Forums v social media

[john]

Hi gang

 

Its funny, I see a lot of people using social media, especially Twitter, for discussing tracks in development. Work in progress tracks being posted by people who should know better, to get critique comments from fellow artists. I can’t underline enough that doing so is a really, really bad idea.

 

I can only think it is the convenience of “well I am here already” and a complete misunderstanding of the entertainments industry that has allowed it to grow.

 

In part I think it is a misunderstanding of letting people see behind the scenes and artists misunderstanding engagement thinking that whatever you can do to promote interaction is a good idea. This is not true.

 

At the same time artists on Twitter especially aren’t effectively using the platform for what it actually is suited for, engaging fans. 
 

Other artists are not your fans. Artists tend to all be focused on growing their Fanbase, by growing the number of other artists who are following them (because it is easy to build your following. The trouble is artists on Twitter frequently only interact when you mention them or their music Make a post about your own music and you will see tumbleweed and perhaps a reply from your clique.

 

The trouble is that artists spend too much time using Twitter like a chat forum to talk to their clique, talking shop about all their incomplete, work-in-progress recordings instead of courting fans. Fans meanwhile go post-blind and tune the artist’s posts out. Fans switch off in droves at below par music and low grade engagement posts, while artists think they are letting fans see behind the scenes. It’s sad.

 

Artists get seduced by Twitter. They see their follower count increasing and think that surely they must be becoming more popular. Meanwhile their engagement beyond their clique is tanking. The number of posts I see saying something about lack of response to posts. They don’t even realise that they are shooting themselves in the foot, in so many way. The points mentioned so far are just a couple from a long list.

 

What is really frustrating Is that music forums like Songstuff are the solution. Meanwhile boards are quieter than they were. I see it on many music forums. Artists better start using forums again soon or they will start closing. Then artists truly will be stuffed. There needs to be a significant separation between your music (from a fan perspective) and your music ( from a fellow artist/writer’s perspective). You need to preserve the magic. Make a splash not a drip. And glimpses behind the scenes need to be stage managed to feel very authentic. By all means make personal connections, show your vulnerability, but artists need to also be something special. Fans like to see them as “one of us” but like the coolest person they know. Someone they feel inspired by. Posting substandard “ideas” for songs puts fans off. If you must post works in progress, post carefully produced pieces of awe inspiring brilliance you call “work in progress” when you post 5 painfully evolving substandard works, it might give people insight into your process, but it also removes any notion of surprise, of building anticipation... of buzz.

 

Dont use social media for your works in progress. Just don’t.

 

Feel free to chime in supporting or disagreeing,  I love to get your perspectives. Try having this convo on Twitter. Lol

 

Cheers

 

John

[Mahesh]

I totally agree that the social media trend of the decade has really had a huge impact on informed opinions. I wouldn't be able to make a living out of music like I do now if it wasn't for me finding a community like Songstuff on the internet. It's because these platforms can serve more like a focus/support group than a place for people to just hang out. This allows for so much learning which cannot whatsoever be matched by the 'modern' social media platform. Plus it isolates these conversations to a limited environment which helps in getting the most hype when the song actually does come out.

 

The immediate fulfillment of attention that social media provides on the other hand has distracted a lot of us, especially artists, since attention is indeed a useful commodity. I've had quite the battle with these platforms as I've contemplated many times to quit them completely. I know I can't lol But it helps to look at these social media platforms more objectively and use it to predict your outcomes instead of gambling it.

[john]

There needs to be less focus on getting general attention, and more on getting attention for the right activities from the right people. Not only that, artists need to learn to build interest and engagement, to get the maximum attention from these people at the right times.

 

Artists need to know how to find fans, how to engage them and keep them engaged.

 

They need to know how to build allure, not engaging like a warts and all tabloid newspaper article. I get frustrated seeing artists doing ths "I am being honest with my fans" as an excuse for having one twitter account, no Facebook artist page etc, and laying open the process of being an artist painting a very unflattering picture of who they think they are and as a part of that they feel comelled to share their unfinished works from a very early stage completely ruining the art of buzz building and the art of surprise. It's B.S.

 

Artists are entertainers. The process of reaching and growing your fans is similar to a relationship. In many ways like a friendship. So when you are giving a friend a birthday present, would you:

 

• Show them videos of you considering ideas for their present, buying the present, discussing what is wrong with the present, mentioning how previous presents you bought for others were better, wrapping the present..
• Intersperse videos of you behaving in unflattering ways, being vain, failing, showing you don't really care about them, even explaining that you don't really care about them, explain that you only care about your opnion.
• Make them laugh AT you
• make endless posts about completely irrelevent, inane things, present yourself as self-obsessed... even when you try to show your softer side it just says vain and self-serving, me, me, me...
• Dump the present in their lap with no warning, with no regard for their actual birthday, go "taddah!" and then wait for praise from them, expect them to tell all their friends how good your presents are, keep telling them to tell their friends this

OR

• Tease them about their birthday and the present you are giving them, build anticipation, get them guessing.
• Organise a party and give them their present making it clear this event is about them
• Go to the party and socialise, when people ask you tell them what you gave as a present
• Encourage your friend to use the present in a friendly, encouraging way
• Encourage them to laugh with you
• Genuinely be interested in their happiness and the experience they enjoy

Yet the first approach or variants of it are adopted by artists on social media all the time! Artists are disappointed when it doesn't get loads of positive interactions and it doesn't get them a load of plays or a load of fans. Really?

 

Crazy.

[Just1L]

What's social media??? 😁

 

On a serious note you make some great points about seeing behind the curtain. Look what happened to OZ. It's a story sure, but that's what happens. Once the mystique is gone, they move on. And the sad fact is that for almost all of social medias users, it's about them, not anyone else. They're seeking the same attention musicians and everyone else is.