Shawn Mendes releases new song: How Vine helped him, others rise to fame

Singer Shawn Mendes, who released the hit track “Stitches” in 2015 and became well-known through the social media platform Vine, has released a new song. 

“Treat You Better” is now number one on the iTunes store, and comes from the singer's upcoming sophomore album, to be released this fall.  

“Stitches” reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 after Mendes himself became well-known on the social media platform Vine, which requires users to impress viewers in just seconds. Services like YouTube, on the other hand, where many other artists have gotten their start, allows musicians to post full songs.

Despite the short format, others have become well-known because of Vine as well. Hayes Grier, another a famous Vine user, was selected to participate on the fall 2015 season of “Dancing With the Stars,” most likely bringing him to the attention of those who didn't know him from the social media platform. As of late last year, Vine user Brittany Furlan had gotten a deal to create a comedy TV program, to be produced by Seth Green. 

“Brittany is a creator,” Darren Lachtman, co-founder of a company, Niche, that works with advertisers and people with many social media followers, told TheWrap. "She has the same reach as many web publishers, and higher engagement on her content than most TV shows. Our belief is that these creators are not only the future of digital advertising but also the new wave of 'broadcast' channels."

But Vine fame, like all social media, can change all the time. 

“We can’t rely on Vine,” Michael Alvarado, half of the married, Vine-fueled music group Us the Duo, told the Washington Post in 2014. “It’s already changed in just the six months we’ve been on it. The fan base has changed, the algorithms for how the ‘likes’ are calculated has all changed. Even some of the leaders have already left. They’ve moved on to Snapchat.”