the point where they do not feel like real humans anymore.
Dear lily is positioned into the more niche part of the pop genre as she heads towards dream/ alternative pop, but this niche is still becoming a growth genre. A characteristic of dream pop is the vulnerable, reflective lyrics which is a feature of Dear Lily’s music. There has been a noticed ‘wave of heart-on-sleeve pop taking over Spotify lately’ from Ronny Ho, Head of Dance and Electronic Development at Spotify in the 2025 Spotify wrapped. (Spotify, 2025) This shows that there is a current demand for Dear Lily’s music in the market. Additionally dream pop is influencing more mainstream artists leading to dream pop influenced mainstream hits. For example, Billie Ellish’s album ‘Hit me hard and soft’ placed second in 2024 according to the IFPI global music report [2025]. Recently there has been a demand for women in pop music, which will benefit the growth of Dear Lily. ‘Looking back on 2024, a major portion of the artists that lingered in everyone’s minds and playlists were women’ and this is due to their unique artistry setting them apart. Women in pop are tackling subjects that other pop stars don’t often touch and the result is ‘fans feeling connected to the lyrics they can identify in themselves, in a poignantly euphoric song that can liberate the complex discussions from their heaviness’. Dear Lily tackles ‘vulnerability [and] honesty’ which makes her the perfect artist to meet the demands listeners. (Ferragamo, 2025)
Dream Pop as a genre
Dream pop is a genre that has been around for decades and ‘developed into one of the 80’s several different types of genres, branching off from alternative rock.’ (Belcher, 2016). The genre evolved overtime from the 1980s with influences from many different artists. ‘Some of the earliest bands that incorporated elements of dream pop into their music include Cocteau Twins, The Cure, and The Jesus and Mary Chain, who were active in the 80s’ (Loh, 2023). Cocteau Twins are often considered to be pioneers of the dream pop sound with their use of ‘ethereal vocals, reverb-heavy guitar effects and reflective lyrics’. Post 80s, dream pop has become an increasingly popular genre with many artists in the scene constantly developing it. ‘Some of the most popular dream pop singers and bands include My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush and Mazzy Star’ (Loh, 2023). Dream pop has distinct characteristics such as soft breathy vocals, lush instrumentation with reverbed guitars and synths as well as ambient and atmospheric soundscapes. (pond5, 2024) However, one of the most ‘defining features’ of dream pop is its ‘brooding and self-reflective lyrics, often exploring themes of love, loss and the human experience.’ In recent years, dream pop has experienced a ‘resurgence with many newer bands drawing inspiration from the genres ethereal sound and inward- looking lyrics’. (Loh, 2023) Artists such as Lana del Rey has been a huge factor in the recent popularity of the genre. Her ‘unique blend of Dream pop with elements of Americana tropes’ has pushed Dream pop mainstream and influenced other mainstream artists such as Lorde and Billie Ellish. (Primiani, 2020)
Dear Lily’s Music
‘Eternal’ begins with a muffled conversation buried into the instrumentation which automatically adds some interest to the listener. In this track, Dear Lily plays around with sound effects, for example there is an effect of a lighter being lit on the lyric ‘smoking’ at the beginning of the song. These sorts of sound effects are becoming more common amongst pop artists, for example in Olivia Rodrigo’s track ‘Drivers License’ the song starts with sound effects of a car. It adds something different into the track for the listener and also helps bring the story the lyrics are telling even more to life. There are also very faint sound effects of birds singing in the first verse which add to a dreamy feel. The constant swells in vocals as well as instrumentation and crescendos also make the music very atmospheric. The atmospheric, lost feeling in the instrumentation contributes more emotional depth to the lyrics thus adhering to the dream pop genre tropes.
The lyrics are describing the feeling of being so in love that it begins to be destructive, but you are so in love that you do not care. This realisation confession of loving to the point of it being unhealthy is a confession that is so difficult to make in every day life. Loving to the point of losing yourself can be looked down on by society to the point where no one admits to it. However Dear Lily embraces the topic so well that it makes this topic normalised and may even help listeners that are going through the same thing feel comfort rather than shame. This could be an emphasised strength in Dear Lily’s artistic branding, helping her fans feel normalised and validated through her music by sharing the same experiences, further branding her as a figure that feels comforting which can help build her fan community. This is because it can be marketed as a safe place for vulnerability and honesty of fans as people, encouraging more connection between fans therefore making the fandom stronger and more loyal.
