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 …

So if you’re in a band and you’ve decided that you need to post more updates on your site than you currently are, or if you want to try and make your updates a little more interesting (and who doesn’t?)… try applying more concept.  More of a “hook.”
Here’s what I mean… say for example, you just want to keep your site updated frequently, so you’ve decided you will write a daily blog for an upcoming …

This is the subject of a panel topic I have submitted to SXSW2010.  The focus of the panel would be to have a discussion over the use of interaction and interactive tools, by bands and musicians.  Some musicians say they would rather remain private, and let their music do the speaking to the fans… others are more than happy to open up and communicate directly with fans.  Is one strategy better than the other?  Are …

Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, LastFM, buzznet, Bebo, Xanga, Hi5, Youtube, Reverbnation, iLike, imeem, orkut, and the list goes on… there is seemingly a TON of different social networks that a band could potentially have a presence on.  The problem is, each one then requires updating and managing… which can become very time consuming.  The other problem is that these social networks seem to pop up all the time, there’s always new ones around the bend, and …

So it’s the kickoff to the North By Northeast music festival here in Toronto, which is Canada’s version of the SXSW fest.  NXNE isn’t anywhere near as big as it’s southern brother, but in some ways that’s better… you don’t feel like you miss out on as much.  Oh, there’s lots happening, more than enough to fill your evenings with many options of great bands at each timeslot, but not to the point where every …

Don’t freak out… this post isn’t meant to make you more paranoid, it’s meant to try making you see the promotional potential in everything you do. Keep that in mind as you read the next bit, and if you’ve ever read any Seth Godin blogs or books, the themes in this post may be familiar to you, but hey… if you’re in a band and you’re reading Seth Godin, then you’re on the right …

When it comes to interacting with your fans and friends, and sharing information with them online, keep the subject heading of this post in mind.
Social networking is extremely useful for showcasing your personality, or posting “slice-of-life” information that’s designed to give readers/viewers/listeners an inside perspective into what you’re all about… They want to know who you are, and they want to be interested in you, so give them the information that’s going to be interesting …

There are a lot of bands registering for Twitter these days, and while the subject of this post is not specific to Twitter, it certainly was inspired by what I’ve seen a lot of while spending time using the service.  I know I’ve touched on this topic briefly in one of my previous posts, but I feel this particular behaviour needed a post of it’s own.  The behaviour I’m talking about, is “broadcasting.”  This is …

Back in February I published an article, “Building Fan-Band Relationships In 420 Characters Per Day” that put forward some tips on how bands could take better advantage of the Twitter platform, and utilize it to more effectively communicate with their fans.
Since then, I have seen a large growth in the number of bands who are using Twitter, and have seen many examples of good practices and some examples of not-so-good practices, some of which I’d …

Two things that sound similar, but are completely different.
When you’re planning to send an outward communication, whether it’s online, on-stage, in an interview, in a conversation with a fan, or whatever… always try to think about what your fans want to hear from you.  Try to be interesting. Share unique anecdotes that illustrate your personality, show examples of some of your personal quirks, likes, or dislikes.  Talk about the things that excite you, the …