Archive for the ‘Fans and Fandom’ Category
Connecting With Fans Is Important
This is something we’ve believed all along. Maybe the majors will figure it out soon enough:
Even If You’re On A Major Label, Connecting With Fans Is Important
Duran Duran and The Bootleg Issue
Many hard-core Duran Duran fans woke up yesterday morning to discover their favorite fan site duranduran.no had been taken down due to a cease and desist order involving the band and its lawyers. This site was an infamous hangout for the band’s fandom for many years – a place to listen to and download bootlegs of Duran Duran performances, but also a place to hear demos of unreleased tracks. The site had co-existed peacefully with the band up until yesterday when the webmaster took down the site and replaced it with this message:
Following receipt of a letter from Duran Duran’s lawyers, Grubman Indursey & Shire P.C., on the 23rd of February 2009, duranduran.no has ceased to exist.
We cannot comment further on the actual contents of it, however we’d like to say thank you to everyone who has visited us over the years & helped to make the site what it was, as well as for the hundreds of messages of dismay, support & good wishes which we have received over the last week – Klaus & PocketDemon.Separately, since I am deeply upset by their actions, a list of “For Sale Items” of my entire collection of official items and memorabilia, can be found here
- Klaus.
So my question is this? Are bootlegs and this sort of material bad for business? Or do they keep fans interested in a band that many already feel don’t truly care about fans. Could this be the sort of attitude that prevented the band’s last album from pushing many copies? Or is the band in the right in requesting that such a site be taken down? Also, why the wait? This site has been around for many years… Why request it be taken down now?
My personal opinion is that the fans come first, no matter what. Especially if you’re struggling with album sales and maintaining your current deal with your label. This sort of material has always kept fans energized in the past, especially with new album releases. It kept fans engaged in a way that the band doesn’t seem to understand is so important. So why not embrace this site and its fans? Why punish it? Because, in the end, the backlash from taking this fan favorite down is going to be more hurtful than helpful. The message boards are full of angry fans right now.
Angry fans are not good for business, in any shape, form or fashion. Also, there was no profit being made from this site.
But that’s my opinion. What’s yours?
(Speaking of fandom, I really should blog about my experiences at the Gallifrey 2009 Doctor Who convention. That was such a positive and great lesson in fandom that I should really share.)
Fans are NOT Assets
I was reading a blog today that had quotes from a company that works with establishing relationships with fans and artists. It was a very business-like quote, which sounded like it came from some marketing person. But what really irked me the most about this quote was that it termed fans “assets.”
Your fans are not assets. They are real, living, breathing people. They have jobs or they go to school, they live lives that could very well be extremely busy, but they make time for you, the artist. To establish a good relationship with your fans, you have to see them that way. I feel that treating them as an “asset” belittles that relationship.
This is something that Sunrise strives not to do. Sure, I may have minored in marketing in college, but fans are what they are – fans. They are people who take time out of their busy lives to tell others about your music. They don’t HAVE to do that… they could be doing a million other things. I think that sometimes some artists tend to forget that. As well as companies who make a living working with fans.
For us, we ARE fans, so we feel that makes us different. And although I don’t want to make this a sales pitch to doing business with Sunrise Promotions, I do encourage artists to work with others who understand that fans aren’t just statistics.
I’m sure we all can get caught up in the “business” side of things sometimes. But your fans don’t want to be involved in your “business,” they just want to share you with the rest of the world. Know that and appreciate that every chance you can get.
And in other news, I’ve been published! At least online. Be sure to check out “The Value of Street Teams” on the Associated Content website:
Robin
How Treating Your Online Fans Well Can Pay Off
Great blog about Wilco and how they treat their fans:
http://www.onlinefandom.com/archives/how-to-relate-to-your-fans-online/
The good news is that this has paid off. A follow-up blog shows us the results of treating your online fans well:
http://www.onlinefandom.com/archives/rightly-rewarding-wilco/
Right now, Wilco’s album is #4 on the US Charts, #7 in Norway, #9 in Canada and top 40 in Sweden, Germany, Spain, Ireland and the UK. Why? Because they treated their fans with trust, gave them a few freebies, communicated with them and then asked them that in return, they buy the album. And they did.
It seems so simple doesn’t it?
Another Case of a Band Angering Their Fans
This seems to be a sorry trend with the acts on the major labels, so I hope that all of you independent acts learn a valuable lesson here. Don’t deliberately anger your fans – it’s a very stupid thing to do: