Took us long enough huh? It did and we are sorry for that. The good news is that we did it for you!
We have made so many friends and fans here on myspace, but we feel as if we are losing you. We have heard your complaints about myspace and know that many of you have now left.
That’s why we have now have a facebook page and twitter!
We are asking all of you to come join us on one or both sites. We don’t want to lose contact with you.
We love all of you! You have always been so close to the band and a major part of our success. We love talking to all of you and don’t want that to end.
We know all of you have a facebook, and a twitter too probably, so come on and join us on both!
www.facebook.com/thirdgradehaters
twitter.com/thirdgradehater
I think our facebook has my name, Andy Jones on it, but all of you know me anyway.
So what are you waiting on, before you delete your myspace come join us on facebook!
See you there!
TGH
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
rock.love.peace.yes.one
Hello All
Close to a month ago now we posted a lot of info about suicide prevention with the promise that we wanted to do our part to help raise awareness about youth and teen suicide.
Since that time we have talked to several established groups to see what they are doing to help raise awareness.
After seeing what so many of them are doing it led us to come up with five words that cover all the things we can do to help raise awareness ourselves. They are: rock.love.peace.yes.one
rock:
Through our music, live shows and tours we can find ways to spread the awareness of suicide prevention.
love:
Love is the most important thing to all of us. We need to love ourselves and each other. Through love we can touch, help and heal those who are hurting.
peace:
We all need to be at peace with ourselves and with each other.
yes:
Yes there is an answer to your problems.
one:
We are all one with ourselves and with each other. We are one world and one people living together.
We are not forming an organization or trying to start our own suicide awareness program or campaign. rock.love.peace.yes.one is just our way of reaching out and helping those who need help the most.
I know it's just a start but if we all join in we can help spread the awareness of what is going on with so many teens around the world.
Let's all have hope and trust that one day suicide is just a memory of the past
Close to a month ago now we posted a lot of info about suicide prevention with the promise that we wanted to do our part to help raise awareness about youth and teen suicide.
Since that time we have talked to several established groups to see what they are doing to help raise awareness.
After seeing what so many of them are doing it led us to come up with five words that cover all the things we can do to help raise awareness ourselves. They are: rock.love.peace.yes.one
rock:
Through our music, live shows and tours we can find ways to spread the awareness of suicide prevention.
love:
Love is the most important thing to all of us. We need to love ourselves and each other. Through love we can touch, help and heal those who are hurting.
peace:
We all need to be at peace with ourselves and with each other.
yes:
Yes there is an answer to your problems.
one:
We are all one with ourselves and with each other. We are one world and one people living together.
We are not forming an organization or trying to start our own suicide awareness program or campaign. rock.love.peace.yes.one is just our way of reaching out and helping those who need help the most.
I know it's just a start but if we all join in we can help spread the awareness of what is going on with so many teens around the world.
Let's all have hope and trust that one day suicide is just a memory of the past
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Rock Love Peace Yes One Update
Hello People!
As many of you know I run a small non-profit called Rock Love Peace Yes One that helps to raise awareness about youth and teenage suicide. I wanted to repost a blog that a friend of mine Denny wrote about what we are trying to do. Denny has given so much of her time and talents to the movement.
She created some custom jewelry that I have been able to give to lots of those that support what we are trying to do. I personally wear a bracelet she made everyday that says simply 'I Choose Life'. The pieces have been a wonderful expression of love and hope to many that are involved.
Denny also runs her own custom jewelry business in her spare time. Make sure to stop by his website and see all the wonderful things she creates. Tell her thank you as well for her support of finding a way to help end suicide.
Help Be the Difference!
http://www.dmachettejewelry.com/index.html
RLPY1 is the acronym for Rock-Love-Peace-Yes-1, a movement that was begun by Andy Jones (bassist for Third Grade Haters), in response to the rising problem of teen suicide in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. Andy is just a young guy with a vision and a purpose. I want you to know that I have never met Andy, but I have been visited by the tragedy of suicide and I have been altered by it. So, when Andy began to post information about his desire to raise awareness about this critical issue, it resonated with me. I wanted to help him.
When I first saw Andy's posts about suicide, I was reading a book by David Lipsky and there was a quote that I could not stop rereading. I felt like Lipsky had plumbed my soul and managed to put into words the wreckage that suicide had deposited there. He had given voice to a fierce truth that I had been unable to articulate. In his book, “Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself : A Road Trip With David Foster Wallace, he wrote, "Suicide is such a powerful end, it reaches back and scrambles the beginning. It has an event gravity: Eventually every memory and impression gets tugged in its direction." Those words and the story of David Wallace Foster stirred the feelings of loss that I have harbored for nearly 30 years.
I wanted to be involved in Andy's efforts. I wanted to lend support in a practical way. He wasn’t asking for money, he wasn’t starting an organization; his purpose was to help raise awareness. As I thought about a way for me to be involved, I thought about using jewelry to make a statement. I floated the idea about donating some silver and some of my time to design some jewelry with a message of hope, as well as a method for getting help. I originally thought he could sell them at shows to raise funds for local organizations or to raise awareness in some way. The message stamped on each piece was: I Choose Life, RLPY1 and 800 SUICIDE (the 24-hour suicide hotline).
Andy has decided to keep his efforts local with his emphasis on the Knoxville area and the youth in his community. That is where his heart is and that is where he has the most influence. If you’d like to find out more about this movement or if you’d like to find a way to support his efforts, I recommend that you contact him at http://twitter.com/thirdgradehater or facebook.com/thirdgradehaters
Denny (Machette) Pizarro
As many of you know I run a small non-profit called Rock Love Peace Yes One that helps to raise awareness about youth and teenage suicide. I wanted to repost a blog that a friend of mine Denny wrote about what we are trying to do. Denny has given so much of her time and talents to the movement.
She created some custom jewelry that I have been able to give to lots of those that support what we are trying to do. I personally wear a bracelet she made everyday that says simply 'I Choose Life'. The pieces have been a wonderful expression of love and hope to many that are involved.
Denny also runs her own custom jewelry business in her spare time. Make sure to stop by his website and see all the wonderful things she creates. Tell her thank you as well for her support of finding a way to help end suicide.
Help Be the Difference!
http://www.dmachettejewelry.com/index.html
RLPY1 is the acronym for Rock-Love-Peace-Yes-1, a movement that was begun by Andy Jones (bassist for Third Grade Haters), in response to the rising problem of teen suicide in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. Andy is just a young guy with a vision and a purpose. I want you to know that I have never met Andy, but I have been visited by the tragedy of suicide and I have been altered by it. So, when Andy began to post information about his desire to raise awareness about this critical issue, it resonated with me. I wanted to help him.
When I first saw Andy's posts about suicide, I was reading a book by David Lipsky and there was a quote that I could not stop rereading. I felt like Lipsky had plumbed my soul and managed to put into words the wreckage that suicide had deposited there. He had given voice to a fierce truth that I had been unable to articulate. In his book, “Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself : A Road Trip With David Foster Wallace, he wrote, "Suicide is such a powerful end, it reaches back and scrambles the beginning. It has an event gravity: Eventually every memory and impression gets tugged in its direction." Those words and the story of David Wallace Foster stirred the feelings of loss that I have harbored for nearly 30 years.
I wanted to be involved in Andy's efforts. I wanted to lend support in a practical way. He wasn’t asking for money, he wasn’t starting an organization; his purpose was to help raise awareness. As I thought about a way for me to be involved, I thought about using jewelry to make a statement. I floated the idea about donating some silver and some of my time to design some jewelry with a message of hope, as well as a method for getting help. I originally thought he could sell them at shows to raise funds for local organizations or to raise awareness in some way. The message stamped on each piece was: I Choose Life, RLPY1 and 800 SUICIDE (the 24-hour suicide hotline).
Andy has decided to keep his efforts local with his emphasis on the Knoxville area and the youth in his community. That is where his heart is and that is where he has the most influence. If you’d like to find out more about this movement or if you’d like to find a way to support his efforts, I recommend that you contact him at http://twitter.com/thirdgradehater or facebook.com/thirdgradehaters
Denny (Machette) Pizarro
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Is the Internet dead or just dead to some of us?
I thought I would go ahead and follow up on the very question I asked myself at the first of my last blog: is the Internet dead or just dead to some of us.
I have been getting a lot of feedback to my recent blogs about the current state of the Internet from an artist’s perspective. Positive feedback, I would like to add, and some really great points to go on top of what I had written. It has become apparent from your comments that many of you see the Internet through the same lens as me.
So my question is, do we all think the Internet is dead from an artist’s perspective? Or are we just looking at it the wrong way?
