Thank you to you and Grace for sharing how Grace has managed to use it in such a way that truly benefits her.

There are tips in there that all artists certainly learn from.

Maybe if this aspect of social media were made clearer, it might help some musicians get over the hump about going in this direction. Some perceive online social networking to be a superficial activity - for some it is a numbers game - but as Grace points out, it doesn’t have to be that way at all. It is about making it work in the best way for YOU. So individual personality types are likely to have different approaches to using this medium.

If you are a natural people person (as I am), then it is relatively easy to transfer meeting and greeting to the online world - though for me there is still nothing that beats meeting and chatting in the flesh over a cup of coffee. However, some musicians may be shy and, for them, I think it is really important to consider how best to utilize this “tool” and to understand what purposes it can serve for them.

Accordingly, I do believe there is an aspect of social media that falls under the promotion category of marketing (which basically covers any information that the artist or the artist’s management conveys to fans directly as opposed to publicity which relies on third parties like magazine and blog articles to convey information about the artist to others). When all the wheels of social media are working together, voila! We have redesigned the old fashioned fan club into something that is far more dynamic, making the fans and artists more accessible to each other. Social media cannot escape the marketing association, by virtue of some of its outcomes. The more your name is out there, the more chances you have of being found by yet another fan. For me, the bottom line is to be as honest as possible with yourself every step of the way about what you are doing and why. And to understand the trade-offs of your choices.

With that in mind, I especially appreciate Grace’s comment about how she manages her time with respect to social media. I perceive this to be another major hump for musicians who find this to be a time-consuming endeavor, taking away from their practice and writing time. But just as live performance is about the energy you and the audience exchange, I think this medium has the same potential. Maybe something someone writes to you gives you an idea and so we can think about social media also as part of our artist development - instead of just something that hinders us, something that we think of as a chore, something that takes us away from our “creative time” or “shedding’, it may help our artistic growth. The fact that Grace appears to have found a balance that works for her gives me hope as I’m still trying to work out the right balance. . .getting too much into it or just shunning it for periods.

It is like getting the consistency of the cake batter just right. Or the cake will fall. Kudos to Grace for baking a cake that appears to be something both she and her fans can enjoy with her heart and her art as the guides. Taking Grace’s cue, I will now excuse myself from this online medium to attend to other things. Thanks to Kavit for sharing this interview.