For me, one of the most exciting elements of a transitional music industry in which independent artists are becoming empowered is that bands are free to make their own rules and guide their own stories and careers, without being stuck in a ‘traditional’ release campaign structure.

More and more frequently I’m reading articles covering independent artists or bands who are finding ways to create music and release it to their fans in a two-way exchange that enriches everything about the release – more than any major label release could ever dream of.

Today I was sent this story of UK band, Hope and Social, and how they wanted to include their fans in their latest project.

While the story is self-explanatory, I think it highlights some very key values that Rich Huxley from the band writes about, and should be inspiring reading for other independent artists out there.

The band obviously value their fanbase and far from take them for granted. Fans are not simply numbers on a mailing list used as part of a calculation predicting sales, they are individual entities united by their fanship of the artist. As I have mentioned before in previous posts, the music industry is quite rightly an increasingly two-way interaction – rather than a faceless mass being force-fed music, the internet has democratised the world of music, and people are free to connect with any music they feel a connection with.

Looking at Hope and Social’s story, I am yet to see a better example of a band including their fans in such a key way. Rich writes about how involved their fans were in the construction and running, and even social aspect, of the event, but also how they were asked to be involved in the recording itself. The value of the final product to the fans that were there far exceeds the financial aspect of the purchase of the ticket and it’s inclusive physical release after the fact. This goes no end to strengthening the bond between artists and fans. What greater momento of a fantastic evening’s entertainment with a band you love than a permanent keepsake that actually has part of you included within it?

While the idea and execution of the event and release show a great awareness and creativity from the band, Rich Huxley’s writing also highlights the band awareness of the events place in the greater picture for the band. His awareness of how both online and offline interactions between fans and the outside world (for example, fan blogging or hash-tag utilisation on Twitter) shows great savvy and promise needed to really succeed on a level they aspire to in this new style business, but is part of the same knowledge that eludes or scares other artist’s and inhibits them from achieving similar successes. Hope and Social prove that to be successful in new ways of doing business, the music, the fans, and the enjoyment of creativity can still remain the central focus.

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