Right now, we all have the ability to communicate instantly with our friends and family, but also complete strangers from across the globe. What does this mean for the Modern Musician who is looking to maintain an online presence? We can create videos for YouTube, share stories on Facebook, and we can express our opinions through Twitter. We have recently acquired the ability to broadcast ourselves Live on the internet, through just about any major Social Media outlet, with something as accessible as our mobile device. Conversely, what does this mean for the Music Fan who is looking to support their favourite bands? Here are a few questions to consider:
Q-“What is the best way for me to support my favourite bands?”
A- The absolute best way to support your favourite bands is simple. Go to a live show, buy merch, and repeat. However, not everyone is blessed with excess disposable income. So in that case the best ways you can support your favourite bands are to listen to their music, and put it in front of other people to listen to. ENGAGE with them on the internet and actually consume the content they are creating.
It’s important to understand what it means to ENGAGE. It’s simple. When the band asks you to share an event for an upcoming show you’re attending, share it. If the band asks a question, answer it. When the band posts a video, actually watch it, provide some feedback, don’t just hit ‘like’ and keep scrolling. If the musician is practicing good business, they would have monetized their content, meaning that they would receive revenue based on a number of factors. The main problem with the modern fan is the mindset that giving out superficial ‘likes’ is somehow supportive. It’s not. It gives the musician a false sense of engagement, and it gives the fan self-validation for feeling like ‘they did good’. When realistically, neither party received any benefit from the other.
Q-“What is the best way for me to maintain an online presence as a musician?”
A- The best way to maintain an online presence as a musician is to be consistent, and authentic, without becoming oversaturated. The content you create will always positively or negatively effect your online presence. It’s important to realize that every online action you take can engage your audience, alienate them, or both.
Ideally, every one of your posts should have a specific target audience. The post should be designed to share your view, provide room for the audience to engage. It should attempt not to alienate the rest of your audience, while also being authentic. It’s easy to become wrapped up in how many ‘likes’ you get, and even easier to begin to post things just because you know it will get some ‘likes’. For the first while, more posts equals more likes, but at some point those posts become inauthentic, and begin to leave your audience with a bad taste in their mouth. This increases the risk of being ‘unfollowed’, which will lead into a downward spiral of constant posting, grasping for ‘likes’. If you stay true to yourself, and keep your message consistent, your audience will find you, and engage with you.
I encourage any and all discussion on this topic. Please engage. Let me know what you think. It’s important to me.
Thanks for reading.
=CF=
October 4, 2016 | Categories: Blog Archive, Blog Posts | Tags: blog, Chris, Facebook, Froome, Music, Online Presence, Posting, Social Media Tips, Twitter, Winnipeg, youtube | Leave A Comment »
You could call me a ‘Less-than-Casual’ fan of The Tragically Hip. You could even say I’ve gone out of my way to avoid listening to them. Of course I’m familiar with the hits, and most of the catalogue (I do live in Canada). But I can honestly say that I have never watched a live performance, in person, or on YouTube. That was the case until Saturday Night.
As a working musician, there are a few things that I hold in high regard. Authenticity, Respect, Accountability, and Support. This is true for the musician, as well as the fan. Accountability breeds respect, which increases support, which allows the creation of music to continue. Staying true to yourself is paramount, as well as allowing others room to be true to themselves. Challenging others to become better, greater, or simply, more.
At the very least, a Canadian Rock Band of 27 years, with over 10 albums, who has played thousands of shows deserved my attention for at least one night, even if I’m not a fan. Especially since I did not need to leave my living room, or spend a dime. It was so simple that I really had no choice, so I tuned in to the concert. Surprisingly, I was blown away, but not by the concert itself. Allow me to elaborate.
I was NOT blown away with how great it sounded, or how tight they were, or by how exciting they were to watch. Because let’s be honest, there was a weird cloud hanging over the band. The energy was positive, but dark. The smiles weren’t happy, they were bittersweet. There is a difference, and I could feel it. However, what did blow me away was the authenticity, and honesty, of the show. In my opinion, The Hip completely nailed it. Not one moment was fake, or forced, and they accomplished everything they intended to. It was a fantastic show to watch, and I’m glad I did. It was all there, respect, accountability, support, and no shortage of authenticity.