Let's a take a look at the future of the social media world, maybe our answer lies there.
Just like the past, new technologies start to become apart of our daily lives, soon lose their buzz over time, and we move on to the next big thing. Just like cell phones, email, the Internet itself and many other recent techno-marvels that were all the rage at some point over the last 10 to 15 years. So what makes social media different and thus giving life to the Internet?
In just the past few weeks all of the major social media sites have undergone huge revisions, implemented new polices, given their sites face lifts and now shifted towards on demand content and marketing services to reach new potential users and customers. Would they being doing this if they were going out of business or are they doing this to stay in business?
Marketing departments for companies in the past never put a plan into place to develop their email department or their own website departments. These things were just adsorbed into their way of doing business. They never thought about focusing more time on how to email better or how to Google search better, these tools just made their jobs easier. Now though, companies are spending lots of time and resources to build their own social media departments. There are some that believe that social media will become its own stand alone discipline in the marketing world.
That's a lot to take in isn't it? The idea that some college kids got together and created a handful of websites that let people interact with each other, to the idea that these very sites are so influential in our lives, that kids will now be getting college degrees in social media is breath taking! It also answers our question.
Social media is evolving. It's finding its place in our lives, how we work and how we work with it. There are going to be up's and downs. New advancements and technology. Some sites will grow to take on a larger market share then others, while a few will fall by the wayside.
Just like the music industry itself, artists are going to have to wade through all of the progress and turmoil of this social media revolution. Myspace was a successful outlet for many artists in the past, and who knows, it may be again in the future. Right now there is no 'best place to be' for artists trying to find a foothold in the music business. Using social media can be aggravating and difficult to say the least. It can also be rewarding. Don't give up though, keep blogging and tweeting, keep your profiles up to date, post those status updates and maybe, just maybe, success will find you!
I have been getting a lot of feedback to my recent blogs about the current state of the Internet from an artist’s perspective. Positive feedback, I would like to add, and some really great points to go on top of what I had written. It has become apparent from your comments that many of you see the Internet through the same lens as me.
So my question is, do we all think the Internet is dead from an artist’s perspective? Or are we just looking at it the wrong way?
Let's a take a look at the future of the social media world, maybe our answer lies there.
Just like the past, new technologies start to become apart of our daily lives, soon lose their buzz over time, and we move on to the next big thing. Just like cell phones, email, the Internet itself and many other recent techno-marvels that were all the rage at some point over the last 10 to 15 years. So what makes social media different and thus giving life to the Internet?
In just the past few weeks all of the major social media sites have undergone huge revisions, implemented new polices, given their sites face lifts and now shifted towards on demand content and marketing services to reach new potential users and customers. Would they being doing this if they were going out of business or are they doing this to stay in business?
Marketing departments for companies in the past never put a plan into place to develop their email department or their own website departments. These things were just adsorbed into their way of doing business. They never thought about focusing more time on how to email better or how to Google search better, these tools just made their jobs easier. Now though, companies are spending lots of time and resources to build their own social media departments. There are some that believe that social media will become its own stand alone discipline in the marketing world.
That's a lot to take in isn't it? The idea that some college kids got together and created a handful of websites that let people interact with each other, to the idea that these very sites are so influential in our lives, that kids will now be getting college degrees in social media is breath taking! It also answers our question.
Social media is evolving. It's finding its place in our lives, how we work and how we work with it. There are going to be up's and downs. New advancements and technology. Some sites will grow to take on a larger market share then others, while a few will fall by the wayside.
Just like the music industry itself, artists are going to have to wade through all of the progress and turmoil of this social media revolution. Myspace was a successful outlet for many artists in the past, and who knows, it may be again in the future. Right now there is no 'best place to be' for artists trying to find a foothold in the music business. Using social media can be aggravating and difficult to say the least. It can also be rewarding. Don't give up though, keep blogging and tweeting, keep your profiles up to date, post those status updates and maybe, just maybe, success will find you!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tweet Tweet Twitter and Beyond
Now class since we last talked about Myspace and Facebook in great detail it’s time we turn our attention towards Twitter. What, if anything, separates it from the other two? It is fast and easy to use. Micro blogging in 140 characters or less is very appealing to those of us on the go. Yet again though, the same question arises that I have with Facebook, who are you tweeting with? Are you just tweeting with friends and co-workers and how does that help your band?
I admit, when I first heard about Twitter I thought it was a tool for bored people to write about the mundane details of their lives. “Took my dog for a walk” or “Just went to the bathroom” were the things I imagined reading.
Luckily, I was wrong. Okay, I have actually read those things but I think they were posted both in jest and as a way to get attention. Twitter has emerged as a new creative outlet, proving that it matters what the average person writes in 140 words or less. Twitter influenced the outcome of a presidential campaign, made Ashton Kutcher more popular than CNN, has a TV show based off of it, and is currently dominating the PR world as they try to get a grip on it.
Many articles have touted the importance of Twitter and Facebook for businesses, but why does Twitter matter to your band?
There are a lot of artists on twitter, not to say there are not on Myspace or Facebook too, but they seem to be more visible on Twitter then anywhere else. Are you using twitter to keep up with what a band is doing that day, in a way, that you don't use Myspace or Facebook?
So who exactly is on Twitter? Eight percent of American adult Internet users and particularly young adults according to Dec. 9 report from the Pew Research Center. Of those users, 2 percent said they use Twitter on a daily basis.
What they found was that Twitter users make up 10 percent of all female Internet users, versus 7 percent of Internet-using men. Tweeting is also more popular with those in the 18-29 age category—14 percent, versus 7 percent of 30 to 49 year olds, the next most popular category.
Now you may be asking why all of that mumbo jumbo is important. Well, as an artist you have to know who your target audience is. Being in a band is no different then being in any other kind of business. Your music is your product and you need to sell it. But who do you sell it too?
Maybe I should write a piece about niche marketing at some point and talk in more detail about this form of marketing and business practice, but for now let’s just say that not everyone from every age bracket is going to like your music. So you need to decide who is most likely going to buy your music and tweet with them.
If you think your music appeals to a teenage crowd then great! Twitter may be the ideal place to spend your social media time. With every teenager having a cell phone in their pocket, you are only a quick tweet away from their attention. Now, how long you can hold that attention has long been a problem for record labels and their parents alike, but at least you have a platform to reach them with.
On the upside, teens are using their mobile phones to share photos and stories, to arrange get-togethers and to micro-coordinate their schedules; on the downside, they are using them to cheat on tests, wriggle around rules and fire off sexts.
Understanding how youth use mobile phones is vital to creating effective social media plan based on the reality of how the technology is used.
If on the other hand you believe your fan base to be a somewhat older crowd, and by older I mean in their early to late twenties, then Twitter still may be a good way to reach those fans as well.
The problem with Twitter lies in it’s easy to get online and read tweets without every responding to them. Since it’s so fast and easy to use, most users never reply to your tweets. It’s hard to gauge exactly how many people saw or read your tweet, or if it was overlooked.
Just over half of Twitter users retweet posts—18 percent of them on a daily basis—and send direct messages. Forty percent share photos, 28 percent share videos, and 24 percent let others in on their whereabouts.
So where does that leave you as an artist?
An old saying of my Father comes to mind when thinking about Twitter:” If you don’t tell people what’s on your mind how they are suppose to know?” Same goes for a band too. If you have a show coming up, an appearance, heading to the studio, etc why not broadcast it to the world. It takes time, thought and effort to write a blog and then post it on your website, Myspace, Facebook etc. With Twitter in a quick few taps from your cell phone you have just informed everyone with little to know time involved at all.
As we have discussed before time usage is important when thinking about social media. Twitter is so fast and easy to use that it would be hard to get bogged down with it compared to Myspace and Facebook.
Using Twitter shows you are tech savvy, it’s free exposure, it’s an influential tool, it’s growing daily, it can open opportunities, reaches a key audience, provides real-time news, and is easy to use.
My advice to you as an artist is this: If you are taking the time to use Myspace and Facebook to promote your music, why not take a few seconds and post a tweet about it too!
Next time we will take about all of the little known or new social media outlets that are getting attention and starting to transform the way the big boys are doing business.
I admit, when I first heard about Twitter I thought it was a tool for bored people to write about the mundane details of their lives. “Took my dog for a walk” or “Just went to the bathroom” were the things I imagined reading.
Luckily, I was wrong. Okay, I have actually read those things but I think they were posted both in jest and as a way to get attention. Twitter has emerged as a new creative outlet, proving that it matters what the average person writes in 140 words or less. Twitter influenced the outcome of a presidential campaign, made Ashton Kutcher more popular than CNN, has a TV show based off of it, and is currently dominating the PR world as they try to get a grip on it.
