With over 5 million posts in the #drums tag on Instagram, the Instagram Drumming community has been growing at an exponential rate over the last few years.
There are huge instagram drumming content creators who focus mainly on Instagram to release drumming videos, photos, and information especially with the lack of real drummer websites floating around. Major drum 
companies like Pearl, Tama, and DW, (@pearl_drums, @officaltamadrums, @dwdrums) have amassed huge followings on Instagram though the community, sharing pictures of rare and expensive drums that would make any drummer drool. While smaller custom companies like SJC and TRUTH (@sjcdrums,@truthcustomdrums) have broken into the scene and have experienced huge follower growth on the platform from sharing pictures of their incredible custom builds. The community is bigger than ever before and hopefully, will continue to see growth in the future. However, the drumming community on Instagram was not always this prevalent. There have been some huge changes to the platform and in the community itself that have contributed to this huge growth.
1. The Jump from 15 Second Videos to 1 Minute Videos
One of the biggest reasons for this large increase in the drumming community was the jump from 15-second videos to 1-minute videos. While there were some who were posting amazing 15-second videos, like Tristan Kelley (@tristankelley) or Joey Parasole (@joeybones_, @grooveshare), the platform was very limited for posting longer form drumming content. There was a market for the content, as represented by the large community of drum photos, but not many people were posting videos. It was difficult to fit a decent section of a video or a full beat into 15 seconds, limiting Instagram from becoming a major music sharing platform. However, the launch of full minute clips in March of 2016 was responsible for a huge jump in quality for drumming content on Instagram. This huge change leads to more creators being able to post videos of them playing and performing that were not created only for Instagram. With this new ability, there was a huge increase in videos shared on the platform. Gear demos, highlights of performances, soundchecks, and snippets of covers now had the capacity to be viewed and shared by drummers in an accessible way. These longer videos drew more drummers to Instagram, building the community stronger with every video shared and creating a new area for competition against the drum videos on Youtube.
2. Major Players
While there are a number of huge drummers in the community who have had success before joining the platform, many have seen Instagram as a unique and useful way to grow their following. Drummers like the
Roland Meinl – Founder of Meinl Cymbals
previously mentioned Tristan Kelley, Dan Silver (@thedrummingbeat), Carlo Loielo (@cvl8), Tosh Peterson (@tosh_thedrummer), Joey Parasole (@joeybones_) and past Drummers I Like guest Charlie Engen (@charlieengen) have amassed huge followings on Instagram by posting drumming content. Posting frequent, or in some cases daily content has made these guys common names among drumming circles, just by their work on Instagram alone. This has even lead to some major deals with large companies like Meinl (@meinlcymbals), who back in October endorsed a circle of Instagram drummers, including Dan, Tristan, and Charlie. The validity of this platform is truly confirmed by the skill and success of the artists of it has produced.
3. Educators
Instagram isn’t just the platform for the hobby drummer either, drumming educators have taken to the platform as a way to teach and promote using the easy to consume content. Instructors including Adam Tuminaro (@insta_chops), Mike Johnston (@drumteacher7), and even Drumeo founder and previous Drummers I Like guest Jared Falk (@drumeo, @jaredfalkdrummer) have taken to Instagram as another tool in their belt to reach out to new students. These educators post mini-lessons, previews of Youtube videos, or just clips of them jamming out to inspire the new wave of drummers who view this content on Instagram every day. Many students do not have the time or the patience to sit down and watch a 15-minute video to learn a single concept every day, but a 45-second video demoing a new chop is easy to watch and learn.
With the community growing and connecting at the rate it is, Instagram has become a huge part of drumming culture. It has become a tool for the educator, a platform for the everyday drummer, and a way to connect with other musicians in a new and fresh fashion. If you have not taken the time and looked into the scene, do yourself a favor and check out the links below for all the people and companies mentioned in this article.
– Dylan
Links and References
Manufacturer IG Links
Artist IG Links
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