Musicians tend to agree: digital is great, but nothing beats analog
Nothing infuriates or inspires people more than Social Networking. From the extreme volume of responses I received to our recent call for opinions on using Social Networking outlets to promote your music, I came to this general conclusion: Most of us appreciate the opportunities these sites provide, we all try to take advantage of them, but there is a passionate frustration with the instant gratification we’ve been fooled into believing it can provide.
Capitalizing on the genuine opportunities these outlets provide can be tricky, and can take a certain manner of dedication and patience. Each artist seems to approach these tools with a certain amount of deference, but each then with different levels of engagement, existing social pools from which to plumb, and individual techniques. Even more dramatic are the levels of success each artist attains. And at that point, does an artist’s success or failure hinge on their Facebook presence, their lack of Tweets, or their embrace of “traditional” promotion—fliers, posters, radio? Or does actual creative talent still have something to do with it?
Bella Ruse
“Bella Ruse has been using MySpace and Facebook and all the major social networks for a year now,” writes Joseph Barker. “While social networking provides an incredible resource to connect with fans, promote shows and boost attendance, there’s no substitute for real, personal interaction. However, I think it’s undoubtedly the tools provided by social networks that allow a small, independent band like us to survive. Social networks are the new record label. They provide marketing, fan interaction, demographic metrics and distribution resources all for free. That’s pretty amazing.”
“Social media really is the holy grail of promotion methods,” writes Andrew Root of the DownBeat Keys. “We’ve toured dozens of colleges and played at some of the biggest clubs in NYC including the Bitter End and Sullivan Hall. Virtually all of this is thanks to social media.”
While the success of Andrew and the DownBeat Keys is admirable, and well earned, he also brings up one of the most important aspects of Social Networking; One that is almost always overlooked. “We have six people in our band,” continues Root. “When we made a Facebook page, each of us invited our personal friends list to become fans of the page. Right off the bat, we had a huge pool of people to draw from… For creating buzz, it’s incredible. Any time something good happens for the band, you post it on Facebook and everybody sees it and is like, ‘Wow, this band is going places.’ That makes them more inclined to be involved in the future.”
BINGO! In the long run, the mountain of perception that MySpace and Facebook build can be far more valuable than the number of people they draw to your shows. Of course, when you’re a touring band, it does all hinge on that particular statistic. But, the digital statistics that sites like YouTube and MySpace provide really are the “holy grail” of indie music success. Those numbers are virtually impossible to fake. You could have little to meager draws at your shows, but if you have twenty thousand or more plays, and hundreds of thousands or more profile views on MySpace, it would seem obvious that at that point, show promotion is simultaneously your biggest problem, and also the last thing you should be worried about.
As Andrew Root said, “Everybody sees it and is like, ‘Wow, this band is going places.” How many bands do I adore, celebrate, and tell as many of my friends about that will listen? Certainly far more than I actually go to see, and not because I’m not committed to that band. There are a multitude of reasons why people don’t go to shows—myself and all of you reading this included! For one, a lot of people have legitimate, prior commitments and honestly can’t make it out to the show of a band that they love, local or legendary. For another, the Social Networking arena allows you to gain scores of fans in far more places than you can ever feasibly tour. Also, some people just don’t have any interest in going out, yet celebrate music as much as anyone.
“I think the most important requirement… is to deliver the message to a receptive audience,” writes Loveloud manager, Tim Williams. “If you can reach out to someone who will be likely to come to a show if they like your music then that’s the key. If you are inviting someone who works two jobs and has no time off or has kids and no babysitter or you are playing in a 21 and over club but your fan base is 16 year olds, those are your bigger problems. Not how you are reaching out to invite potential fans.”
Independent touring musicians often demonize their multitudes of on-line fans, and emotionally self mutilate themselves when their online show promotions fall flat. Not that this isn’t perhaps the most important aspect of a touring band’s existence, but what we cannot measure, or are often too humble to boast of, is the “hero factor”. What we are doing is monumental in the eyes of our friends and fans, and becomes ever the more so with each song, record, and music video we release, and with every show we play, tour we embark on, and Tweet we post trumping these achievements. There are far more people who will celebrate our triumphs from the comfort of their laptop or their iPod earbuds than will ever attend our shows. This might make it hard to keep the van gassed up daily, but for those with the talent, and fortitude to nurture a long career it is what makes us heroes.
Shooter McGavin
“Since the creation of these tools, bands have taken them for granted and have lost the concept of actual real life hard work,” writes Mike Joffe of Shooter McGavin. “We believe we are some how entitled to this magical overnight success because of gimmicks and Internet sensations… The bottom line is that we need to get back to the basics… Yes we need these things, but we need to remember why we do this. We do it because we love music and it almost hurts if we can’t share it with everyone. Not because we want 500,000 plays a day. If your band has it people will find you. They’ll want to know you for the reason you want them to, not because you made them.”
We are not entitled to success merely because we “friended” 35,000 random people on MySpace, or blindly send out Facebook event invites to a pool of fans, 95% of which we know don’t even live in those cities. We are not even entitled to Social Networking sites. We are lucky to live in a time and place where these tools exist. Sure, blasting these people with information and updates can help propagate that immeasurable “hero factor”, but to actually succeed people have to like you. Think about it like this: who are your actual friends and why are they your friends? Then gauge that against who your fans are and what, if any, kind of real relationship you have with them.
“You have to interact! Don’t just talk at people,” writes Brian Botkiller, solo artist and drummer for Vertigo Venus. “Talk with people. Ask them if they come to shows often, why they do, thank them for coming. Make fans and friends, not just connections. The key is to interact… Keep a band blog, talk about what’s going on, what you’re doing, and thank your fans! They’re the reason you’re getting known and getting people at your shows.”
“I find it has both positive and negative responses,” writes Chris Koons of Shameless Promotions. “A lot of people find out about my shows that way. But, a lot of my friends get [so] fed up with all the invites that they delete me from the website altogether… So I’ve actually lost friends because of Facebook Event Invites… Social Networking sites [are] a great way to promote your shows, but as a word of advice, don’t let it become the only way you do it. I also get posters up around my city, and get handbills printed to pass out on the street and I talk to everyone I know about the shows.”
“Perhaps the benefit of social networking is that it really shows actual face to face networking is the only thing that really matters,” writes Patrick FitzGerald of Six7. “There is everything in an ocean but all that really matters is what is in your face, your vicinity, your present. Wouldn’t it be ironic [that with] all the info from the world available at our fingertips all that really matters is what is actually in our reality to begin with? Get out, smile, talk and play to real people. Just a crazy thought.”
Conclusions? I think everyone who responded to our eBlast asking for your opinions on this subject seemed to be in agreement, just as many of us do when we step into a recording studio; digital is great, but nothing beats analog.
The truth is, a vast proportion of music fans don’t give a damn about how many followers you have on Twitter. A lot of people either don’t use Twitter, or Facebook, or MySpace, or at least not that much. Furthermore, the sad truth is, the older people get, the less they are going to celebrate logging into Facebook or scrolling through thousands of Tweets. Your digital day in the sun does, sadly, have a time limit. Make the most of establishing your name and reputation by all means available, as quickly as possible.
And never discount the hero factor.
Personally I prefer digital but i can understand the rights of musicians to prefer analog as it provides more control over their creative rights, i think what really needs to be done is a more worldwide approach to digital copyrights.
It is terrible how today’s modern age has somehow seemed to devalue artists like musicians and their work. Protecting digital rights of artists everywhere should be something that needs to be pursued.