Can social media salvage careers of yesteryear artistes

The buzz word nowadays for utilising the Internet — or, if you prefer, “going online” — is either “downloads” or visiting a social media site. Keeping that in mind, it came as no surprise that the country-revolving Social Media Week (SMW) made its debut in India with Mumbai as the host city from September 23 to 27 this year. The basis of hosting SMW in Mumbai was to — in official speak — “bring diverse expressions from various people from different walks of life and professions in a collaborative and participative manner through relevantly themed events”. With those thoughts in mind, I decided to undertake research on the relevance of social media with today’s musicians, both mainstream and indie, who are using social media to connect with fans, build anticipation, and generate revenue in new and unique ways. The products range from releasing singles, shooting innovative to shocking music videos, launching unconventional merchandise including oddly shaped USB sticks, and even releasing vinyl discs. But, how are these artistes — especially those that can be treated as part of nostalgia — reaching their new fan bases online through social channels With innovativeness being the catch word, and a new connection being formed between artistes and their fans — a connection that empowers both to provide each other what they are looking for — social media is the new name of the game. Much like the business world, social media marketing and promotion for musicians is still a relatively new innovation, with no precise recipe for platinum success. However, it is worth considering the efforts being placed especially by those artistes who have spent close to 50 years in the entertainment industry or more While this is certainly true largely for independent artistes, what does appear as a surprise is that artistes from yesteryears are also willing to not only acknowledge, but also accept, that to retain their fan base — especially those who were probably not born when the artiste had their first hit — and, thereafter, expand on it, does require time and effort in marketing and promotions in the digital space. One such artiste who has embraced social media is keyboardist Elton John. After waiting for seven years to release a solo studio album, The Diving Board, which was launched on September 16 in the UK and September 24 in the US this year, Elton made it available for streaming on Amazon nearly two weeks ahead of its release to enable listeners to audition the songs (“It’s got everything I love about American music — gospel, soul, country”) prior to launch. The result, Elton’s 31st solo album made its debut on the UK album chart at No. 3, all this even after 44 years following the release of his debut album! But, Sir Elton is not alone when it comes to those from the physical past accepting the digital future. Paul McCartney — also a knight and, hence, who should be referred to as Sir Paul — joined Instagram on August 28 this year to promote his new album, appropriately called New, which is being launched in the UK on October 14 this year and a day later in the US. The former Beatles member joined an elite club of veterans who, in the past few months, have embraced the modern world of social media. Meanwhile, for the uninitiated, Instagram is an online photo-sharing, video-sharing, and social networking service that enables its users to click photos and shoot videos, and share them online. Taking a lead over both Sir Paul and Sir Elton, though was yet another legend from the past, Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant — with whom I shared a table at Mumbai’s Taj Hotel in 1996 during the Channel [V] annual awards — who, on August 8 this year, created an Instagram and Twitter account to complement his new website, www.robertplant.com. To create excitement over his newly found status in social media, Plant permitted the first 25,000 followers of his Twitter account an opportunity to download a version of Led Zeppelin’s What Is And What Should Never Be. The song, which first appeared on Led Zeppelin II in 1969 and was written about a romantic interlude that Plant had with his wife’s younger sister, is presently performed by Plant’s current band, The Sensational Space Shifters. As on end September, Plant had 55,904 followers on Twitter (twitter.com/RobertPlant). It is obvious that the two-way, personalised dialogue between artiste and fan cannot be ignored even by rock legends anymore. What happens to them next