Warriors: Social Media Helps Breathe Life into Suffering Industry
Posted by EMPIRE | Filed under ARTICLES
Recon looks like they're about to kill some pirates in this oldie but goodie..
A decade ago few could have predicted that social media would emerge from the depths of the web with such prowess as to change entire industries. Many have used its power to gain recognition, boost sales, and interact with audiences, but is social media the true sling-shot of triumph in an industry facing the Goliaths of piracy and economic uncertainty?
When the digital media wave crashed upon the music industry in the late 90s hope for recovery was dwindling as record sales drown in the murky shadows of giants like Napster and Limewire. Internet piracy has washed many artists and music execs ashore, exiled to the island of a seemingly soon to be obsolete industry.
As members of the music industry scrambled to deploy innovative methods to gain record sales and audiences, often with varied success, social media was born. By the early 2000s millions of people from around the globe were joining social networking sites every month. Sites like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube have allowed users to interact, showcase media and access and share information on a global scale within seconds.
Social media has become a weapon of choice in the epic battle to vanquish the might of the many Goliaths now
threatening the music industry.
Heal These Wounds is a local Albany act that has economically benefited from its social media involvement, singer
Andrew McCauley explains,
“We’ve gotten clothing sponsors and equipment endorsements just [from companies] seeing our MySpace page.”
The band has also used their online presence to achieve increased record sales and to reach new audiences, “with basically three clicks of a mouse you can advertise to millions of people, that’s better than paying ten-grand for an ad in AP.”
Plattsburgh’s Hello Control is also finding triumph with social media. The band currently uses sites such as MySpace, Twitter, and Tumblr. Through online networking companies such as Hot Topic and D-Tox have picked up the band’s merchandise and are now selling it in stores internationally.
“There is no doubt that these sites increase interest and sales in bands,” states Hello Control drummer, Mikey Lemieux.
Though social media has proven to further improvements in the music industry and defend against shaky sales is it enough to help withstand the Goliath of piracy? With the end of illegal downloading still not in sight Union Label exec, Mike Magee, says that social media must be used wisely if it is to to be a successful tool against piracy,
“If you’re doing [it] right, you’re exposing and connecting music fans to bands that they’ll hopefully like and support. It’s a tricky balance between giving away the right amount of “free” content and encouraging fans to support the bands they love through legitimate means.”
Social media has been a driving force in the revitalization of the music industry yet it can in no way guarantee success. A soldier’s weapon is only as good as his abilities, just as innovation, quality and talent are still more powerful than social media.
WEQX, an independent radio station based in Manchester, Vermont, has been using social media for the past eight years. When asked if the company had any tricks of the social media trade Willobee, Operations Manager and Program Director, simply replied, “No trick. Just delivering a great product.”
DJ Rossstar’s Punk Rock Show, a video-based music-media operation based in Los Angeles, garners tens of thousands of viewers every broadcast. DJ Rossstar has a strong social media identity and has thousands of followers on sites like MySpace and Stickam. Still, aside from social networking he claims his success is owed to “hard work”, “dedication”, and being an “all-around nice guy.”
Much of his success has also been the product of innovation, “I have no competition. Nobody is doing what I am doing.” DJ Rossstar interviews well known artists right in his LA apartment and allows fans to extend questions to them live on air.
Label execs, artists and media pioneers, through a combination of innovation, dedication and smart social networking, are proving that the fate of the music industry lies in the able hands of its warriors.
Support these warriors
DJ Rossstar’s Punk Rock Show: Wednesdays and Thursdays 7pm PT on stickam.com
Follow @ twitter.com/djrossstar
Willobee on WEQX: Monday-Friday 2-6pm EST on weqx.com/listenlive.asp
Heal These Wounds: myspace.com/healthesewounds518
Hello Control: hellocontrol.com & myspace.com/hellocontrol
Union Label: unionlabelgroup.com