The rock grove in the drums drive the track forward making it feel more upbeat and fun, it makes the emotional depth of the lyrics safer for the listener to explore and feel as the instrumentation makes it light and almost feel happier. This track has Mazzy Star influences in the lyrics and instrumentation. the track can be seen as having influencing from ‘fade into you’ by Mazzy Star in particular. The instrumentation in ‘fade into you’ is very dreamy and the rhythms feel like a slow dance of love, even though it can be interpreted as a song that discusses losing yourself in love which can be viewed as a problem. The song ‘floats on a thin line between dream and reality’ (Lilha, 2025) which is how ‘Eternal’ feels, the track is so dreamy that it is hard not to slip into the haze that the track forces you into. In Mazzy Star’s album ‘Among my swan’ the phrasing of the melody lines are ‘stripped down to just a handful of notes which everyone is essential’ (Frieze, 1997) which can also be seen in Dear Lily’s music. The range of notes she sings are limited however they all serve a purpose.
The track ‘fragile’ can be seen as influenced by Lana del ray through the spoken vocals which show a moment of raw honesty. Lana del ray uses spoken vocals in many of her tracks such as ‘Ride’, ‘National anthem’, ‘Ultraviolence’. It is where the artist confesses what she really wants from life and love. The attributes of dream pop are very present in this track, for example the frequent reverb-heavy harmonies on choruses, reverb-heavy guitar and breathy vocals. All of these features add to the blurry, vivid feeling of the song.
The track begins with an ascending string phrase and bird sounds, which adheres to the atmospheric characteristic of dream pop. Bird sound effects are seemingly a common theme amongst Dear Lily’s tracks which roots them all in nature. This contributes to Dear Lily’s image as an artist being ethereal, her music takes the listener to a whole new place which is appealing. Dear Lily’s music can be marketed as an escape from reality which could be popular due to the current state of the world. Most people would enjoy a dreamy peaceful escape.
There is a clear difference from verse to chorus which makes the structure of the song very clear, the chorus is catchy with simple yet effective lyrics. This leans into a more pop style and gives the track the potential to appeal to a mainstream market. Another traditional pop feature in this track are the big drum fills before choruses providing a crescendo in dynamics and build in texture.
The track ‘The city’ is Dear Lily’s first single that she released. It is about the feeling of being excited but at the same time scared of uncertainty and the future. The feelings that Dear Lily writes about in this song is a very relatable feeling to listeners and it adds to the branding of her as an artist as she tackles topics of the human experience and normalises them. It has a much more laid back acoustic feel to it but still adheres to the dream pop genre through the heavy use of vocal harmonies and layering, making the track feel blurry. The acoustic guitar strumming patterns sound like influences of ballad pop, the melodic shapes are catchy and memorable making them very pop in style. As this is Dear Lily’s first track, influences of acoustic Taylor swift can be heard as this is what Dear Lily was listening to.
