So I have had the conversation with many of the bands on the roster and in the coming months you will be seeing our and their collective efforts on how to bring this back.
My theory is simple and perhaps it is just because I am older now, but I think what music is lacking is ownership… This may sound strange to most of you but follow me on this one. When I was young I was in to pop and I still love it but there was this one band I loved and still do. Hall and Oats! When I was 6 or 7 I heard Abandoned Luncheonette for the first time. Sure it had been played a few times for me but I didn’t really hear it. It is fucking amazing! From the opening track to the final track. I still stand by them even if it is slightly embarrassing. When I was 13 or 14 I heard this band call Pearl Jam as many people my age did, I was hooked! By the time I was 20 I was able to meet them twice and the strangest thing happened… I felt like I knew them! Because of the interviews, the articles and most of all the lyrics, I turned into that young teenager still looking for a voice and I thought I actually knew them. As I write this I know it sounds kind of stalker ish, but believe me it wasn’t. However, I am 33 and still paying my money into the fan club to get my four newsletters a year, Christmas single and my hopes for one day getting picked for the ticket lottery. I have been at the store when it opened to be the first to own a copy. So where am I going with this….
I felt and feel a sense of ownership with many of the bands I LOVE!
I feel like most of the kids today do not have that. Music is a so disposable, life move so fast who listens to a full body of work anymore? What Artists have stayed current in the last five or even ten years? The ones that come to mind are the “Hot Messes” that their downfall was in the media or the ones who are using sex to stay current. I’m not going to rant about these people but I can’t tell you the names of any of their current singles yet I can tell you they don’t wear underwear when they go out and who they are rumored to be dating!
So now I will get to my point. I think that bands need to bring back the personal in their music and on every avenue they connect to their fans. There are so many ways they can do this. Blogs about what has been going on since the last blog. Video Blogs same concept but I think it brings a more personal element to the fan experience. Posting photos of practice and hanging out, the candid shots. If the band makes songs available to members on your street team ahead of time or for them only this will also increase the desire to help. Doing house shows for these members an excellent way to give back too. Putting people on the guest list is yet another way to show how much you care about the people that care about you! If you the artist care about your fans the fans will care about you.
Another way is thru the lyrics themselves. This is a touchy point because if you force it, it will sound forced, so write from your heart. I understand that some artists shoot to make the lyrics general enough so more people can hopefully relate but have a few songs that suck people in is not a bad thing. I am not advocating using your lyrics as your diary, but a lot of successful artist have done it and still do it. I personally cannot but I can write about very personal things that all of us feel or have felt at one point in our lives. If you can do that well then you will achieve the same goal!
