I’m excited to say that my panel topic has been accepted into the upcoming SXSW 2010 program, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to moderate this discussion.  Thanks to everyone who voted for it earlier this year!

In October I gave a talk on Communicating With Fans at the Halifax Pop Explosion Festival and Music Matters Conference.  I’ve received a lot of great feedback from that talk, and it prompted me to turn it into a free e-book, which I’ll make available here later in the new year.  But if you’d like to be one of the first people in the world to get it, all I ask is that you give me your input on the topic of my SXSW discussion.  See below…

The SXSW discussion will touch on the different ways artists communicate with their fans… raising and answering questions relating to sharing information, communication, and audience engagement… the how, the why, the when, and the what of sharing.

“A discussion on the ways artists use social networking tools to interact with fans, and how that affects their supposed “rockstar hero” status. Do fans really want to know every daily activity their favorite musicians do, or does sharing remove some of their unattainable magic? Can a balance be found?”

The panel will take place on the Saturday, March 21 and I hope anyone reading this who’s planning on attending the conference will attend.  I can’t say just yet who all will be on the panel, but it’s going to be great.

So now, I would like your input… I want to make the discussion everything you want it to be, so please email me or comment here and tell me your answers to the below four things… everyone who responds will be the first to get the Communicating With Fans e-book based on my talk earlier this year in Halifax.

Here’s what I’d like to know…

• what tools you are using to communicate with your fans?
• how often do you interact with them?
• are your fans happy with your level of interaction or do they want more/less?
• what tools/info/data/access that you don’t have now, would help you better communicate with your fans?

Thanks so much, your input is truly appreciated.

Is he an aspiring musician?

I heard a radio commercial the other day, extolling the virtues of the electronics and audio store’s vast selection of headphones. “And for the aspiring musician on your list… we have the… blah blah blah.”

“Aspiring musician”…. that phrase gets tossed around a lot, but what does it mean? It seems to me that it’s something someone calls you if they don’t think you’re very successful at the moment. It’s almost offensive really. Somehow, the word “successful” has become implied when talking about musicians. As if to say, you’re not a musician, unless you’re a successful musician. But really, if you pick up an instrument and create a sequence of notes that pleases your ear… you’re a musician. Or if you open your mouth, and intentionally make a melodic sound, you’re a musician.

You could be aspiring to become more successful than you currently are, but with so many different possible definitions of success, maybe you already are a successful musician.

Don’t let people call you an aspiring musician, because you’re not. You either are a musician, or you aren’t.

So… what are you aspiring to?