Techno titan Alan Fitzpatrick took to Instagram recently to express his convictions about the downsides of social media. Coincidence or not, the UK producer, dj, and label boss‘ message somewhat synchronizes with May being “Mental Health Awareness” month in the United States. As many producers, and people in general feel the added pressure that social media can bring, Fitzpatrick strongly protests its influence on the music community.
Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja, aka 3D, is part of a team that has developed a new AI system designed to flag climate misinformation shared on social media. Eco-Bot.Net, which launched late last month, is currently set up to focus on flagging greenwashing ads by large companies, with the team behind the bot describing greenwashing as “a tactic used to mislead consumers about the green credentials of a product or service, or about the environmental performance of a company”. The system has so far flagged around 1,400 social posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter containing false or misleading information about climate change.
If you’re into techno and have a Facebook profile set-up then there’s one group you can’t be missing out on. The Worst Techno Memes Ever Group Page (TWTMEGP) is a must for any techno fan. Why? Techno doesn’t have to be serious, and TWTMEGP is proof. Check out the 20 funniest memes in TWTMEGP. It pokes fun at everything from artists and event life to real life and club culture. TWTMEGP is as real as it gets. Read more
Without question, social media has revolutionized the way people live, but not all that shines is gold. What goes on the other side of the screen? Netflix’s The Social Dilemma, the streaming giant’s newest documentary, takes viewers behind the curtain (or screen) with not-so-talked about topics. Seen as a “tool of persuasion” it has created unconscious habits controlling the minds of consumers. Some see this persuasive technology as the best thing since sliced bread but others view it as the virtual Pandora’s box warning that without regulation social media could breakdown societies. Privacy concerns aren’t the only topic Netflix’s The Social Dilemma tackles. It also looks into its effects on mental health in the United States, a serious known issue within the music industry.
In the age of quick-sharing and fake news, it’s perhaps no surprise that just last week the entire electronic music world was upset when confronted with headlines stating tha, as of October of 2020, Facebook and Instagram were not going to be allowing any more DJ live streams on their platforms due to copyright violations.
The articles did indeed specify that Facebook and Instagram intended to make DJ live streams harder than ever, cracking down on any use of music being live-streamed without a proper license. How did this happen? The social media site had updated its terms of services to make âmusic listeningâ live streams a bannable offence.
The full updated text can be found below:
2020 has arguably been the most difficult year to date for the music industry. As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to inflict its damage around the world, leaving people jobless, destroying entire industries and forcing us in our homes, our society is also coming to grips with the long-overdue realization that systemic racism and police brutality are interwoven and still prevalent in our lives today. The natural result has been for people to diverge their attention to social media, connecting with loved ones and music through platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, but also live streams on Twitch and YouTube.
The live music industry has been essentially reduced to nothingness and all events that require a gathering of people, whether related to sport, music or otherwise, have been indefinitely postponed. As event cancellation announcements made the rounds in spring, the electronic music world turned to live streams as a solution. The idea was simple: if dancers can’t go to see their favorite DJ perform live, the DJ was bringing the music to them via streaming.
After all, MUSIC IS THE ANSWER, right?
By now we all know that the game is not only to get likes, favorites, and followers but also to gain comments and shares as well. Engagement is key to getting ahead on social media, sio not only do we want to gain as many shares and comments as possible, but we also want our followers to want to share and comment in a positive manner.
In the world of marketing there is something referred to as NPS, which stands for Net Promoter Score. The Net Promoter Score is a measurement of the willingness of customers to recommend your product or services to others. This gauges the customerâs overall satisfaction with the company or brand and their loyalty to that brand and is ranked on a scale of -100 to 100.
Most brands use humor, inspiration, education to engage their audience or they may support a cause in order to increase affinity for their brand or company. If you think about the last time you commented or shared a post, it most likely sparked one of the former reactions. We tend to comment and share posts that are humorous the most and then those that inspire us and educate us. The posts that get the most reaction are those that are emotional and make us feel some sort of way.
For many artists and producers in the music industry, social media is a helpful and vital tool that enabled them to reach a wide audience across the globe.
Of course, given the prevalence of social media in our day to day lives, this may already seem like a given to most. You’d be surprised, however, by how much social media is undervalued, misunderstood or simply misused in the branding and marketing of one’s own artist profile. Social media has become more sophisticated in recent years, with important changes happening at such a rapid rate that it can be hard at times to keep up with the latest updates for even the most important and used social networks. Thus, it is important for any artist or producer to know the right strategies to be successful in their social media efforts, and to constantly stay up to date with the ever-changing landscape that is today’s social media world.
The underground scene has been in constant battle with various forces for many years, and especially so with mainstream culture. But now, it is facing another adversary â one that can appear too powerful and enigmatic to beat: Facebook.
Facebook has been a source of discontent for underground artists. The Quietus recently came out with an article bemoaning what the social media giant has been doing in “killing” the underground culture.
The interview quoted German composer Antye Greie-Ripatti, or AGF, who had some unpleasant experiences with the social media platform, such as an unauthorized artistâs page that was created without her knowledge. She also spoke out on the lack of user agency and individual privacy, as well as he homogenizing force of the platform which hampers her own way of communicating as an artist, a sentiment shared by other artists as well.
âWhen you log in to an artist’s page, Facebook gives you suggestions on how to ‘improve’ your ‘performance’. They give you tools and tips which make it look like they’re trying to help, but itâs just pushing you into this marketing mindset. I find myself caring about the response to a post, when I don’t want to. I want to focus on my music – thatâs how I make a connection to the audience, first and foremost,” said artist Rrose as quoted in the interview.
One of the criticisms raised against Facebook is that while it is useful to connect to many people across the globe, it also inadvertently puts pressure on the artist to keep more than they need to  One example is Facebook requiring artist pages to respond to all the messages she receives, even though sometimes they are weird requests or inappropriate messages. Plus having to maintain multiple social media accounts like Instagram and Twitter simultaneously is seen by some artists as overwhelming and annoying.
Then there is the matter of “promoting” artist pages on the platform. Artists spend quite a lot to promote their Facebook pages to get a wider reach that their pages normally would not get. However, the expenses involved has made it difficult for many independent artists to avail this feature. And if they do, at times the money spent would not be worth as it does not often translate into profit.
There is also the matter of content in which Facebook’s algorithms tends to favor promoting content designed to go viral. This puts high-quality thoughtful content that lack viral elements to make it appealing at a great disadvantage as less people get to see well-thought of opinions instead of audience-friendly but fake content.
On the other hand of these complaints, independent artists find themselves between a rock and a hard place. The option of leaving Facebook is too much of a risk for them to take, especially that it is pretty the largest social media network in the globe and other social media networks could not compare to the scope Facebook already has.
“The once liberatory potential of the internet has dissipated into a mirror of inequality, with power massively skewed online just as it is irl,” Mollie Zhang of The Quietus . “As we surrender personal information and soak up dopamine hits, it becomes even more challenging to envision how independent artists can survive. Hopefully, as this conversation keeps moving, we can begin to figure out how the difficult people can continue making brilliant art.”
It is safe to say this is the hope of everyone else in the industry and beyond as well.
H/T: The Quietus
Facebook pages have proven to be essential social media tools for any artist to better engage their fans and reach a wider fanbase of new music listeners and appreciators. But if one thinks that having a Facebook page and posting new releases or events they will be at is enough to capture such an audience, the truth is that they are sadly mistaken.
Effective engagement through the Facebook page entails more than just posting. It also involves having the right strategies and mindsets to make it work. We will be sharing 5 of these strategies to help you out in your Facebook page engagement.
