I didn’t expect to be writing this so soon.
Ever since musicians made it onto the internet I’ve often been frustrated that many don’t leverage it to their advantage. My particular pet peeve is with blogs. Few musicians appreciate the value they give to fans by telling them what is happening. A timely, regular stream of blog posts, followed up by replies to comments is better than heaps of press releases. It’s better than a Facebook fan page too.
But this is old news, because while blogs are still crucial, there’s something around that’s more organic and immediate. Twitter is where it’s all happening now. Oh yes. If you’ve read our About Us page, you’ll know already the benefit it’s brought to our lives. Musicians, as it turns out, are discovering it too.
Whilst Twitter started out as a simply way of telling everyone “what are you doing?” users quickly discovered that were actually no rules to what you had to post in 140 characters of less. The social media gurus who try to formulate policies, laws and etiquette haven’t a dingbat of a clue about Twitter. So we can ignore them and move on.
Musicians therefore started to use Twitter as a means of posting quick updates, regarding songwriting, upcoming releases and tour dates. Others began to incorporate their life outside of music. This aspect is crucial because fans like to know everything. I’m particularly fond of all the weird and daft things that Kristin Hersh’s family gets up to. It’s all about providing a connection - to feel part of an extended family.
Quick interlude: Amanda Palmer wrote this on her blog yesterday
if you want what i have to offer, great.
if you don’t, great. there are people who want it.
i don’t need to make you love me anymore.
which sounds awfully like what I wrote here. (By the way, there’ll be more from her later in this post.)
She’s already been using Twitter to give free tickets away to gigs, to organise impromptu meetups, and most importantly, pillow fights.
Back to Kristin Hersh. A couple of days ago she asked “Could you share some of your experiences and opinions re: live music?” and, based on the replies she received, it appears that there’ll be things afoot regarding rebuilding live music “from the ground up.” This indicates the immediacy and the value of connecting with fans. Fans know what they want. Simple.
I promised more Amanda Palmer, didn’t I? Well, yesterday whilst on the way to the WorkPlay Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama, she became bored with van travelling and decided to hop onto Twitter to answer questions. Here’s a picture taken by Kim from Vermillion Lies to prove it.
At the end of which she tweeted:
I fucking love the future. Fuck everything. Fans => twitter => artist => twitter => fans. End of story.
I am of course disappointed that she didn’t answer my question (which was all intellectual, naturally, and about her lyrics - mopey sod that I am) and that she uses a Blackberry because she couldn’t type fast enough on an iPhone, but I’ll still love her way after my bones turn to dust and the sun dies. Why? Because she gets everything about music and Twitter is just one more way of channeling her passion.
So, if you’re a musician tempted to try out Twitter, or you’re one already on Twitter, but not using it too much, give it a proper try and embrace your fanbase. Furthermore, because Twitter grows personal networks, your fanbase is likely to grow too. It’s daft not to.
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