Social media for independent musicians ?

[petekelly]

Social media for independent musicians ? Maybe of interest to some folk here and perhaps even to the people who just post here to promote their projects

Some thoughts on the above topic:

' Been mulling over this recently and my thoughts are, for an independent, ambient musician such as myself (i.e. not in any kind of major league !), I don’t really see the value of spending the time on social media to try to ‘raise my profile’. I should say I’m speaking here as an individual artist – I can’t speak for bands and the like...'



Full post here:

https://igneousflame.wordpress.com/2019/07/07/social-media-for-independent-musicians/

[stargazer]

I see it very similar, Pete. The social media are good for interaction and communication, a global exchange of artists and fans. But to raise a profile, they do not serve an independent artist.

Promotion works via radio, podcasts, features, reviews, labels, forums, platforms (like Bandcamp), collaborations with well-known artists etc. And without making anything special from the heart, you won't stay long on the market.
Because only good, timeless, unique music is supported in independent music. At least I feel that way when I support music from others.

Earlier (before the social media) I bought records in the store. Today I sometimes buy digital music on Bandcamp (a virtual store with a more support character).
Music comes from the heart, goes through the heart, back into the heart.

Thanks to the support of my fans, I was able to do my CD productions and repair hardware. Of course, you become better known through interaction through the social medium of the Internet, but also more grateful.
Because in the sheer mass of independent musicians, to be heard at all, it's a matter of luck.

[petekelly]

Hi Jana,
Interesting to hear your thoughts on this.

I should say I wrote that blog as a something of a reaction as to reading how 'essential' social media promotion was considered to be for an artist and that you would be remiss by not doing it 'properly' and I didn't think that is the case (well, not for me anyway)

Look at the artists who post here only about their projects and the general lack of response they get, from treating the forum as another opportunity to solely self promote.

[chris23]

Good points, both of you.

I think the true challenge is to define the goal. If one is interested in producing music that one personally finds rewarding and fulfilling, and then sharing that music in a way that makes it accessible to like-minded others, then there isn't much of a point in playing the social media game. It is fairly easy these days to release something on, for example, Bandcamp, tell a few friends, and carry on.

If one's goal is to get as many fans, plays, sales as possible, however, I suspect that playing the social media game is unavoidable. I'm skeptical that an independent artist can "make it" without working the social media angle as hard as the studio. (I agree with Jana that the music itself, of course, needs to be good.) The simple truth is that, the more people who are aware of your work, the more likely you are to sell it.

Speaking for myself: I'm an introvert and don't like social media. I enjoy the Hypnos Forums, of course, and have visited this place off-and-on since 2001 or so. But forums don't feel like social media to me, maybe because I'm older and they pre-date modern social media. Facebook doesn't really appeal to me. I don't bother with Instagram, etc. I just don't feel like myself when I'm posting to promote rather than posting to contribute (e.g., discussing things here, mentioning new releases I like). The good news is that there are mechanisms for introverted artists to reach potential fans these days without them having to invest in a social media presence.

[stargazer]

I should say I wrote that blog as a something of a reaction as to reading how 'essential' social media promotion was considered to be for an artist and that you would be remiss by not doing it 'properly' and I didn't think that is the case (well, not for me anyway)

Completely understandable. Real exchange over the Internet has always been a rarity. I remember Soundcloud when people commented on my track with "I like your sounds. Please listen to my track".
They did not understand honest interaction. Social media today is a term that is very negative. True social media is interaction, give and take, authenticity.

I'm skeptical that an independent artist can "make it" without working the social media angle as hard as the studio.

The days of glory and fame are over anyways. Everyone is making music. We open our souls to the world and simply hope for the best

[APK]

Yes. In the 90s you could sell a run of 1,000 CDs (or at least half of them).
Now everyone and his/her dog has inexpensive means of making and putting out some decent music.
The market is flooded. Things have changed. You might stand out for 5 minutes here and there.

[petekelly]

I'm of the view that you get back what you put into (in this case) musical projects and I wonder about the longevity of a lot of projects out there, when (as APK said) pretty much everyone can / is releasing stuff.
Also, I take a more fatalistic view on things.

I remember the 'glory days' here with people's CD releases, all very different now. I see airplay as more the focus nowadays and I include streaming in that and going back to my original point, I have seen that increase for me - without doing any (or very little) social media networking.

