Dee Stone: Blog

i read an article last week that said most people today won't even check out your music unless they like your social media persona (facebook posts, tweets, etc.). i'm the opposite. if i like what you are doing musically, then i want to get to know you. i don't care if you're even on facebook or twitter. i'll find whatever i can find about you online, buy your music, or come see you live if you're close enough.

but then, i'm a musician. for me, it's about the music. plus, i grew up in a time where the only way you could hear a new act was radio, tv, or a friend turning you on to an album.  all you had to connect with was the song or the live performance. there was no youtube video, no twitter, no internet/media hype, no "they have 1,000,000 myspace friends, so they must be good."  it was only about the music and how it moved you. real music. real singers. real musicians playing real instruments.

i know the current scenario has been created by the business, technology, and the mtv generation. with the rise of videos, music took a back seat. people wanted to "see" the song. it could be a crappy song, but if the video was exciting, to them the song was exciting. sad.

for years, labels have been ignoring quality acts and pushing the quick-money-making-auto-tuned-lameness. at the same time, with the internet and current technology, everybody and their grandmother has the ability to throw some loops together and put their song and/or video out there for the world. people are so bombarded with crap every day that they feel like, "why should i listen to your music?" "what makes you special?"

to those stuck in the "i have to like your tweets to check out your music" mentality, get over that. get into the music. or not. most of the artists that i love, i will probably never meet, and i really don't have a desire to interact with them online. i respect their talent and i happily embrace what they give me musically.

let me add that, as a working musician, i know the value of someone who connects with your music enough to spend their money to buy your cd or actually get in their car and drive somewhere to see you. people always come up to me at gigs and say, "i found you online, i love your music." that is the reason we do what we do.  to find those people that get it and vibe with them.

at the same time, several people in the area have said to me online, "i'm a fan. i love your music." but, they have never come to see me live. i guess they are content with sitting in front of their computer and reading whatever i post online. then again, maybe they don't like my tweets, hahahahaha.