Foursquare & Fan Rewards

Rewards and the element of friendly competition can be a great way to generate interaction between artists and the fan community, and utilising new technology can be a great way monitor and benefit from the information gathered.

The increase in adoption of geo-location services, such as Foursquare, present such an opportunity.

The Importance Of Analytics For The Fifth Beatle

While hardly the most inspiring topic for musicians, web monitoring and analytics are becoming increasingly important for bands hoping to succeed online in the new music industry. If you’re not able to optimise your own campaigns, it’s well worth finding someone who can…

Traditional vs. Digital: Artist Management in 2010

As an observer, something like the yearly MIDEM conference in Cannes is a great way to catch an insight into the current views of those inside the music industry about what is happening right now, and how they see things changing in the future. It is often supported by fantastic panels with often conflicting views. [...]

Fan Inclusion: A Unique Fan Experience

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 [...]

Why the difference between D2F & D2C is more than just a letter

As the industry shifts and tries to settle, the opportunities that developments in technology allow for independent artists are well documented. George Howard has written a great article briefly analysing the ‘leveling’ effect that these developments have caused.
When George mentions the changes in distribution and publicity/promotion, two phrases come to my mind, both of which [...]

Musicians Making The Most of Social Media Opportunities

Anyone who has read this blog for any amount of time, or discussed with me the opportunities artists currently have online, will know I’m a big champion of how important fan interaction is to music artists, whether they be signed to a major label or totally independent, releasing work and marketing themselves.
Amanda Palmer of the [...]

Sharing Is Becoming Less Of A Dirty Word

Developments in both the music industry and that of how we interact as a society (through an increased use and reliance on the internet as a means of communication) have gone firmly hand-in-hand over the last twenty years. In fact, it is quite possible to draw correlations between the two through the well-documented ups and [...]

Artist/Fan Interaction Online – The Artist's Suffering

While developments in social media can mean great things for independent artists looking to strengthen ties with developing fanbases, an increasing number of major label artists are also utilising platforms to interact with their audience.
A number seem to be relishing the opportunity for furthering their egos with increasing online narcissism, while others seem more grateful [...]

Fan Interaction Through Integration

After reading another fantastic article by Andrew Dubber, it got me thinking about how strongly this should be a part of all independent artists online presence. With all the potential for online interaction, involving fans where possible provides bands with invaluable promotional and fan loyalty opportunities.

CBM Announce Twitter Reviews

Music blog Crazy Beat Music have announced an innovative approach to connect with their audience, and to enrich the experience for users reading reviews on the site with a far-reaching, cross-cultural response.
Each week a song will be chosen and announced via Twitter (by following @geetarchurchy), with followers invited to listen to the track and submit [...]