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SOCIAL MEDIA BRANDING OF MUSICIANS IN SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES: THE CASE OF CURAÇAO

Digital Transformation has been responsible for disrupting the traditional process and setup of the music industry over the past few decades (Hesmondhalgh & Meier, 2018). The digital platforms have created a unique third opportunity for musicians originating from Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The music industry on SIDS, however, remain largely understudied. Musicians originating from these nations often have a hard choice to make, either they stick to the local market, often times with music production relegated to a side job; or to move to a larger market and venture as a full-time musician. Curaçao is a Caribbean polyglot island boasting an unmatched diverse population serving as a foundation for a creative economy. Artists are multiculturals by nature, and linked through heritage to larger regional markets like the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba and the islands of the Eastern Caribbean ridge, as well as larger markets like the Netherlands, Colombia, Brazil, and the United States. In this new geopolitical economy these multiculturals can create new business models, as they are uniquely equipped to shift between, and create, new cultural frameworks and appeal to new audiences. This paper focuses on identifying and describing this phenomenon among artists engaged in these activities on the island of Curaçao.