Online Presence and the Modern Musician

Right now, we all have the ability to communicate instantly with our friends and family, but also complete strangers from across the globe.  What does this mean for the Modern Musician who is looking to maintain an online presence?  We can create videos for YouTube, share stories on Facebook, and we can express our opinions through Twitter.  We have recently acquired the ability to broadcast ourselves Live on the internet, through just about any major Social Media outlet, with something as accessible as our mobile device.  Conversely, what does this mean for the Music Fan who is looking to support their favourite bands?  Here are a few questions to consider:

Q-“What is the best way for me to support my favourite bands?”
A- The absolute best way to support your favourite bands is simple.  Go to a live show, buy merch, and repeat.  However, not everyone is blessed with excess disposable income.  So in that case the best ways you can support your favourite bands are to listen to their music, and put it in front of other people to listen to.  ENGAGE with them on the internet and actually consume the content they are creating.

It’s important to understand what it means to ENGAGE.  It’s simple.  When the band asks you to share an event for an upcoming show you’re attending, share it.  If the band asks a question, answer it.  When the band posts a video, actually watch it, provide some feedback, don’t just hit ‘like’ and keep scrolling.  If the musician is practicing good business, they would have monetized their content, meaning that they would receive revenue based on a number of factors.  The main problem with the modern fan is the mindset that giving out superficial ‘likes’ is somehow supportive.  It’s not.  It gives the musician a false sense of engagement, and it gives the fan self-validation for feeling like ‘they did good’.  When realistically, neither party received any benefit from the other.

Q-“What is the best way for me to maintain an online presence as a musician?”
A- The best way to maintain an online presence as a musician is to be consistent, and authentic, without becoming oversaturated.  The content you create will always positively or negatively effect your online presence.  It’s important to realize that every online action you take can engage your audience, alienate them, or both.

Ideally, every one of your posts should have a specific target audience.  The post should be designed to share your view, provide room for the audience to engage.  It should attempt not to alienate the rest of your audience, while also being authentic.  It’s easy to become wrapped up in how many ‘likes’ you get, and even easier to begin to post things just because you know it will get some ‘likes’.  For the first while, more posts equals more likes, but at some point those posts become inauthentic, and begin to leave your audience with a bad taste in their mouth.  This increases the risk of being ‘unfollowed’, which will lead into a downward spiral of constant posting, grasping for ‘likes’.  If you stay true to yourself, and keep your message consistent, your audience will find you, and engage with you.

I encourage any and all discussion on this topic.  Please engage.  Let me know what you think.  It’s important to me.

Thanks for reading.
=CF=