Aside from the concert itself, Gord was presented with a very interesting and unique opportunity. While he had millions of Canadians in the palm of his hand, eagerly awaiting what words were next to come, he had the chance to speak about anything he desired. He chose to speak of the problems up north, and shed light on ongoing Aboriginal Rights issues, because that’s what he felt he needed to do. He has made every one of us accountable, in that we can no longer say “I don’t know anything about that”. We must now educate ourselves and start saying “Oh, that’s what Gord was talking about”. Gord stayed true to himself, and spoke truth, when many others would have just basked in the glory. He is a man of integrity, and worthy of my respect, and support. Every musician, fan, and human being had the chance to learn something from Gord, and if you missed it, you really missed out. It will not hold the same weight strictly watching the recording.
This concert reaffirmed for me all of the things I believe are important in a career of music, and songwriting. I will remember this concert for the rest of my life. Not because of how good it was, but because of how real it was, and I think that is something I will carry forward into the future.
Will this change my opinion on being a fan of The Tragically Hip? Probably not. But I will most certainly continue my career in music, being forever changed by a performance from one man, Gord Downie. Thanks Gord.
August 22, 2016 | Categories: Blog Archive, Blog Posts | Tags: Chris, Chris Froome, Downie, Froome, Gord, Gord Downie, The Tragically Hip, Tragically Hip, Winnipeg | 1 Comment »
Morning Coffee – 02/15/2016
An interesting thing happened when I looked up the definition of the word ‘Support’. I found that there are two commonly used definitions.
Support
1. bear all or part of the weight of; hold up.
2. give assistance to, especially financially; enable to function or act.
Now, even on first glance, it’s obvious to me that these two definitions are drastically different when it comes to their applications in the world. When you publicly declare (i.e. via Facebook Share) that you ‘support’, or ‘do not support’ something, it is important to stop and think for a moment what you are trying to accomplish.
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February 15, 2016 | Categories: Blog Archive, Morning Coffee | Tags: blog, Chris Froome, Morning Coffee, Philosophy, Support, Winnipeg | 3 Comments »
Morning Coffee – 01/06/2016
It’s about time I started doing something else to supplement the other content on my website. I thought to myself, “There has got to be something that I’m already doing everyday, that I can put up on my site.”.
Turns out I do just about the same fucking thing every day. But one of those things happens to be morning coffee, while I mash buttons on my computer. Hence, this blog.
Today’s Blog will not be anything special, nothing more than a statement. My intention is to post a Morning Coffee weekly, sometimes more, sometimes less. But what exactly is a Morning Coffee? Good Question.
Everybody is a product of their own life experiences. Every single person is so drastically different from one another, and one of the only ways we have in understanding each other is through language. Even then, the words we use have a different meaning to everyone. Love, Hate, Hungry, Happy, Tired. All of these words are clearly defined in the dictionary, yet every person has their own unique way of understanding what these words mean to them.
January 6, 2016 | Categories: Blog Archive, Morning Coffee | Tags: blog, Chris Froome, Listening, Morning Coffee, Philosophy, Winnipeg | 2 Comments »
First off, I’d like to apologize. To who? Anyone who is taking the time to read this. Why apologize? You’ll understand as you read along. It might not be this post specifically, but if you keep coming back, you’ll understand eventually.
I actively stopped blogging regularly back in 2012. This was to attempt to accomplish two things. First, I had essentially caught up to myself. Let me explain.
I attempt to write my blogs in such a way that I would call both introspective, and entertaining, while still having some sort of a “make you think” attitude. What I mean is that I try to take a perspective, often from a personal experience, and relate it to as many people as I can. While that might seem obvious, and easy to say. It is far more difficult than you think. Try it, you’ll see.
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November 29, 2014 | Categories: Blog Archive, Blog Posts | Tags: blog, Chris Froome, Music, musician, Philosophy, Winnipeg | Leave A Comment »
