Fans and Fake Fans
This posting is about a the new culture of music that is mostly supported by ourselves. It has become like a shared hobby group when I'm pretty sure that is not what many of us are intending by publishing our music and marketing ourselves. It is a culture of a lot of back-patting and encouraging words by the outside world with little follow-through, so we turn inward, or worse... we turn toward a fake fan base.
Followers and rankings are ego boosters... At least at first, until you realize that they don't mean much. We know if we can measure it we can improve it, but where does that lead with fake follows and fake promotions? That floods our stats with fake support. That's noise. How do we adjust our expectations in a world of noise? And maybe there are times that the appearance of success could lead to it, but not likely for most of us playing in niche genres. I ranked number one for my genre for my city for the majority of my time on Reverbnation. I don't live in a small town. I live in a decent sized city with suburbs. Did that increase my album sales? Nope. Did it increase listens? Barely. I played fair, but I knew that others did not because they were too focused on rankings. Realizing that it was all a big game pitting artists against each other and encouraging disingenuous behavior, I terminated my Artist page there and focused on other aspects of my music marketing.
A FAN
Here is where I want to be clear: a fan, a true fan, is someone who wants to hear your music, wants to see you play live, wants to follow a piece of (or all of) your career, and should even want to spend money on your product. A fan that also happens to be a fellow Creative wants to talk instruments, software, gear, methods, and tips. I love both types of fans.
NOT A FAN
A fan is NOT someone that asks you to like their FB page with an empty promise to return the favor. A fan doesn't say they listened and loved your song unless they really listened. A fan will not follow you on Twitter, thank you for following them back, and then Direct Message you to buy their latest single on iTunes. A fan is not an arbitrary SoundCloud promoter or retweeter. A true fan will not un-fan you or unlike a song just because you didn't "return the favor." And a fan is not a paid fake account.
Here's the thing Artists... If the majority of your fans are other musicians wanting you to buy their EPs, the industry folds in on itself. If you want to use something like RN as your home base because you want to use their widgets, newsletter platform, store feature, etc then go for it. If the majority of your fans and plays are paid for, you've debased yourself and clouded your stats. If you are spending your time trying to find fans on sites primarily frequented by artists, then you are looking in the wrong place. Your fans are not likely wandering around RN looking for a new band to support. I would wager that many of the non-artists floating around Soundcloud are looking for already-popular music to listen to for free, not your original pieces. But it is more likely that your potential fans are looking for entertainment in your hometown, relying on playlists and friends to tell them what is new, and following similar artists. Yes there are the exceptions. There are some music lovers looking on Soundcloud and Twitter for something honest and new, but I doubt that this is the norm.
So how do we reach out? Well, for one, we need to be vocal and not afraid to promote ourselves in our our communities. I plan to cover how to handle the rude people and the challenging comments from people around you in a later posting, but be prepared for some odd looks, especially if you make music outside of the popular genres. But people can also surprise you. My first CD sold a couple dozen copies to coworkers alone. People that I didn't know listened to me have commented to my husband and my family that they love my music and have been following me for months or a couple of years. I didn't know! They are out there folks. Just keep trying. Stay away from the Sound Homies, paying for fake accounts, and the Reverbnation ranking games. It's a facade that preys on your time, your wallet, and your vanity.
Love to you all,
The Lyrical Physicist.
Followers and rankings are ego boosters... At least at first, until you realize that they don't mean much. We know if we can measure it we can improve it, but where does that lead with fake follows and fake promotions? That floods our stats with fake support. That's noise. How do we adjust our expectations in a world of noise? And maybe there are times that the appearance of success could lead to it, but not likely for most of us playing in niche genres. I ranked number one for my genre for my city for the majority of my time on Reverbnation. I don't live in a small town. I live in a decent sized city with suburbs. Did that increase my album sales? Nope. Did it increase listens? Barely. I played fair, but I knew that others did not because they were too focused on rankings. Realizing that it was all a big game pitting artists against each other and encouraging disingenuous behavior, I terminated my Artist page there and focused on other aspects of my music marketing.
A FAN
Here is where I want to be clear: a fan, a true fan, is someone who wants to hear your music, wants to see you play live, wants to follow a piece of (or all of) your career, and should even want to spend money on your product. A fan that also happens to be a fellow Creative wants to talk instruments, software, gear, methods, and tips. I love both types of fans.
NOT A FAN
A fan is NOT someone that asks you to like their FB page with an empty promise to return the favor. A fan doesn't say they listened and loved your song unless they really listened. A fan will not follow you on Twitter, thank you for following them back, and then Direct Message you to buy their latest single on iTunes. A fan is not an arbitrary SoundCloud promoter or retweeter. A true fan will not un-fan you or unlike a song just because you didn't "return the favor." And a fan is not a paid fake account.
Here's the thing Artists... If the majority of your fans are other musicians wanting you to buy their EPs, the industry folds in on itself. If you want to use something like RN as your home base because you want to use their widgets, newsletter platform, store feature, etc then go for it. If the majority of your fans and plays are paid for, you've debased yourself and clouded your stats. If you are spending your time trying to find fans on sites primarily frequented by artists, then you are looking in the wrong place. Your fans are not likely wandering around RN looking for a new band to support. I would wager that many of the non-artists floating around Soundcloud are looking for already-popular music to listen to for free, not your original pieces. But it is more likely that your potential fans are looking for entertainment in your hometown, relying on playlists and friends to tell them what is new, and following similar artists. Yes there are the exceptions. There are some music lovers looking on Soundcloud and Twitter for something honest and new, but I doubt that this is the norm.
So how do we reach out? Well, for one, we need to be vocal and not afraid to promote ourselves in our our communities. I plan to cover how to handle the rude people and the challenging comments from people around you in a later posting, but be prepared for some odd looks, especially if you make music outside of the popular genres. But people can also surprise you. My first CD sold a couple dozen copies to coworkers alone. People that I didn't know listened to me have commented to my husband and my family that they love my music and have been following me for months or a couple of years. I didn't know! They are out there folks. Just keep trying. Stay away from the Sound Homies, paying for fake accounts, and the Reverbnation ranking games. It's a facade that preys on your time, your wallet, and your vanity.
Love to you all,
The Lyrical Physicist.
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