Venues, Artists, Social Media and the Web

Music venues in my town are horrible at social media and their own websites leave much to be desired. If I were an artist, this would not sit well with me. However, artists themselves could do more.

Venues

In a town with a population of about 100,000 we have at least 20 venues that have live music on a regular basis, probably more. I don't know all of them because some I don't care for the music they feature. To be fair, there are a few that do a good job of promoting shows, but there are far too many who don't. If you're a regular at said venue, then you know what's going on, otherwise it's a crap shoot.

A newer venue has artists every weekend. Their website makes no mention of shows. I was in the other day for lunch and was asking for details from the waitress. I mentioned the poor website and she said they were working on it but to check Facebook because it's all there. Checked Facebook, clicked on upcoming events, nothing. There was one post that indicated live music on Friday and Saturday with the names of the artists. ONE POST. They don't have a Twitter account.

Another venue, which is predominately a restaurant, has a pretty cool outdoor music vibe.Their Twitter account is nothing but food pics (which is ok, but who is playing?) The website has no mention of who is playing.

Surely at some point a venue has a bartender or a server who has been around long enough to have gained trust. Pay them some extra money to promote on social media. They're probably already active there anyway.

Or maybe there is a market for social media managers on a small scale, I don't know. But do something.

Artists

This is much less of an issue. Most artists today promote themselves through social media. Here's the rub: If i don't know who you are, I'm not following you on social media. BandsInTown is a great tool. Last weekend there were more live shows in town than I knew about. Friday night had three artists on BandsInTown. There were probably  4X that many shows.

I don't know what it takes for an artist to use that app, but for a music fan, it's free and useful. Especially if the venue sucks at promotion. If I don't know you're in town, I'm only going to find you by accident (which has happened, but it's a crap shoot). 

You may think it doesn't matter. So maybe one person knows we're playing tonight. It may only be that one person on that particular night, but if that one person goes and likes what they hear/see, then you have a fan that will promote you the next time you're in town. It all matters.

Why I Fired Terrestrial Radio

I may not be the best case study because I've really never been a huge fan of radio. It just never played what I liked on the same station.

Growing up in a rural Texas town we could get one, maybe two country stations. Finding myself a rock fan, I've been digging for music ever since I can remember.

Music is the main reason I fired radio. Living in a place with a population of around 100,000 we have 10 to 12 radio stations. It's either nostalgia or new stuff that I don't care to listen to. I have to find new good stuff from other sources.

But the kicker in me totally removing myself from radio was when my favorite on-air personality left for a bigger market. It wasn't that music on the station changed. It was that nobody took his place on social.

He was knowledgeable in the genre and very accessible socially. He hosted an evening request hour. You could tweet your requests. Sometimes I would tweet "play something new that's comparable to 'X'".

I like the people on one of the morning shows, but they are virtually inaccessible socially. The music they play sucks, but I would listen more if they were more socially active.

I still listen to radio, but only as background noise at work. The classic rock station. Never to hear anything new or interesting. It's just not there.

To play on a phrase that made news recently, for this music geek if you're on mainstream radio, you don't exist.

RIP Richard Durrett

The internet in general and social media specifically can be a very cruel place. It's very easy to hide in the anonymity it provides.

It also can be very uplifting. And tear-inducing. And poignant. And good.

Richard Durrett passed away today of a brain aneurysm. He's younger than I am. He leaves behind two young children and a wife.

I never knew Richard Durrett personally. He was a baseball writer, covering my Texas Rangers. All I knew about him was from his writing and appearances on radio. Until tonight.

Of course I follow many baseball writers and DFW sports people on twitter. With the news of Durrett's passing, there has been a flood of tweets about him. Not one negative word has been written. You wouldn't expect anything negative to be said so soon, but these were glowing remembrances of the man. Of the father. Of the colleague. Of the acquaintance.

Yes, there are times when I hate what social media does. Then there is tonight.

RIP, Richard Durrett. And prayers for those loved ones left behind.