Collaborations are everywhere in the music industry. From Billboard Hot 100 pop to legacy acts, public music collaborations and features continue to define how artists grow their audience and maintain cultural relevance. In this context, a collaboration refers to a public-facing partnership like credited features, joint projects or shared tours, rather than songwriting partnerships.

These artist collaboration projects produce deeply resonant artistic projects as well as function as a strategic move that benefits both parties. In entertainment PR, public collaborations can expand visibility, strengthen brand positioning and generate media coverage for all parties involved.

What can Collaborations Look Like?

Collaborations can take many forms:

• Joint tracks (Beyonce and Lady Gaga’s “Telephone,” Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson’s “Girl is Mine,” and “Say Say Say,” Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra’s “Somethin’ Stupid”)
• Joint albums (Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Watch the Throne”)
• Instrumental features (Van Halen’s guitar solo in “Beat It,” and Eric Clapton on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”)
• Vocal features (PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson’s “Stateside (Remix)”)
• Tour pairings or opening slots (Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s 2024 “Sweat Tour” and Sabrina Carpenter opening for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour”)

Some of the most memorable music moments emerge from a collaboration. Collaboration is a creative gift, but it also serves as an essential music strategy built on mutual benefit.

Collaboration as a Mutual Benefit Strategy

Collaborations allow artists to share their space and fandom culture.

It allows them to share:

• Audience exposure
• Press coverage
• Cultural relevance
• Brand positioning

When artists collaborate, they combine power to create a shared brand moment, merge fanbases, and enhance greater visibility potential. Instead of competing for attention, artists join together to expand their reach.

What are the Benefits for a Smaller Artist?

For emerging artists, collaborations could be the catalyst to their “break-out moment.” Partnering with a more established act allows the new artist to attract new fans, earn media attention and pivot to new industry opportunities.

This exposure could lead to:

• Playlist placements
• Festival bookings
• Stronger streaming performance
• Major label and management interest

Opening slots work similarly. When an emerging artist joins a major tour, they perform in front of engaged audiences already invested in the live music experience. For example, Sabrina Carpenter with Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour, or Van Halen opening for Journey on their 1978 tour, introduced these artists to large, devoted fanbases and gave them immediate visibility. This kind of exposure can potentially accelerate recognition and long-term brand awareness and serve as a launchpad for mainstream success.

What are the benefits for the Established Artist?

For the established artist, collaborations aid in refreshing public image, introducing younger listeners to their catalog and signaling adaptability in a changing industry.

Partnerships also provide a controlled way to experiment with new sounds or audiences in a low-stakes environment without requiring a full rebrand.

Partnerships allow artists to navigate their place in the music industry, whether it is introduce them to the mainstream or demonstrate how and where they exist within the current environment.

Three Key Outcomes of Music Collaboration

Audience Expansion

Collaborations bridge potential gaps between fan communities. Listeners who may not have discovered an artist are introduced through their “fave’s” trusted partnership, often leading to exploration of both catalogs. Engagement from multiple audience groups also helps collaborative releases gain momentum quickly.

Take, for a recent example, “Stateside (Remix),” by PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson reintroduced Zara Larsson’s discography to PinkPantheress’ aesthetic-savvy audience, which aided in catapulting Larsson’s recent release “Midnight Sun” and highlighted her catalog to a younger audience.

Brand/Style Trade

Collaborations also provide a space for the individual artists to experiment with new sounds and looks in a low-risk environment. They can explore how their style interacts with the other act’s brand while maintaining their established identity.

Look to songs like:

• “Stateside (Remix)”: The music video for this remix illustrates this perfectly. In the video, the two artists wear outfits that reflect each other’s style and visually emphasize their partnership.
• “Talk Talk (Remix)” by Charli XCX featuring Troye Sivan: The remix borrows elements of Sivan’s “Something to Give Each Other” style and places Charli XCX’s song in different context.

Check out the songs and see how the artists are able to discover how they sound with the other artist’s brand and sound without heavily risking their pre-established brand.

Narrative Creation

Collaborations generate intriguing stories before the project is even released.

Announcing a collaboration creates:

• Media intrigue
• Fan speculation
• Social media conversation

The press rollout also lends a hand in promotional strategy. It helps double the collaboration itself into a headline event as well as a project release.

What does collaboration do for Entertainment PR

For entertainment public relations teams, collaborations provide built-in news value for their media relations teams. Artist collaboration means broader media interest, cross-market positioning and multiple storytelling angles.

Collaboration remains an essential strategy in entertainment PR because it merges storytelling, strategy, and creativity.

Collaboration can:

• Elevate emerging artists
• Refresh and re-establish legacy acts
• Expand audiences in both directions
• Generate narrative-driven promotion

In an increasingly competitive media landscape, collaboration continues to function as one of the industry’s most reliable growth tools.