Many articles have touted the importance of Twitter and Facebook for businesses, but why does Twitter matter to your band?
There are a lot of artists on twitter, not to say there are not on Myspace or Facebook too, but they seem to be more visible on Twitter then anywhere else. Are you using twitter to keep up with what a band is doing that day, in a way, that you don't use Myspace or Facebook?
So who exactly is on Twitter? Eight percent of American adult Internet users and particularly young adults according to Dec. 9 report from the Pew Research Center. Of those users, 2 percent said they use Twitter on a daily basis.
What they found was that Twitter users make up 10 percent of all female Internet users, versus 7 percent of Internet-using men. Tweeting is also more popular with those in the 18-29 age category—14 percent, versus 7 percent of 30 to 49 year olds, the next most popular category.
Now you may be asking why all of that mumbo jumbo is important. Well, as an artist you have to know who your target audience is. Being in a band is no different then being in any other kind of business. Your music is your product and you need to sell it. But who do you sell it too?
Maybe I should write a piece about niche marketing at some point and talk in more detail about this form of marketing and business practice, but for now let’s just say that not everyone from every age bracket is going to like your music. So you need to decide who is most likely going to buy your music and tweet with them.
If you think your music appeals to a teenage crowd then great! Twitter may be the ideal place to spend your social media time. With every teenager having a cell phone in their pocket, you are only a quick tweet away from their attention. Now, how long you can hold that attention has long been a problem for record labels and their parents alike, but at least you have a platform to reach them with.
On the upside, teens are using their mobile phones to share photos and stories, to arrange get-togethers and to micro-coordinate their schedules; on the downside, they are using them to cheat on tests, wriggle around rules and fire off sexts.
Understanding how youth use mobile phones is vital to creating effective social media plan based on the reality of how the technology is used.
If on the other hand you believe your fan base to be a somewhat older crowd, and by older I mean in their early to late twenties, then Twitter still may be a good way to reach those fans as well.
The problem with Twitter lies in it’s easy to get online and read tweets without every responding to them. Since it’s so fast and easy to use, most users never reply to your tweets. It’s hard to gauge exactly how many people saw or read your tweet, or if it was overlooked.
Just over half of Twitter users retweet posts—18 percent of them on a daily basis—and send direct messages. Forty percent share photos, 28 percent share videos, and 24 percent let others in on their whereabouts.
So where does that leave you as an artist?
An old saying of my Father comes to mind when thinking about Twitter:” If you don’t tell people what’s on your mind how they are suppose to know?” Same goes for a band too. If you have a show coming up, an appearance, heading to the studio, etc why not broadcast it to the world. It takes time, thought and effort to write a blog and then post it on your website, Myspace, Facebook etc. With Twitter in a quick few taps from your cell phone you have just informed everyone with little to know time involved at all.
As we have discussed before time usage is important when thinking about social media. Twitter is so fast and easy to use that it would be hard to get bogged down with it compared to Myspace and Facebook.
Using Twitter shows you are tech savvy, it’s free exposure, it’s an influential tool, it’s growing daily, it can open opportunities, reaches a key audience, provides real-time news, and is easy to use.
My advice to you as an artist is this: If you are taking the time to use Myspace and Facebook to promote your music, why not take a few seconds and post a tweet about it too!
Next time we will take about all of the little known or new social media outlets that are getting attention and starting to transform the way the big boys are doing business.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Facebook Frenzy!
Hello class and welcome back! As promised I am picking up where we left off last time in our discussion of the three major social media sites that most music artists use. After talking in great detail last time about Myspace, let’s now turn our attention towards Facebook.
Although Facebook may be new to many artists, it has been around since the dawn of the social media revolution. It’s really like the old adage of the chicken and the egg, which can first, Myspace or Facebook? The correct answer is that Friendster came first, then Myspace, Facebook and then Twitter. Now there are even newer sites like Yuniti and Bebo competing for your social media attention, but that’s for another day. To quote Dr Dre, it’s back to the lecture at hand.
So what about Facebook? Is it really any better than Myspace? First off, Facebook was originally only available to college students. You had to have a valid college ID and email to join. The idea was it would give college students a way of meeting each other once they got on campus. So unless you were truly a college indie artist, you could not be a member of Facebook. At the same time Myspace was free to join by all, and it was geared towards artists, which may give reason to why it took so many artists time to join Facebook.
To me Facebook has become the place for friends. Sorry Myspace, even if you hadn’t changed your tune, it's true. If you want to connect with friends or with colleagues it's the place to be. But what if you are an artist or band? Is this the best place to spend your social media time? It is free of content pursay, as in it don't offer or feature entertainment news or otherwise, so what does it offer the user that will attract them to your artist profile? To answer that question let’s examine Facebook a little closer.
Facebook now claims it has hundreds, I repeat hundreds of millions of profile hits a day. That is a staggering number! I have read it was close to 300 million hits a day to be exact. With over 500 million active users these numbers are probably correct. As of 2009 there were only 307,006,550 people living in the USA. That’s like every American logging on to Facebook daily! With that many users’ odds are that artists should be able to use Facebook to gain new fans, but then again maybe not.
Facebook users seem to follow a social media trend and only connect with those people that they directly know. If you are outside of their personal sphere they almost always will ignore you. So what's so social about that? I can already call, email or text these people. Do I need a website to do this for me? No.
Many artists already have email mailing lists that they regular use to send email updates to. These same artists have been doing this nonstop since the invention of email with great success. So why has this not translated to the social media world?
So how can an artist best use Facebook then? With Facebook artists are forced to create what is called a group page or fan page where they can post there music, bio, pictures, tour dates, etc. First though, they must create a personal page which is tied together with the other two. Confused yet? So am I. Facebook will not allow you to sign up as an artist, so this is their way of allowing you to do so.
When someone signs in to Facebook to look up your music they must search for your fan page. Not you directly, or the personal page you setup, so it’s important to include your artist name in your Facebook link if you want them to find your personal page as well. i.e. facebook.com/yourbandname not your personal name. I see lots of artists making this mistake.
Also, you can only add up to 5K friends to your personal page. After that you have to get your fans to ‘like’ your group or fan page. This is not as easy as it seems. It’s hard enough to get users to add you as friend on Facebook. Asking them to ‘like’ your fan page too can be a daunting task.
I can see where artists use Facebook to connect in a much more personal way with fans they have met and have built a personal relationship with. It’s easy to have a one on one conversation by posting on each others wall or adding to a users comment. Yet, once, again it’s all about real relationships. This is where social media continues to fail artists who are looking for success through the Internet. Facebook, as helpful as it is with connecting with people on a personal level, does not offer the close personal relationship ties that can be developed outside of the internet in the real world.
I read several weeks ago that more money was spent on online advertising then on print advertising in 2010. The trend is forecasted to continue to grow in that direction over 2011. As more and more people turn to the Internet for things on a daily basis the more likely they will turn to using social media as well. At this point and time Facebook seems to be the hub of a lot, if not all, of that social media activity and a lot of those advertising dollars. Chances are if you are working as hard in the real world on your craft as an artist as you are with your social media presence, then those looking for new music will find you to on Facebook. And with 500 million users it’s for sure a good place to spend your social media time.
Next time we will take up Twitter and several other new social media and micro blogging sites and examine their impact on the social media world and how they affect you as artists. I can already hear you now, “So what’s micro-blogging?” Don’t worry the answer is on the way!
Although Facebook may be new to many artists, it has been around since the dawn of the social media revolution. It’s really like the old adage of the chicken and the egg, which can first, Myspace or Facebook? The correct answer is that Friendster came first, then Myspace, Facebook and then Twitter. Now there are even newer sites like Yuniti and Bebo competing for your social media attention, but that’s for another day. To quote Dr Dre, it’s back to the lecture at hand.
So what about Facebook? Is it really any better than Myspace? First off, Facebook was originally only available to college students. You had to have a valid college ID and email to join. The idea was it would give college students a way of meeting each other once they got on campus. So unless you were truly a college indie artist, you could not be a member of Facebook. At the same time Myspace was free to join by all, and it was geared towards artists, which may give reason to why it took so many artists time to join Facebook.
To me Facebook has become the place for friends. Sorry Myspace, even if you hadn’t changed your tune, it's true. If you want to connect with friends or with colleagues it's the place to be. But what if you are an artist or band? Is this the best place to spend your social media time? It is free of content pursay, as in it don't offer or feature entertainment news or otherwise, so what does it offer the user that will attract them to your artist profile? To answer that question let’s examine Facebook a little closer.
