I’ve been doing alot of thinking lately about the social media sphere and its obvious importance to any serious performer. And what I have come to realize, when I crawl out from under my MacBook, is that alot of creative people really aren’t that invested in doing the (hard) work you need to do in order to create and maintain a real presence for yourself online. And why would they? Most musicians are too busy writing, composing, recording and producing to have much left over for marketing.
Over a year ago, Pandora founder Tim Westergren wrote a great little piece called “A Fifth Beatle for the Digital Age,” published at KnowTheMusicBiz.com.
His point, truer now than it was even a year ago, is that bands today almost require an extra non-performing band member to help the group figure out which of the myriad online tools are right, how to build a fan base, and how to get that fan base engaged and actively involved with the band’s music and lives.
This comment from Westergren rang especially true to me:
The digital age has brought with it unprecedented access and opportunity for working musicians, but it also comes with great complexity. Self-producing, distributing and promoting a record is now a real option for anyone with a PC, but if you aren’t smart about marketing and promotions you’ll just be another tree falling the forest. It’s kind of like having lousy sound at a show. You can play your best set, but if nobody’s paying attention to what’s coming out of the speakers, it won’t matter.”
Love to hear what you think. Is there a 5th Beatle on board with your act?
(Photo: George Harrison, Brian Epstein)
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