Kid Cudi kicks off an immersive new format blending music, storytelling, and fan intimacy
With Under the Ghost, Snapchat isn’t just launching a new music series. This format — kicked off by Kid Cudi — blends intimate live sessions, visual storytelling, and exclusive content, raising a key question: what’s Snapchat’s strategy behind this project, and what is the platform hoping to capture in an already saturated music content market?
🎬 What Is “Under the Ghost”?
Filmed in an intimate studio in Santa Monica, “Under the Ghost” combines live performance with visual storytelling, exclusive previews, and behind-the-scenes insights from the artist.
For the launch episode, Kid Cudi premiered his unreleased track “Neverland”, performed in front of a small audience of Snap Stars and superfans, followed by a one-on-one conversation about his upcoming short film — also titled Neverland — directed by horror auteur Ti West and produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions.
It’s part live show, part mini-documentary, part artist showcase — and fully designed for mobile-native engagement.
A Bold Move to Carve Out a Place in the Music World
Under the Ghost marks a shift in ambition for Snapchat. Rather than competing head-on with TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram on virality, the platform aims to offer a space for artistic storytelling — designed for mobile and focused on emotion, intimacy, and exclusivity.
The format is clear: a studio performance followed by exclusive content — conversations, film excerpts, behind-the-scenes footage — all captured with a strong visual aesthetic and designed for vertical viewing. It’s broadcast to a small audience of fans and creators, reinforcing the sense of a one-of-a-kind moment.
And the choice of Kid Cudi to launch the series is no coincidence: as a cross-disciplinary artist — spanning music, film, and storytelling — he embodies a generation of talent that blurs formats. The perfect figure to illustrate a new way of telling music’s story.
What This Means for the Industry
With Under the Ghost, Snapchat introduces a unique format blending intimate performance, visual storytelling, and exclusive access — tailored for a Gen Z audience seeking a more direct connection with artists.
For live music professionals, it’s a new strategic tool: an editorialized space to contextualize a release, test a visual identity, or build engagement around a project before or during a tour.
Unlike massive virtual concerts in the Fortnite style, Snapchat is betting on emotion and scarcity — a powerful lever for narrative-driven artists and marketing teams looking for deeper, more targeted formats.
Not Another Fortnite: Snapchat’s Alternative Vision for Live Music
The parallel with virtual concerts on Fortnite is clear: same target age group, same ambition to reinvent performance. But the underlying logic is entirely different.
Fortnite delivers a digital spectacle — grand, synchronized, and gamified. Snapchat, on the other hand, leans into something more fragmented, personal, and non-interactive — yet emotionally powerful.
Can Snapchat capture part of Fortnite’s audience? Maybe not the fans of large-scale spectacle, but those looking for a more direct, more narrative connection with artists — absolutely.