[stargazer]

I'm of the view that you get back what you put into (in this case) musical projects

Very true, as if you hear an echo from your own passionate music. That’s the best 😊

[stargazer]

I have now tried to interact with my music and photography on the social media platform Instagram. I confess to have failed.

Instagram, for some unexplained reason, has suspended my accounts. I cannot explain what I did wrong, and the operator of Instagram does not comment to date.

Although I used Instagram more for enjoyment than promotion (see my comments here in the thread), I did gain a few fans.

All the more annoying that my Instagram profile has now dissolved into nothingness. But even if my accounts are reactivated, I will leave this platform.

Because when the operator of a social media platform integrates nonsensical automatisms, only nonsensical trouble comes out. I don't need that

Have any of you had similar experiences on social media?

[FabioKeiner]

serious people should avoid fakebook, insta, whatzzzup & co wherever and whenever they could.
supposedly you got deleted/sacked because their algorithm detected some politically incorrect expression in one of their titles... or simply because they oust freelance artists without a big label to defend them.
...
jana, do you know www.ello.co ? it's no that bad - and had emerged as an alternative to facebook some years ago.
mxyspace.com also was a fine platform BEFORE fakebook&co. - but it seems, they got completely broke and are now inactive.

[Julio Di Benedetto]

I must have been away from the forum when Pete started this thread.

Jana I have an Instagram account and I joined to share photographs but these days I really have no desire. I never had any issues with them 

I think an important distinction is the choice of word.....do we share or promote.  I suppose to ultimately share there should be no charge, it should be free and many do.

I have an ello account that I will cross post on from here but I do not put much effect into it.

i do not have a facebook account.  I don't want to be followed, liked, shared(I do the sharing, don't share me  ) Snapped and especially Tweeted unless you really are a bird. All that being said I am a very friendly and social person but it happens in the really world.

Social Media and the internet in general is becoming more and more about "Content Creation" and "Artists" are becoming "Content Creators"
who's work is quick, short and usually not good or thought out because it is just content....stuff that distracts without depth and meaning.  That seems a bit harsh considering many of these people are talented and unique but the issue is the platform and the need to package the most intense experience into a tiny amount of time for the attention deficient.  Imagine we, well, I think a 10 minute ambient space music track is short, 20 minutes, 40 minutes now things are happening.  What person deep into Snapchat will listen to a 40 minute ambient piece of music.

Chris said....."I'm skeptical that an independent artist can "make it" without working the social media angle as hard as the studio."   I would say that the social media angle requires even more commitment and perseverance.  Which will take its toll on the music.  It would for me.

Pat Metheny whose music I have listened to and loved for many years said about his first album "Bright Size Life" which did not do well when it was released in 1976 on ECM.....that the people that would come to appreciate it and make it one of the most seminal jazz albums would not be born for another 15 years.  Let alone that the bass was played by an unknown guy called Jaco Pastorius. This  is not something social media could ever achieve because the people lost in social media would never look up to notice.

 

   

[petekelly]

I think it's a double edged thing, this social media lark. There's a lot I don't like about it and I won't have a Facebook page / Twitter account.
I think it has it's uses, but for promoting your work, seemingly everyone else is doing that too and you can get lost in the 'promosphere'
There's a lot of 'fake' stuff and utterly pointless, short term attention span stuff out there.

Jana, don't know what happened with your Instagram account ? Is it worth trying to open another account ?

[stargazer]

Thank you all for your comments. I haven't heard anything from Instagram until today. It reflects the decay of human input.

I was never on Facebook, Twitter. Myspace I know from before. It was very fresh then. Later it was bought up. The same thing happened with Soundcloud. That was also fresh and was bought up later. When I tried Ello, it was not my thing.

Everything you said is true. The artist becomes a promoter, an incredible amount of rubbish is distributed via social media. Sometimes you think it's all happening without sense and reason. A lot of it is also fake.

That's why I prefer to be here in this forum. Here I can assess honesty and sincerity. Otherwise, I'm only on a German photo portal that, like Hypnos, dates back to the old days.

[stargazer]

Jana, don't know what happened with your Instagram account ? Is it worth trying to open another account ?

Pete I have tried a second account but was suspended too. That was frustrating.