The music industry is a tumultuous place. Its troubles are no secret and as jobs are axed, spending decreases, and executives fight the advancement of the digital age, everyone hopes that solutions will be found to bail out a sinking ship. But record companies aren’t the only part of the industry that need to adapt to changes in technology. Social media has provided new and unique opportunities for instant communication, rapid dissemination of information, and creative approaches to business. To get a clearer picture of this changing landscape and how it’s affecting the broader music industry, I interviewed a number of artists and publicists about social media and how they use it. I’m gathering my findings into a three-part essay that I will post in installments on this blog. Part one will deal with publicists, part two with artists, and part three with my conclusions and ideas about how to move forward.
PART 1: Publicists
Billboard Magazine recently posted their Maximum Exposure List, a list of new and effective ways to reach large audiences and expose new music. The magazine enlisted a panel of 20 experts in marketing and publicity to assist in compiling this list. The results were typical of the industry with ideas like: have a song covered on American Idol, get a cover story in Rolling Stone, perform live on Oprah. It reminded me of when I played music and I’d get unhelpful advice from family and friends outside of the industry. “You guys should go on tour with U2,” they’d suggest. “That would definitely help your career.” They’d explain as if I didn’t know.
The problem with the article is that these outlets aren’t new at all. Additionally they are available only to artists already at the top, not artists who are on their way there. In fact the closest the list came to embracing new media was suggesting that publicists secure a video link on PerezHilton.com or have a video on You Tube’s Most Viewed Videos page. Given that there was a panel of publicists and marketers involved in this list made its content even more shocking. Is the industry really this out of touch? Furthermore, are publicists not adapting to new technologies?
