I know this might sound silly, but there is something awesome about ordering direct from an artist, opening the whiplash mailer, and seeing a sticker or handwritten note inside.
This is a good summary of the aggregated advice we musicians have been getting from many quarters since a couple years before the pandemic. A couple caveats, tho':
1) For all its appeal, vinyl remains a terrifying upfront expense for all but the most well-financed artists with the most "sure-shot" pre-sale prospects. It also wreaks havoc upon another thing the advisers insist we have: a consistent release schedule. Until manufacturers are more plentiful and more capacious, vinyl remains a dangerous gamble for artists that CDs are not.
2) It's become somewhat fraught these past few years to court and encourage "parasocial " relationships with people who may like your music; and the idea of seeking or creating "superfans" is a bit ethically suspect. Cults abound in many cultural fields, + a certain fatigue with that level of intense marketing interaction is bound to set in somewhat soon. As a musician, I'd much more enjoy having "casual fans"; whose lives my work may make a little bit brighter without demanding the disproportionate spending of their time and attention and agency over aspects of my normal human presence that such parasocial relationships create. Not out of any pose of misanthropy, either; I just respect their lives and milieus as they are, and would rather earn a small pleasant space with my work in those than a larger, more fraught one.
Maybe I'm alone in this wish, but the "superfan" thing seems to lead nowhere good for those who become idol or idolizer.
I listen, eagerly, to all your voice-overs! Partly to convince myself to do more of my own, but also 'cause I dig your voice! The vision of a tiny Andy talking into his speakers is an adorable picture, and I wish I could've been that wonder-filled as a vinyl-spinning '60s tot! Maybe I talked to Bozo's red record on my carry-case record player around 1960 when I was 5! I hope so.
Gotta be honest, dood.....I've never heard of Super Fans or this new trend of DTC. Plus, I haven't been to a live gig in about a decade (Ian Anderson here in Austin, TX), so I don't know from merch tables. I've heard of merch tables at shows, but didn't realize it's leaned on by artists a lot now. And, with the 'Net, a closeness of artists to fans BETTER be happening, or we're not doing it right! And, it's great to see fans using the 'Net and other means to help ensure their cash actually gets to the creator.
Beautiful last paragraph and a clever, heart-warming call-back to your opening!
I know this might sound silly, but there is something awesome about ordering direct from an artist, opening the whiplash mailer, and seeing a sticker or handwritten note inside.
This is good news and is helping sway my decision whether I want to press some vinyl or not. I think it’s a yes! Next year hopefully.
This is a good summary of the aggregated advice we musicians have been getting from many quarters since a couple years before the pandemic. A couple caveats, tho':
1) For all its appeal, vinyl remains a terrifying upfront expense for all but the most well-financed artists with the most "sure-shot" pre-sale prospects. It also wreaks havoc upon another thing the advisers insist we have: a consistent release schedule. Until manufacturers are more plentiful and more capacious, vinyl remains a dangerous gamble for artists that CDs are not.
2) It's become somewhat fraught these past few years to court and encourage "parasocial " relationships with people who may like your music; and the idea of seeking or creating "superfans" is a bit ethically suspect. Cults abound in many cultural fields, + a certain fatigue with that level of intense marketing interaction is bound to set in somewhat soon. As a musician, I'd much more enjoy having "casual fans"; whose lives my work may make a little bit brighter without demanding the disproportionate spending of their time and attention and agency over aspects of my normal human presence that such parasocial relationships create. Not out of any pose of misanthropy, either; I just respect their lives and milieus as they are, and would rather earn a small pleasant space with my work in those than a larger, more fraught one.
Maybe I'm alone in this wish, but the "superfan" thing seems to lead nowhere good for those who become idol or idolizer.
I listen, eagerly, to all your voice-overs! Partly to convince myself to do more of my own, but also 'cause I dig your voice! The vision of a tiny Andy talking into his speakers is an adorable picture, and I wish I could've been that wonder-filled as a vinyl-spinning '60s tot! Maybe I talked to Bozo's red record on my carry-case record player around 1960 when I was 5! I hope so.
Gotta be honest, dood.....I've never heard of Super Fans or this new trend of DTC. Plus, I haven't been to a live gig in about a decade (Ian Anderson here in Austin, TX), so I don't know from merch tables. I've heard of merch tables at shows, but didn't realize it's leaned on by artists a lot now. And, with the 'Net, a closeness of artists to fans BETTER be happening, or we're not doing it right! And, it's great to see fans using the 'Net and other means to help ensure their cash actually gets to the creator.
Beautiful last paragraph and a clever, heart-warming call-back to your opening!