Facebook now claims it has hundreds, I repeat hundreds of millions of profile hits a day. That is a staggering number! I have read it was close to 300 million hits a day to be exact. With over 500 million active users these numbers are probably correct. As of 2009 there were only 307,006,550 people living in the USA. That’s like every American logging on to Facebook daily! With that many users’ odds are that artists should be able to use Facebook to gain new fans, but then again maybe not.
Facebook users seem to follow a social media trend and only connect with those people that they directly know. If you are outside of their personal sphere they almost always will ignore you. So what's so social about that? I can already call, email or text these people. Do I need a website to do this for me? No.
Many artists already have email mailing lists that they regular use to send email updates to. These same artists have been doing this nonstop since the invention of email with great success. So why has this not translated to the social media world?
So how can an artist best use Facebook then? With Facebook artists are forced to create what is called a group page or fan page where they can post there music, bio, pictures, tour dates, etc. First though, they must create a personal page which is tied together with the other two. Confused yet? So am I. Facebook will not allow you to sign up as an artist, so this is their way of allowing you to do so.
When someone signs in to Facebook to look up your music they must search for your fan page. Not you directly, or the personal page you setup, so it’s important to include your artist name in your Facebook link if you want them to find your personal page as well. i.e. facebook.com/yourbandname not your personal name. I see lots of artists making this mistake.
Also, you can only add up to 5K friends to your personal page. After that you have to get your fans to ‘like’ your group or fan page. This is not as easy as it seems. It’s hard enough to get users to add you as friend on Facebook. Asking them to ‘like’ your fan page too can be a daunting task.
I can see where artists use Facebook to connect in a much more personal way with fans they have met and have built a personal relationship with. It’s easy to have a one on one conversation by posting on each others wall or adding to a users comment. Yet, once, again it’s all about real relationships. This is where social media continues to fail artists who are looking for success through the Internet. Facebook, as helpful as it is with connecting with people on a personal level, does not offer the close personal relationship ties that can be developed outside of the internet in the real world.
I read several weeks ago that more money was spent on online advertising then on print advertising in 2010. The trend is forecasted to continue to grow in that direction over 2011. As more and more people turn to the Internet for things on a daily basis the more likely they will turn to using social media as well. At this point and time Facebook seems to be the hub of a lot, if not all, of that social media activity and a lot of those advertising dollars. Chances are if you are working as hard in the real world on your craft as an artist as you are with your social media presence, then those looking for new music will find you to on Facebook. And with 500 million users it’s for sure a good place to spend your social media time.
Next time we will take up Twitter and several other new social media and micro blogging sites and examine their impact on the social media world and how they affect you as artists. I can already hear you now, “So what’s micro-blogging?” Don’t worry the answer is on the way!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Myspace or Yours?
After stating that the Internet was dead in my last piece, I decided to ask, if it’s not dead then what's next for social media? I thought it was a good follow up question after declaring the Internet dead. Well, then again, I'm not sure if I declared it dead, or just dead to some. Maybe that is the question I should be asking and answering here, but I'm not. Maybe next time.
As far as my discussion for today goes, I decided to talk about the first of the three most well known social media sites that most every artist uses in more detail: Myspace. Don’t be mad at me Facebook and Twitter users your turn is coming. I know lots of you are saying, ‘I don’t use Myspace anymore’. That’s okay, but my question to you is, why not? First up is Myspace. Over the past few weeks Myspace has totally relaunched itself as a place for social entertainment. No longer as the place for friends as it originally billed itself.
Myspace for many artists was the originator of the social media revolution. It in essence gave you a free web page that you could load your music, pictures, tours dates, etc up to for the world to see. The idea was genius and quite revolutionary to say the least. The idea that people looking to connect with artists in such an all encompassing way had never existed before. In turn millions flocked there overnight. As with all good ideas though, competition soon followed.
Myspace, being the giant it was, didn’t really take any of the challenges to its superiority very serious. They did little, if anything, to keep up with or advance the idea of social media. The word complacency comes to mind. As always the case with such a mind set, Myspace began to slip off the radar of all of the new social media fanatics and soon lead way to the birth of the second great social media explosion: Facebook.
At this point it seems Myspace seems to be resting all of its hopes on its ability to draw in entertainment users. Probably because someone at Myspace realized that the only people still using their site was artists. You can still have a band page on myspace, but I don't see the thrust towards being a future leader in the social media realm. What attracts a user to come to Myspace to meet or network with just artists? Nothing.There are already numerous sites across the web that offer users entertainment news, updates, features and access to celebrities. Most of these sites offer you a free membership where you can sign in to get updates direct to your email or mobile device. I don't think having the option of having a personal page on Myspace will make much of a difference or help separate it from other sites that already provide that sort of content.
From an artist’s standpoint, I can see where the thought of music consumers coming to Myspace for entertainment news might help generate traffic for your own profile, but I wouldn’t hold out hope.
The major labels already spend large amounts of money promoting artists signed to their labels on Myspace. i.e. Myspace Music. Also, major label artists are paid for every visit to their page. I bet you didn’t know that. They have a deal setup with Myspace so that their artists are paid based on song plays because of the advertisements that are placed at the top of each page. They also work in conjunction with Amzon.com as a direct link to buy or purchase that artists music direct from their Myspace page.
I thought I should take a moment before you get the idea of contacting Myspace, Amazon, CD Baby or anyone else and asking where your money is, to tell you that’s it’s not coming. Before CD Baby was bought out by Disc Makers, they were trying to negotiate a deal with Myspace to help get a little of that same money for the artists whom they represent. By represent, I mean artists who used them for digital distribution to iTunes and other Internet download music sites. No such luck. Before the deal was in place, Disc Makers had acquired them and the deal hit the preverbal back burner where it has stayed. Such is life for an indie artist.
I think going forward it will be even harder now for indie artists to find and get exposure on Myspace. One bright spot to Myspace though, in a recent survey, 80% of people said Myspace was the first site they visited to hear new music and find new artists. Don’t delete that band page just yet!
Ok, I have rattled on enough about Myspace. In the end I think having a presence there is important. When thinking about the Internet you have to think about your overall web foot print. The larger it is, the easier it is to drive traffic to your own webpage. (We will talk about your own web page very soon!) Using Myspace as a part of that foot print is worth a little of your time. If nothing else, Myspace still gives you a cheap easy way to get your music out so everyone can hear it. Most venues even request a link to your Myspace page when you approach them about booking a gig. So it’s good to have, just don’t put all of you eggs in one basket.
Next time we will talk about Facebook and Twitter. They are both are very different from Myspace and each other. It’s going to be interesting!
As far as my discussion for today goes, I decided to talk about the first of the three most well known social media sites that most every artist uses in more detail: Myspace. Don’t be mad at me Facebook and Twitter users your turn is coming. I know lots of you are saying, ‘I don’t use Myspace anymore’. That’s okay, but my question to you is, why not? First up is Myspace. Over the past few weeks Myspace has totally relaunched itself as a place for social entertainment. No longer as the place for friends as it originally billed itself.
Myspace for many artists was the originator of the social media revolution. It in essence gave you a free web page that you could load your music, pictures, tours dates, etc up to for the world to see. The idea was genius and quite revolutionary to say the least. The idea that people looking to connect with artists in such an all encompassing way had never existed before. In turn millions flocked there overnight. As with all good ideas though, competition soon followed.
Myspace, being the giant it was, didn’t really take any of the challenges to its superiority very serious. They did little, if anything, to keep up with or advance the idea of social media. The word complacency comes to mind. As always the case with such a mind set, Myspace began to slip off the radar of all of the new social media fanatics and soon lead way to the birth of the second great social media explosion: Facebook.
At this point it seems Myspace seems to be resting all of its hopes on its ability to draw in entertainment users. Probably because someone at Myspace realized that the only people still using their site was artists. You can still have a band page on myspace, but I don't see the thrust towards being a future leader in the social media realm. What attracts a user to come to Myspace to meet or network with just artists? Nothing.There are already numerous sites across the web that offer users entertainment news, updates, features and access to celebrities. Most of these sites offer you a free membership where you can sign in to get updates direct to your email or mobile device. I don't think having the option of having a personal page on Myspace will make much of a difference or help separate it from other sites that already provide that sort of content.
From an artist’s standpoint, I can see where the thought of music consumers coming to Myspace for entertainment news might help generate traffic for your own profile, but I wouldn’t hold out hope.
The major labels already spend large amounts of money promoting artists signed to their labels on Myspace. i.e. Myspace Music. Also, major label artists are paid for every visit to their page. I bet you didn’t know that. They have a deal setup with Myspace so that their artists are paid based on song plays because of the advertisements that are placed at the top of each page. They also work in conjunction with Amzon.com as a direct link to buy or purchase that artists music direct from their Myspace page.
