Comments on: Authenticity: A new currency in the artist-fan relationship http://www.innerrhythm.org/blog/authenticity-a-new-currency-in-the-artist-fan-relationship/ for independent musicians worldwide Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:51:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Manisha Shahane http://www.innerrhythm.org/blog/authenticity-a-new-currency-in-the-artist-fan-relationship/#comment-328 Manisha Shahane Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:34:22 +0000 http://www.innerrhythm.org/blog/authenticity-a-new-currency-in-the-artist-fan-relationship/#comment-328 Peter, I'm definitely going to check out your blog. I did something similar at June end just on a whim, out of desire to touch base with my peeps out there to whom I had not written in a while . . . no frills, no make up, just presented a work in progress and was equally nervous about putting it "out there" just like that. I did add some text to it to set it up, because I'm into video production, but overall it was lo-fi and simple - just using my laptop. I did tell my list about it. - it was fun and such a release and, like you, I also received some encouraging feedback about the connection it offered. This is where it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azGyLqextu8 I'm off to check out your sexy guitar blog. -Manisha Peter, I’m definitely going to check out your blog. I did something similar at June end just on a whim, out of desire to touch base with my peeps out there to whom I had not written in a while . . . no frills, no make up, just presented a work in progress and was equally nervous about putting it “out there” just like that. I did add some text to it to set it up, because I’m into video production, but overall it was lo-fi and simple - just using my laptop. I did tell my list about it. - it was fun and such a release and, like you, I also received some encouraging feedback about the connection it offered.

This is where it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azGyLqextu8

I’m off to check out your sexy guitar blog.
-Manisha

]]> By: Tim Mainka a.k.a. Sonic Freedom® http://www.innerrhythm.org/blog/authenticity-a-new-currency-in-the-artist-fan-relationship/#comment-327 Tim Mainka a.k.a. Sonic Freedom® Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:43:56 +0000 http://www.innerrhythm.org/blog/authenticity-a-new-currency-in-the-artist-fan-relationship/#comment-327 i dig! i dig!

]]> By: Peter Blueb http://www.innerrhythm.org/blog/authenticity-a-new-currency-in-the-artist-fan-relationship/#comment-325 Peter Blueb Sun, 24 Aug 2008 08:06:58 +0000 http://www.innerrhythm.org/blog/authenticity-a-new-currency-in-the-artist-fan-relationship/#comment-325 I'm just processing Morning Tune Up 61. A while ago I started to record videos of improvised, uncensored music, that I play to greet the new day. I just sit down on the studio floor in front of my little photo camera. (Lofi, lo tech) It is the first thing I do in the morning after my first cup of tea. In the beginning it was a bit strange to do it. But now it has become my morning meditation. But more is happening: I get fans. Not through promotion. It is because of my BEING there in front of the camera. Facing the uncertain. Maybe with a headache from last nights party. Sunny days, rainy days. I'm there. And my fans love it. It is completely different from our albums with Blue Star although there is a strong connection musically and personally. People who discover me on utube or via my blog check out the Blue Star homepage. And of course they want more music and love our albums. You can find all of my Morning Tune Ups at http://sexyguitar.blogspot.com Would love to meet you there; Peter I’m just processing Morning Tune Up 61. A while ago I started to record videos of improvised, uncensored music, that I play to greet the new day.
I just sit down on the studio floor in front of my little photo camera. (Lofi, lo tech)
It is the first thing I do in the morning after my first cup of tea.
In the beginning it was a bit strange to do it. But now it has become my morning meditation.
But more is happening: I get fans. Not through promotion.
It is because of my BEING there in front of the camera. Facing the uncertain. Maybe with a headache from last nights party. Sunny days, rainy days. I’m there. And my fans love it.
It is completely different from our albums with Blue Star although there is a strong connection musically and personally. People who discover me on utube or via my blog check out the Blue Star homepage. And of course they want more music and love our albums. You can find all of my Morning Tune Ups at http://sexyguitar.blogspot.com
Would love to meet you there;