“I grew up loving pop music and initially just wanted to create mainstream pop music”
“I was listening to artists such as Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo and was heavily inspired by their vulnerability in their lyrics”
– Quotes from Dear Lily
Potential methods of growth
The waterfall method of release
The waterfall release method is a strategy where ‘tracks from an album or EP are released gradually on different dates’. This has proven to be a successful alternative method to the traditional method of releasing everything on the same day. ‘Popularised by the Chainsmokers in 2019, many well-known artists have adopted this newer trend within the music industry’. (horus music, 2024) The main benefit of this method is to keep engagement high and sustained. As Dear Lily is a new artist but with a small platform, this would be the perfect method to increase streams and her fandom. This would also keep old fans loyal as they have more of a reason to keep supporting her as they are being rewarded with new tracks. Another benefit to this method is that it allows each song ‘room to breathe and be heard’. It ensures that tracks do not overshadow each other, which is a risk of an entire release. By allowing these tracks to be heard properly, Dear Lily can establish herself within the dream-pop genre with each release. one way that Dear Lily can make sure that the tracks are being resurfaced and heard is by releasing different versions of them, for example live sessions, acoustic versions, live sessions in rural areas to connect to her ethereal brand image. Additionally, the waterfall method of release aligns well with ‘current music listening habits, catering to various types of listeners’. (horus music, 2024) Due to the rise of streaming platforms, listener behaviour has shifted. Data indicated that consumers prefer to listen to individual tracks rather than full albums, ‘Spotify reported that over 50% of its streams come from singles.’ (The pop video, 2025). Therefore, single tracks being released first can cater to listeners that need to be drawn in and the album release to come after the singles can cater to those that want to explore the artist’s full work and artistic identity in full. An example of a current pop artist who has used the waterfall release strategy to grow is Olivia Dean. According to the Venice Olivia dean case study, she released singles every 6-8 weeks which built steady momentum. However, this method is one of the ‘easiest to burn out on when you’re working solo’. But the case study states that the reason Olivia Dean grew instead of burning out is due to every single having an asset kit (‘1 main visual, 1 live clip, 1 behind the scenes, 1 fan prompt and 1 gratitude post’). She also reflected and re-surfaced singles between drops by resharing fan covers of the songs, sharing live takes or a lyric breakdown. (Venice, n.d.) This is a strategy that Dear Lily should adopt as it keeps engagement high and keeps her very present as an artist.
Defining a superfan club
Exclusivity as a marketing tool would be perfect for Dear Lily, especially when she reaches a larger audience. However, it would be ideal to have her super fan club established from the beginning. Super fans are what drives revenue streams as they will purchase the merchandise and gig tickets. ‘While superfans represent just 2% of an artist’s listeners, they generate 18% of streams’.(Brown, 2025) Dear Lily has started to connect with her fans on a personal level more through her live sessions she did in 2025 in public spaces that were free to attend. Dear Lily could make a second social media account that is private so she must accept people to follow it, on this account she can release exclusive content of behind the scenes, covers and interact with her fans more closely. By making this account private she is rewarding loyal fans with exclusive content which shows a level of appreciation for their support. It will also keep her fan club loyal as there is constant new content to look out for. It could also drive streams and engagement higher as fans may start to compete and engage more to be considered a superfan and therefore be allowed into the private account. In a survey of 1,000 superfans of various music artist ‘78% stated that exclusive behind the scenes content made them feel more connected while 85% believed that direct communication channels such as fan Q&As or personalised messages, significantly bridged the gap between them and the artist. Furthermore, 73% felt that artists who regularly engage with their fan community, whether through fan club apps or social media, appeared more genuine and relatable.’ (Brown, 2025). However super fans take a lot of commitment from the artist to build, Dear Lily needs to gift super fans with benefits consistently in order to build up the reputation of her fan club. These benefits could include discounted gig tickets, exclusive small intimate gigs, exclusive merchandise.
Weaknesses and areas for improvement
Dear Lily’s TikTok profile and video views (07/01/26)
A weakness of this artist is her social media engagement not being high enough. Even though her streams are doing well, she is not reaching a big enough audience online. Her TikTok views are averaging around 600 views when she should be hitting thousands of views, which would be in proportion to her 6K following. Only 10% of her followers are viewing her content and even less are liking and interacting with the videos. However this could be improved by changing the style of content that is being posted to TikTok. ‘Content quality features as one of the platforms prominent sub-goals’, it could be argued that creation quality is made up of the following: ‘publish rate: how often does the the creator upload new videos? The more frequent/regular the uploads — the better, Creator Retention: how many viewers make it through to the profile to watch other videos by the same creator and Creator Monetisation: Is the profile monetised? Does the creator leverage all the TikTok features (e.g., live streams & donations)?'(Knibbe, 2022). Dear Lily needs to tailor videos more to her audience and make content more interesting. This could be through talking to her viewers and telling them about herself to make it more authentic than lip-syncing to music. The artist also needs to be posting on a strict schedule of 2 times a day in order to make sure her content reaches a wide audience. Another way that engagement can be increased is by collaborating with other artists, by having other artists feature on her social media and her featuring on theirs will expose her to different fandoms. If the different artists selected to collaborate with are similar in style to Dear Lily’s music, it is likely that their fans and listeners will explore Dear Lily.
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