I thought I should take a moment before you get the idea of contacting Myspace, Amazon, CD Baby or anyone else and asking where your money is, to tell you that’s it’s not coming. Before CD Baby was bought out by Disc Makers, they were trying to negotiate a deal with Myspace to help get a little of that same money for the artists whom they represent. By represent, I mean artists who used them for digital distribution to iTunes and other Internet download music sites. No such luck. Before the deal was in place, Disc Makers had acquired them and the deal hit the preverbal back burner where it has stayed. Such is life for an indie artist.
I think going forward it will be even harder now for indie artists to find and get exposure on Myspace. One bright spot to Myspace though, in a recent survey, 80% of people said Myspace was the first site they visited to hear new music and find new artists. Don’t delete that band page just yet!
Ok, I have rattled on enough about Myspace. In the end I think having a presence there is important. When thinking about the Internet you have to think about your overall web foot print. The larger it is, the easier it is to drive traffic to your own webpage. (We will talk about your own web page very soon!) Using Myspace as a part of that foot print is worth a little of your time. If nothing else, Myspace still gives you a cheap easy way to get your music out so everyone can hear it. Most venues even request a link to your Myspace page when you approach them about booking a gig. So it’s good to have, just don’t put all of you eggs in one basket.
Next time we will talk about Facebook and Twitter. They are both are very different from Myspace and each other. It’s going to be interesting!
Monday, November 8, 2010
We are on Facebook!
Took us long enough huh? It did and we are sorry for that. The good news is that we did it for you!
We have made so many friends and fans here on myspace, but we feel as if we are losing you. We have heard your complaints about myspace and know that many of you have now left.
That’s why we have now have a facebook page and twitter!
We are asking all of you to come join us on one or both sites. We don’t want to lose contact with you.
We love all of you! You have always been so close to the band and a major part of our success. We love talking to all of you and don’t want that to end.
We know all of you have a facebook, and a twitter too probably, so come on and join us on both!
www.facebook.com/thirdgradehaters
twitter.com/thirdgradehater
I think our facebook has my name, Andy Jones on it, but all of you know me anyway.
So what are you waiting on, before you delete your myspace come join us on facebook!
See you there!
TGH
We have made so many friends and fans here on myspace, but we feel as if we are losing you. We have heard your complaints about myspace and know that many of you have now left.
That’s why we have now have a facebook page and twitter!
We are asking all of you to come join us on one or both sites. We don’t want to lose contact with you.
We love all of you! You have always been so close to the band and a major part of our success. We love talking to all of you and don’t want that to end.
We know all of you have a facebook, and a twitter too probably, so come on and join us on both!
www.facebook.com/thirdgradehaters
twitter.com/thirdgradehater
I think our facebook has my name, Andy Jones on it, but all of you know me anyway.
So what are you waiting on, before you delete your myspace come join us on facebook!
See you there!
TGH
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Is the Internet dead, or just dead to some of us?
I thought I would go ahead and follow up on the very question I asked myself at the first of my last blog, is the Internet dead or just dead to some of us.
I have been getting a lot of feedback to my recent blogs about the current state of the Internet from a artists perspective. Positive feedback, I would like to add, and some really great points to go on top of what I had written. It has become apparent from your comments that many of you see the Internet through the same lens as myself.
So my question is, do we all think the Internet is dead from an artists perspective? Or are we just looking at it the wrong way?
Let's a take a look at the future of the social media world, maybe our answer lies there.
Just like the past, new technologies start to become apart of our daily lives, soon lose their buzz over time, and we move on to the next big thing. Just like cell phones, email, the Internet itself and many other recent techno-marvels that were all the rage at some point over the last 10 to 15 years. So what makes social media different and thus giving life to the Internet?
In just the past few weeks all of the major social media sites have undergone huge revisions, implemented new polices, given their sites face lifts and now shifted towards on demand content and marketing services to reach new potential users and customers. Would they being doing this if they were going out of business or are they doing this to stay in business?
Marketing departments for companies in the past never put a plan into place to develop their email department or their own website departments. These things were just adsorbed into their way of doing business. They never thought about focusing more time on how to email better or how to google search better, these tools just made their jobs easier. Now though, companies are spending lots of time and resources to build their own social media departments. There are some that believe that social media will become it's own stand alone discipline in the marketing world.
That's a lot to take in isn't it? The idea that some college kids got together and created a handful of websites that let people interact with each other, to the idea that these very sites are so influential in our lives, that kids will now be getting college degrees in social media is breath taking! It also answers our question.
Social media is evolving. It's finding it's place in our lives, how we work and how we work with it. There are going to be up's and downs. New advancements and technology. Some sites will grow to take on a larger market share then others, while a few will fall by the wayside.
Just like the music industry itself, artists are going to have to wade through all of the progress and turmoil of this social media revolution. Myspace was a successful outlet for many artists in the past, and who knows, it may be again in the future. Right now there is no 'best place to be' for artists trying to find a foothold in the music business. Using social media can be aggravating and difficult to say the least. It can also be rewarding. Don't give up though, keep blogging and tweeting, keep your profiles up to date, post those status updates and maybe, just maybe, success will find you!
I have been getting a lot of feedback to my recent blogs about the current state of the Internet from a artists perspective. Positive feedback, I would like to add, and some really great points to go on top of what I had written. It has become apparent from your comments that many of you see the Internet through the same lens as myself.
So my question is, do we all think the Internet is dead from an artists perspective? Or are we just looking at it the wrong way?
Let's a take a look at the future of the social media world, maybe our answer lies there.
Just like the past, new technologies start to become apart of our daily lives, soon lose their buzz over time, and we move on to the next big thing. Just like cell phones, email, the Internet itself and many other recent techno-marvels that were all the rage at some point over the last 10 to 15 years. So what makes social media different and thus giving life to the Internet?
In just the past few weeks all of the major social media sites have undergone huge revisions, implemented new polices, given their sites face lifts and now shifted towards on demand content and marketing services to reach new potential users and customers. Would they being doing this if they were going out of business or are they doing this to stay in business?
Marketing departments for companies in the past never put a plan into place to develop their email department or their own website departments. These things were just adsorbed into their way of doing business. They never thought about focusing more time on how to email better or how to google search better, these tools just made their jobs easier. Now though, companies are spending lots of time and resources to build their own social media departments. There are some that believe that social media will become it's own stand alone discipline in the marketing world.
That's a lot to take in isn't it? The idea that some college kids got together and created a handful of websites that let people interact with each other, to the idea that these very sites are so influential in our lives, that kids will now be getting college degrees in social media is breath taking! It also answers our question.
Social media is evolving. It's finding it's place in our lives, how we work and how we work with it. There are going to be up's and downs. New advancements and technology. Some sites will grow to take on a larger market share then others, while a few will fall by the wayside.
Just like the music industry itself, artists are going to have to wade through all of the progress and turmoil of this social media revolution. Myspace was a successful outlet for many artists in the past, and who knows, it may be again in the future. Right now there is no 'best place to be' for artists trying to find a foothold in the music business. Using social media can be aggravating and difficult to say the least. It can also be rewarding. Don't give up though, keep blogging and tweeting, keep your profiles up to date, post those status updates and maybe, just maybe, success will find you!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
So What's Next for Social Media?
So what's next for social media? I thought it was a good follow up question after declaring the Internet dead. Well, then again, I'm not sure if I declared it dead, or just dead to some. Maybe that is the question I should be asking and answering here, but I'm not. Maybe next time.
As of today, Myspace has totally relaunched itself as a place for entertainment. Okay, what part of that is social media? You can still have a personal and band page on myspace, but I don't see the thrust towards being a future leader in the social media realm. What attracts a user to come to myspace to meet, network, or otherwise? Nothing.
There are already numerous sites across the web that offer users entertainment news, updates, features and special access to celebrities. Most of these sites offer you a free membership where you can sign in to get updates direct to your email or mobile device. I don't think having the option of having a personal page on Myspace will make much of a difference or help separate it from other sites that already provide that kind of content.
So what about Facebook or Twitter? Are they really any better? They are both free of content pur say, as in they don't offer or feature entertainment news or otherwise, but what do they offer to the user.
I would say that Facebook has become the place for friends. Sorry Myspace, but it's true. If you want to connect with friends, both former and new, or with colleagues it's the place to be. But what if you are a business or a band? Is this the best place to spend your social media time. My experience says no. Facebook users seem to only be concerned with those that they directly know. If you are outside of their personal sphere they almost always will ignore your friend requests. So what's so social about that? I can already call, write, email or visit those vary people. Do I need a website to do this for me. No.
So that leaves Twitter. As far as my discussion for today goes, I only decided to talk about the three most well known social media sites. So what about Twitter, what if anything separates it from the other two? It is fast and easy to use. Micro blogging in 140 characters or less is very appealing to those of us on the go. Yet again though, the same question arises that I have with Facebook, who are you tweeting with? Are you just tweeting with friends and co-workers? There are a lot of businesses on twitter, not to say there are not on Myspace or Facebook, but they seem to be more visible on Twitter then anywhere else. Are you using twitter to keep up with what a venue or restaurant is doing that day, in a way, that that you don't use Myspace or Facebook. I do think users are doing this. I think users feel like they don't have to have a personal relationship to follow a band or business on twitter.
With all of that said, what is social media all about. I guess it depends on your own personal definition. If that means chatting with the vary friends you talk to everyday or work with on Facebook, then that's social media to you. I have always thought of social media as a way to expand my relationships and meet new people who are outside of my bubble.
To answer my own question, what is next for social media. I think right now social media is still finding it's way. I think the original premise of social media, as a way to meet new people and expand their relationships, has not really happened. I think for the most part people are not looking for new opportunities to reach out and network through these sites. I think as time goes on, that more and more users will look past the traditional means of the past and start looking for new ways to connect. Does that mean that Myspace, Facebook and Twitter will be the answer, that remains to be seen. But if they are not, rest assured that someone somewhere is working on that answer right now.
As of today, Myspace has totally relaunched itself as a place for entertainment. Okay, what part of that is social media? You can still have a personal and band page on myspace, but I don't see the thrust towards being a future leader in the social media realm. What attracts a user to come to myspace to meet, network, or otherwise? Nothing.
There are already numerous sites across the web that offer users entertainment news, updates, features and special access to celebrities. Most of these sites offer you a free membership where you can sign in to get updates direct to your email or mobile device. I don't think having the option of having a personal page on Myspace will make much of a difference or help separate it from other sites that already provide that kind of content.
So what about Facebook or Twitter? Are they really any better? They are both free of content pur say, as in they don't offer or feature entertainment news or otherwise, but what do they offer to the user.
I would say that Facebook has become the place for friends. Sorry Myspace, but it's true. If you want to connect with friends, both former and new, or with colleagues it's the place to be. But what if you are a business or a band? Is this the best place to spend your social media time. My experience says no. Facebook users seem to only be concerned with those that they directly know. If you are outside of their personal sphere they almost always will ignore your friend requests. So what's so social about that? I can already call, write, email or visit those vary people. Do I need a website to do this for me. No.
So that leaves Twitter. As far as my discussion for today goes, I only decided to talk about the three most well known social media sites. So what about Twitter, what if anything separates it from the other two? It is fast and easy to use. Micro blogging in 140 characters or less is very appealing to those of us on the go. Yet again though, the same question arises that I have with Facebook, who are you tweeting with? Are you just tweeting with friends and co-workers? There are a lot of businesses on twitter, not to say there are not on Myspace or Facebook, but they seem to be more visible on Twitter then anywhere else. Are you using twitter to keep up with what a venue or restaurant is doing that day, in a way, that that you don't use Myspace or Facebook. I do think users are doing this. I think users feel like they don't have to have a personal relationship to follow a band or business on twitter.
With all of that said, what is social media all about. I guess it depends on your own personal definition. If that means chatting with the vary friends you talk to everyday or work with on Facebook, then that's social media to you. I have always thought of social media as a way to expand my relationships and meet new people who are outside of my bubble.
To answer my own question, what is next for social media. I think right now social media is still finding it's way. I think the original premise of social media, as a way to meet new people and expand their relationships, has not really happened. I think for the most part people are not looking for new opportunities to reach out and network through these sites. I think as time goes on, that more and more users will look past the traditional means of the past and start looking for new ways to connect. Does that mean that Myspace, Facebook and Twitter will be the answer, that remains to be seen. But if they are not, rest assured that someone somewhere is working on that answer right now.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Is the Internet Dead?
Is the internet dead? This has been a question I have been asking myself for a few weeks now. If it's not dead is it just going through changes like most businesses do? I have read several articles of late that seem to think that it is dead and that the future of the internet will look much different then it does today. So what if it's dead, how does that impact us? Do we even care?
I'm looking at the internet through the eyes of someone working in the music industry, as a recording artist, a studio owner and a music publisher. What was once the supposed gateway to music business success is closing and its closing fast. In fact it may have never really been open at all.
We have all heard the stories of how a band was found on myspace and then international fame soon followed. I once bought into this, but now I'm not so sure. How true can this be? Success in business has always been built on hard work, time, effort, energy, preparation and education. There are always the stories of overnight successes but even then all of the above things were at some point involved. No one can succeed at anything if they have never put forth any effort to succeed can they?
I have come to conclusion that the artists that have found success from the internet would have found it no matter what. Take for instance Fall Out Boy. They have long been held up as the first band to find success using myspace and the internet. True indeed, they were the first band to one million plays, one million fans and so on and so forth on myspace. They used this virtual hype to gain fans; attendance at their shows grew and increased album sales. All of which caught the attention of record labels that were all too eager to sign them to a record deal.
Would all of this have happened for Fall Out Boy without the internet? I say yes. They used all the same basic principals that any successful business would employ to get their company off the ground. For them it was the new media of the internet that gave them a jump start. Looking back over the past we can see how such new mediums as print, radio and TV also launched stars and their careers. Yet again, how many of those same success stories would have come true without such media? I would argue that all of them would have.
Like Fall Out Boy or not, they were the right band with the right sound at the right time that just happened to catch on. People just liked their music. Girls thought they were cute and guys wanted to emulate their style. In all truth the very same thing can be said about the Beatles or Elvis or any other music act that has seen international fame and success over the last 60 years.
At the heart of all success is good marketing. For the Beatles, Brian Epstein took four rough young lads and put them in suits, and took advantage of their good looks. At the time TV was the new media and they were just the right darlings to capture the imagination of everyone who watched.
For Fall Out Boy it was their use of the internet. Good marketing always knows how to take advantage of unique opportunities when they present themselves. Especially new and unknown opportunities that have yet to be explored and figured out.
I have been told more times then I can count of late that myspace is dead. Ok, so what about facebook and twitter and the plethora of other sites just like them. Are they dead too? How does the next big thing in the music business find success? I believe the answer lies in the past. As some would say, what is old is new again. I think it lies in hard work, time, effort and preparation. The same things that have always made businesses successful. If you have a good business plan, work hard and continue to knock on doors eventually opportunity will lead to reward.
I know some of you are saying, yeah but what about those artists that got discovered and bypassed all of that, what's your answer for that. My answer is you can't discover someone that doesn't at first at least want to be discovered. Is Justin Bieber really an overnight success? He would busk on street corners and posted videos on YouTube. It's not like he was locked away in his room singing to the walls around him. Maybe YouTube helped draw him attention faster and easier then most, but it was only a matter of time before the recording industry discovered him.
So is the internet dead? After writing this I'm not sure I'm any closer to an answer then I was before I started. I think I am of the mind that the internet never really helped anyone on its own. It was just another tool in a large box, that when used along with other known tools, sped up the process. Did the internet and myspace make Fall Out Boy famous? No, just like TV didn't make the Beatles famous either. Both the Beatles and Fall Out Boy would have been famous in my opinion had there never been TV or the internet. It may have taken longer, but they would have still reached the same point in their careers.
I'm looking at the internet through the eyes of someone working in the music industry, as a recording artist, a studio owner and a music publisher. What was once the supposed gateway to music business success is closing and its closing fast. In fact it may have never really been open at all.
We have all heard the stories of how a band was found on myspace and then international fame soon followed. I once bought into this, but now I'm not so sure. How true can this be? Success in business has always been built on hard work, time, effort, energy, preparation and education. There are always the stories of overnight successes but even then all of the above things were at some point involved. No one can succeed at anything if they have never put forth any effort to succeed can they?
I have come to conclusion that the artists that have found success from the internet would have found it no matter what. Take for instance Fall Out Boy. They have long been held up as the first band to find success using myspace and the internet. True indeed, they were the first band to one million plays, one million fans and so on and so forth on myspace. They used this virtual hype to gain fans; attendance at their shows grew and increased album sales. All of which caught the attention of record labels that were all too eager to sign them to a record deal.
Would all of this have happened for Fall Out Boy without the internet? I say yes. They used all the same basic principals that any successful business would employ to get their company off the ground. For them it was the new media of the internet that gave them a jump start. Looking back over the past we can see how such new mediums as print, radio and TV also launched stars and their careers. Yet again, how many of those same success stories would have come true without such media? I would argue that all of them would have.