Peter

]]> By: Manisha Shahane http://www.innerrhythm.org/blog/authenticity-a-new-currency-in-the-artist-fan-relationship/#comment-323 Manisha Shahane Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:48:26 +0000 http://www.innerrhythm.org/blog/authenticity-a-new-currency-in-the-artist-fan-relationship/#comment-323 Thank you for this wonderful post. Everything you've written speaks to me. One additional tip - which is just a personal thing - would be to consider addressing different groups of people appropriately in written communication. Sometimes when I get a "Dear Friends" newsletter from someone I don't know very well, I experience two things. . . first I feel - "oh how nice that this person feels close enough to me to include me as one of their friends" and I'm kind of drawn in. . . . Then, unless this person is a little off the rocker and really does think of me, a stranger, as a true blue friend, I wake up and realize that 1. s/he are just one of those folks who befriends all their fans or subscribers with good intent but without realizing that false or feigned closeness can potentially be a turn off for some folks or 2. they are in a transitional phase and don't quite realize yet that their fanbase has grown beyond their friends. My husband doesn't even go through these stages of emotions - he just ignores the "dear friends" message coming from a non-friend. One thing I have done when on some occasions I want to convey more than a quick "hello everyone" is that I address my whole list by addressing its parts as in "dear family, friends, and fans". Or if you don't like to use the word "fans", then something like this phrase that I personally prefer could also work: "greetings family, friends, and fellow music lovers". If you work some place and a large part of your list is in association with that organization, then address them in some way like "co-workers" or "colleagues", "fellow volunteers" etc. Come up with your own variation on this based on your personality and the members of your list and nothing beats funny, creative groupings (so long as they are not insulting). Though this is less my forte, I'll try something here at the risk of embarrassing and/or dating myself: "Greetings to all who remember life before and after the microwave oven: Today while I was writing a song about cooking...." The other extreme of "Hi everyone" is to address each subscriber individually. Thus far, I have not experimented with email merge to "personalize" letters, but I personally think that if used at all, it should be used carefully, perhaps limiting it to a subset of your list or people with whom you are not otherwise communicating regularly, because it risks coming off as a mass mail with a "Hi Joe" attached to it. My two cents. Thank you for this wonderful post. Everything you’ve written speaks to me. One additional tip - which is just a personal thing - would be to consider addressing different groups of people appropriately in written communication. Sometimes when I get a “Dear Friends” newsletter from someone I don’t know very well, I experience two things. . . first I feel - “oh how nice that this person feels close enough to me to include me as one of their friends” and I’m kind of drawn in. . . .

Then, unless this person is a little off the rocker and really does think of me, a stranger, as a true blue friend, I wake up and realize that 1. s/he are just one of those folks who befriends all their fans or subscribers with good intent but without realizing that false or feigned closeness can potentially be a turn off for some folks or 2. they are in a transitional phase and don’t quite realize yet that their fanbase has grown beyond their friends. My husband doesn’t even go through these stages of emotions - he just ignores the “dear friends” message coming from a non-friend.

One thing I have done when on some occasions I want to convey more than a quick “hello everyone” is that I address my whole list by addressing its parts as in “dear family, friends, and fans”. Or if you don’t like to use the word “fans”, then something like this phrase that I personally prefer could also work: “greetings family, friends, and fellow music lovers”. If you work some place and a large part of your list is in association with that organization, then address them in some way like “co-workers” or “colleagues”, “fellow volunteers” etc. Come up with your own variation on this based on your personality and the members of your list and nothing beats funny, creative groupings (so long as they are not insulting). Though this is less my forte, I’ll try something here at the risk of embarrassing and/or dating myself: “Greetings to all who remember life before and after the microwave oven: Today while I was writing a song about cooking….”

The other extreme of “Hi everyone” is to address each subscriber individually. Thus far, I have not experimented with email merge to “personalize” letters, but I personally think that if used at all, it should be used carefully, perhaps limiting it to a subset of your list or people with whom you are not otherwise communicating regularly, because it risks coming off as a mass mail with a “Hi Joe” attached to it. My two cents.

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