Sharing is Caring
If Janelle Monae comes out with a new single I will tell EVERYBODY. But if a friend of mine has a gig at a local pub, will I do the same?
The answer is no, basically. Or at least not to the same degree. Perhaps I feel like someone as famous as Janelle is an easier sell than "a friend of mine". I mean, who even is this friend of yours? Can we trust her? Is her music that good if she's only singing at pubs and not headlining Glastonbury? I see my colleagues' or friends' faces fall a bit when I ask them to come see my play or watch my new music video. Like they're worried if they engage they'll have to pretend they like it. This happens so often to people that these exchanges are regularly documented in films and tv.
The thing is, your friend is playing a gig at a tiny pub in the middle of nowhere because that's what's being offered her at the moment. She doesn't have a lot of money and she doesn't have a lot of time to promote herself because she's trying to make ends meet at various jobs. So she takes what she can get, and says yes to gigs that don't pay because she needs the exposure. The artistic community is so underfunded that it relies on her working for no money. And the cycle continues. But if we all went to see her play then maybe more people would go see fringe theatre and then there would be a demand for it, a necessity to fund these projects.
Lately I've become more active on Twitter and I've noticed that before I read people's tweets I will check to see how many likes it has first. Can you believe that? I actually care how popular a tweet is before I read it as if that dictates how much I will like it. When I realised this about myself I was horrified. But then I realised it's just an extension of what I mentioned at the beginning of this post. A lot of people will only support things they already know have been liked by thousands of people.
I've been making an effort every morning as I go to work to listen to artists I've not heard of before. It's such a great exercise. There's a whole world of weird and wonderful stuff out there that can inspire you and I promise, it will not always come from a famous person. To that end, I've left a few suggestions below for people to listen to (some of whom are old friends of mine!). And if you like them, SHARE. Tell your friends. If you're not a massive fan of the style, tell people who are. Word of mouth is an artist's best friend. Remember that saying in the bizz "It's all about who you know"? Well, it's also all about who knows you.
(Sorry they're all Spotify links! But you can stream them anywhere)
Soulful, honest melody:
Leave My Heart Behind by Storry
Weird and wonderful:
Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides by SOPHIE
Heartfelt rap:
Flavour of Green by Queens D. Light
Bangin rock:
Make You Mine by Kara Bond & The XYZ
The answer is no, basically. Or at least not to the same degree. Perhaps I feel like someone as famous as Janelle is an easier sell than "a friend of mine". I mean, who even is this friend of yours? Can we trust her? Is her music that good if she's only singing at pubs and not headlining Glastonbury? I see my colleagues' or friends' faces fall a bit when I ask them to come see my play or watch my new music video. Like they're worried if they engage they'll have to pretend they like it. This happens so often to people that these exchanges are regularly documented in films and tv.
The thing is, your friend is playing a gig at a tiny pub in the middle of nowhere because that's what's being offered her at the moment. She doesn't have a lot of money and she doesn't have a lot of time to promote herself because she's trying to make ends meet at various jobs. So she takes what she can get, and says yes to gigs that don't pay because she needs the exposure. The artistic community is so underfunded that it relies on her working for no money. And the cycle continues. But if we all went to see her play then maybe more people would go see fringe theatre and then there would be a demand for it, a necessity to fund these projects.
Lately I've become more active on Twitter and I've noticed that before I read people's tweets I will check to see how many likes it has first. Can you believe that? I actually care how popular a tweet is before I read it as if that dictates how much I will like it. When I realised this about myself I was horrified. But then I realised it's just an extension of what I mentioned at the beginning of this post. A lot of people will only support things they already know have been liked by thousands of people.
I've been making an effort every morning as I go to work to listen to artists I've not heard of before. It's such a great exercise. There's a whole world of weird and wonderful stuff out there that can inspire you and I promise, it will not always come from a famous person. To that end, I've left a few suggestions below for people to listen to (some of whom are old friends of mine!). And if you like them, SHARE. Tell your friends. If you're not a massive fan of the style, tell people who are. Word of mouth is an artist's best friend. Remember that saying in the bizz "It's all about who you know"? Well, it's also all about who knows you.
(Sorry they're all Spotify links! But you can stream them anywhere)
Soulful, honest melody:
Leave My Heart Behind by Storry
Weird and wonderful:
Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides by SOPHIE
Heartfelt rap:
Flavour of Green by Queens D. Light
Bangin rock:
Make You Mine by Kara Bond & The XYZ
This is beautiful, Erica, and definitely gives me food for thought. Xoxo
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