Like Fall Out Boy or not, they were the right band with the right sound at the right time that just happened to catch on. People just liked their music. Girls thought they were cute and guys wanted to emulate their style. In all truth the very same thing can be said about the Beatles or Elvis or any other music act that has seen international fame and success over the last 60 years.
At the heart of all success is good marketing. For the Beatles, Brian Epstein took four rough young lads and put them in suits, and took advantage of their good looks. At the time TV was the new media and they were just the right darlings to capture the imagination of everyone who watched.
For Fall Out Boy it was their use of the internet. Good marketing always knows how to take advantage of unique opportunities when they present themselves. Especially new and unknown opportunities that have yet to be explored and figured out.
I have been told more times then I can count of late that myspace is dead. Ok, so what about facebook and twitter and the plethora of other sites just like them. Are they dead too? How does the next big thing in the music business find success? I believe the answer lies in the past. As some would say, what is old is new again. I think it lies in hard work, time, effort and preparation. The same things that have always made businesses successful. If you have a good business plan, work hard and continue to knock on doors eventually opportunity will lead to reward.
I know some of you are saying, yeah but what about those artists that got discovered and bypassed all of that, what's your answer for that. My answer is you can't discover someone that doesn't at first at least want to be discovered. Is Justin Bieber really an overnight success? He would busk on street corners and posted videos on YouTube. It's not like he was locked away in his room singing to the walls around him. Maybe YouTube helped draw him attention faster and easier then most, but it was only a matter of time before the recording industry discovered him.
So is the internet dead? After writing this I'm not sure I'm any closer to an answer then I was before I started. I think I am of the mind that the internet never really helped anyone on its own. It was just another tool in a large box, that when used along with other known tools, sped up the process. Did the internet and myspace make Fall Out Boy famous? No, just like TV didn't make the Beatles famous either. Both the Beatles and Fall Out Boy would have been famous in my opinion had there never been TV or the internet. It may have taken longer, but they would have still reached the same point in their careers.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Where Have You Been?
So where have we been you ask?
Enjoying the Summer of course!
Well the end of the Summer is finally here. To borrow a line from Fiennes and Ferb, I have enjoyed all 104 days of Summer.
This has been a busy Summer for sure. We have been tucked away in our secret recording cave working on a new record for you. We can't wait for all of you to hear what we have been up to. It looks like the new TGH reco0rd will be out early next year.
While working on the new TGH record all Summer, I also recorded a couple of side projects that will be released later this year.
There have been a lot of changes with the band between records, but change is good, and we are all better for it.
We are looking forward to getting back on the road this Fall/Winter. We have missed seeing all of you!
We hope you all havehad as wonderful a Summer as we have. Look for more updaes on the record, touring, etc soon!
Enjoying the Summer of course!
Well the end of the Summer is finally here. To borrow a line from Fiennes and Ferb, I have enjoyed all 104 days of Summer.
This has been a busy Summer for sure. We have been tucked away in our secret recording cave working on a new record for you. We can't wait for all of you to hear what we have been up to. It looks like the new TGH reco0rd will be out early next year.
While working on the new TGH record all Summer, I also recorded a couple of side projects that will be released later this year.
There have been a lot of changes with the band between records, but change is good, and we are all better for it.
We are looking forward to getting back on the road this Fall/Winter. We have missed seeing all of you!
We hope you all havehad as wonderful a Summer as we have. Look for more updaes on the record, touring, etc soon!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Pay What You Want for Our Music!
We are introducing pay what you want for our music!
If you visit http://thirdgradehaters.bandcamp.com you can pickup our first album 'Pompous and Proud' or any of the songs off of the record at whatever price you want to pay for it.
If you want to get it for free then you can. If you want to pay a few dollars for it that works too.
We are leaving the price up to you!
We want you to have our music so you can enjoy it.
Make sure to spread the word and tell all of your friends too!
Thanks
TGH
If you visit http://thirdgradehaters.bandcamp.com you can pickup our first album 'Pompous and Proud' or any of the songs off of the record at whatever price you want to pay for it.
If you want to get it for free then you can. If you want to pay a few dollars for it that works too.
We are leaving the price up to you!
We want you to have our music so you can enjoy it.
Make sure to spread the word and tell all of your friends too!
Thanks
TGH
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Summer Sale!
We are excited to announce a Summer Sale!
All of our music is now on sale on all Summer long.
Our album is now only $5.99 on iTunes
and
only $4.99 on amazon.com
I included the links to both.
www.itunes.apple.com/us/album/pompous-and-proud/id301123983
www.amazon.com/Pomous...Third-Grade-Haters/dp/B001P3W9MI
Album sales is our lifeblood. Everytime you purchase a cd, digital album or individual song you are helping us.
We could not do this without you!
Please spread the word and let everyone know about the sale.
We hope all of you have a wonderful & fun Summer!
All of our music is now on sale on all Summer long.
Our album is now only $5.99 on iTunes
and
only $4.99 on amazon.com
I included the links to both.
www.itunes.apple.com/us/album/pompous-and-proud/id301123983
www.amazon.com/Pomous...Third-Grade-Haters/dp/B001P3W9MI
Album sales is our lifeblood. Everytime you purchase a cd, digital album or individual song you are helping us.
We could not do this without you!
Please spread the word and let everyone know about the sale.
We hope all of you have a wonderful & fun Summer!
Is myspace really a place for friends anymore?
Hello All
After months of continuing problems with our myspace I have to ask, 'is myspace a place for friends anymore'?
I don't want to take the time to list all of the problems our page has been having the past few months, nor do I want to bore you.
I guess our problems stem from communication. If we had elected to ignore all of our fans & friends things would be fine, but by choosing to take the time to care and get to know so many of you we have been punished.
We have been put on probation more times then I can count for sending out to many messages and comments. Now it seems because of our total number of friends we can only get a select amount of comments a day.
On a daily basis we get over 100 hundred messages and comments combined. I try to take the time to answer all of them, but therein lies the problem.
Myspace will only allow you so many messages and comments a day. Once you exceed that you run the risk of their wrath. Who knew there were limits?
Myspace bills itself as place for friends to come and chat and get to know each other. To add other friends so they can be part of your network as well. The only problem is, don't get too many of those friends, or myspace will shut your page down for talking to them all.
It a lot of ways I prefer myspace to other social networking sites. Since we are a band it's easy to post music, pictures, blogs, etc on all one site. Not that you can't do the same thing elsewhere but myspace to me has always been the easiest.
What I really am most upset about is what all of this has done to you. Our friends, fans, and those who have just found us.
You tell us daily how you have tried to comment us or leave us a message only you weren't able to. You wonder sometimes why we don't comment you anymore or return your messages.
Trust me when I say I have been trying to return all of those and even more.
So I'm still left asking is myspace a place for friends anymore. I guess only time will tell. Until then I may have to look to a new venue where we can all come together.
Hang in there with us please. We hope one day all of this will work right again!
After months of continuing problems with our myspace I have to ask, 'is myspace a place for friends anymore'?
I don't want to take the time to list all of the problems our page has been having the past few months, nor do I want to bore you.
I guess our problems stem from communication. If we had elected to ignore all of our fans & friends things would be fine, but by choosing to take the time to care and get to know so many of you we have been punished.
We have been put on probation more times then I can count for sending out to many messages and comments. Now it seems because of our total number of friends we can only get a select amount of comments a day.
On a daily basis we get over 100 hundred messages and comments combined. I try to take the time to answer all of them, but therein lies the problem.
Myspace will only allow you so many messages and comments a day. Once you exceed that you run the risk of their wrath. Who knew there were limits?
Myspace bills itself as place for friends to come and chat and get to know each other. To add other friends so they can be part of your network as well. The only problem is, don't get too many of those friends, or myspace will shut your page down for talking to them all.
It a lot of ways I prefer myspace to other social networking sites. Since we are a band it's easy to post music, pictures, blogs, etc on all one site. Not that you can't do the same thing elsewhere but myspace to me has always been the easiest.
What I really am most upset about is what all of this has done to you. Our friends, fans, and those who have just found us.
You tell us daily how you have tried to comment us or leave us a message only you weren't able to. You wonder sometimes why we don't comment you anymore or return your messages.
Trust me when I say I have been trying to return all of those and even more.
So I'm still left asking is myspace a place for friends anymore. I guess only time will tell. Until then I may have to look to a new venue where we can all come together.
Hang in there with us please. We hope one day all of this will work right again!
Rewind Podcast
Happy 4th of July!
Just wanted to let everyone know that we will be featured on this weeks show begininng July 5th of the rewind podcast.
www.therewindpodcast.com
Make sure to stop by and support our band as well as the other featured artists.
Thanks!
Just wanted to let everyone know that we will be featured on this weeks show begininng July 5th of the rewind podcast.
www.therewindpodcast.com
Make sure to stop by and support our band as well as the other featured artists.
Thanks!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Nearing the finish line
As Summer has officially arrived I thought it would be a good time to update how our new record is coming along. We are truly nearing the finish line.
I have given over to the fact that it is going to take us a whole year to complete the new record but trust me it will be worth the wait.
We have been just as impatient at times as many of you have been asking for new music. I think all involved never dreamed it would take this long.
We thank all of you for your patients and support!
We wanted to make a record that we not only loved but that we are proud of.
We love our first record so much but it is a snapshot of who we were as a band at that time.
We have grown so much as musicians. Thanks to all of the touring we have done over the past two years we have grown up as well.
So I think it is safe to say that you can expect to start seeing and hearing new music as Fall arrives.
We are going to stay busy this Summer working on the record. We are going to take some time to enjoy the Summer ourselves. We have spent the first six months of this year living in a studio I think some sunshine might do us good.
As the record draws to a close we will also be announcing tour dates for the Fall and Winter. We can't wait to get back out on the road to let all of you hear the new album.
We hope all of you have a happy and safe Summer!
I have given over to the fact that it is going to take us a whole year to complete the new record but trust me it will be worth the wait.
We have been just as impatient at times as many of you have been asking for new music. I think all involved never dreamed it would take this long.
We thank all of you for your patients and support!
We wanted to make a record that we not only loved but that we are proud of.
We love our first record so much but it is a snapshot of who we were as a band at that time.
We have grown so much as musicians. Thanks to all of the touring we have done over the past two years we have grown up as well.
So I think it is safe to say that you can expect to start seeing and hearing new music as Fall arrives.
We are going to stay busy this Summer working on the record. We are going to take some time to enjoy the Summer ourselves. We have spent the first six months of this year living in a studio I think some sunshine might do us good.
As the record draws to a close we will also be announcing tour dates for the Fall and Winter. We can't wait to get back out on the road to let all of you hear the new album.
We hope all of you have a happy and safe Summer!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
rock.love.peace.yes.one
Hello All
Close to a month ago now we posted a lot of info about suicide prevention with the promise that we wanted to do our part to help raise awareness about teen suicide.
Since that time we have talked to several established groups to see what they are doing to help raise awareness.
After seeing what so many of them are doing it led us to come up with five words that cover all the things we can do to help raise awareness ourselves. They are: rock.love.peace.yes.one
rock:
Through our music, live shows and tours we can find ways to spread the awareness of suicide prevention.
love:
Love is the most important thing to all of us. We need to love ourselves and each other. Through love we can touch, help and heal those who are hurting.
peace:
We all need to be at peace with ourselves and with each other.
yes:
Yes there is an answer to your problems.
one:
We are all one with ourselves and with each other. We are one world and one people living together.
We are not forming an organization or trying to start our own suicide awareness program or campaign. rock.love.peace.yes.one is just our way of reaching out and helping those who need help the most.
I know it's just a start but if we all join in we can help spread the awareness of what is going on with so many teens around the world.
Let's all have hope and trust that a brighter day is ahead for all of us!
Close to a month ago now we posted a lot of info about suicide prevention with the promise that we wanted to do our part to help raise awareness about teen suicide.
Since that time we have talked to several established groups to see what they are doing to help raise awareness.
After seeing what so many of them are doing it led us to come up with five words that cover all the things we can do to help raise awareness ourselves. They are: rock.love.peace.yes.one
rock:
Through our music, live shows and tours we can find ways to spread the awareness of suicide prevention.
love:
Love is the most important thing to all of us. We need to love ourselves and each other. Through love we can touch, help and heal those who are hurting.
peace:
We all need to be at peace with ourselves and with each other.
yes:
Yes there is an answer to your problems.
one:
We are all one with ourselves and with each other. We are one world and one people living together.
We are not forming an organization or trying to start our own suicide awareness program or campaign. rock.love.peace.yes.one is just our way of reaching out and helping those who need help the most.
I know it's just a start but if we all join in we can help spread the awareness of what is going on with so many teens around the world.
Let's all have hope and trust that a brighter day is ahead for all of us!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Suicide Prevention
Hello All
Little did I know when I posted a status update/tweet this morning about all of the messages we get from you about suicide and hurting yourselves did I ever dream we would get this BIG of a response!
Our inbox has overflowed today with stories from so many of you about the things you are going through. It seems that to many of you suicide and hurting yourselves is the only answer.
I have personally been quite moved by your openness and honesty.
I am a perpetual happy person. I wake up happy, I go about my day happy and I go to bed happy. I know for far too many of you that's not the case.
So what is the answer?
I have been a strong supporter of To Write Love on Her Arms since first hearing about it a couple of years ago. I have 4 of their shirts myself and have bought and given away more then I can count. I wear them all the time everywhere I go.
But is that enough?
So what can we do to help?
I am going to take some time and think about how we can help raise more awareness about teen suicide and cutting. Should we join in helping an organization that is already helping to raise awareness or should we start our own organization and start here on the local level?
What can we do through the music we make and the shows/tours we play to help raise awareness?
WE need your help! Let us know your thoughts and ideas.
WE love and care about ALL of YOU!
Our thoughts and prayers are for each and every one of you.
If you or someone you know and love is dealing with suicide or cutting there are professionals you can talk too. Please don't hesitate to reach out. There are people who care!
If this is an emergency, or if you are worried that you or someone you know may be at risk for suicide, please call your local authorities (911), contact a mental health professional, or call and talk to someone at 1-800-SUICIDE.
www.twloha.com/
www.suicide.org/
www.save.org/
www.suicidology.org/
www.afsp.org/
Little did I know when I posted a status update/tweet this morning about all of the messages we get from you about suicide and hurting yourselves did I ever dream we would get this BIG of a response!
Our inbox has overflowed today with stories from so many of you about the things you are going through. It seems that to many of you suicide and hurting yourselves is the only answer.
I have personally been quite moved by your openness and honesty.
I am a perpetual happy person. I wake up happy, I go about my day happy and I go to bed happy. I know for far too many of you that's not the case.
So what is the answer?
I have been a strong supporter of To Write Love on Her Arms since first hearing about it a couple of years ago. I have 4 of their shirts myself and have bought and given away more then I can count. I wear them all the time everywhere I go.
But is that enough?
So what can we do to help?
I am going to take some time and think about how we can help raise more awareness about teen suicide and cutting. Should we join in helping an organization that is already helping to raise awareness or should we start our own organization and start here on the local level?
What can we do through the music we make and the shows/tours we play to help raise awareness?
WE need your help! Let us know your thoughts and ideas.
WE love and care about ALL of YOU!
Our thoughts and prayers are for each and every one of you.
If you or someone you know and love is dealing with suicide or cutting there are professionals you can talk too. Please don't hesitate to reach out. There are people who care!
If this is an emergency, or if you are worried that you or someone you know may be at risk for suicide, please call your local authorities (911), contact a mental health professional, or call and talk to someone at 1-800-SUICIDE.
www.twloha.com/
www.suicide.org/
www.save.org/
www.suicidology.org/
www.afsp.org/
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Words I No Longer Use
I recently put out a tweet about no longer using certain words after getter numerous questions to why I was using words no one had ever heard of nor understood.
It just came to my attention one day that I was always using the same three words: cool, awesome and amazing and realised it was time for a change.
So I have put those words to bed for now and have replaced them with three new words: ace, boss and brilliant.
I picked up ace and brilliant a few years ago from some friends in the UK. Seems these are quite popular words there more so then here in the States.
I took boss from my parents. Apparently this was quite the word in the late sixties and seventies along with another word 'solid' but I have not adopted that one just yet. Maybe in my next round of word replacement I will pick that one up too.
I will still use the word fantastic to but only because I have always liked that one myself.
So I hope that explains my madness. Then again I'm not sure if there are words to explain how 'mad' I really am!
It just came to my attention one day that I was always using the same three words: cool, awesome and amazing and realised it was time for a change.
So I have put those words to bed for now and have replaced them with three new words: ace, boss and brilliant.
I picked up ace and brilliant a few years ago from some friends in the UK. Seems these are quite popular words there more so then here in the States.
I took boss from my parents. Apparently this was quite the word in the late sixties and seventies along with another word 'solid' but I have not adopted that one just yet. Maybe in my next round of word replacement I will pick that one up too.
I will still use the word fantastic to but only because I have always liked that one myself.
So I hope that explains my madness. Then again I'm not sure if there are words to explain how 'mad' I really am!
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