Category: facebook

Make Vienna Number 1 in the UK

Please note: Change of Date! Please download Vienna from Sunday, April 4 to Saturday, April 10 only.

Vienna for Number One Campaign
“The 2010 fan led Facebook Campaign to see Ultravox finally get to number one with ‘Vienna’ on the eve of their UK tour, is gaining momentum, almost thirty years on from the time it was held off the top slot by both John Lennon and Joe Dolce. …”
“The Facebook group urges fans to purchase and download the Vienna single from any legal UK based source such as Amazon or Itunes. Downloads will be from Sunday, April 4 to Saturday, April 10 only.  Overseas fans can join in by going to nokiamusic.co.uk – this is how Rage Against the
Machine Fans outside the UK made their purchases count towards the UK chart. The campaign Youtube channel , including STV and BBC Radio coverage can be viewed at youtube.com/viennacampaign.

Please use the Tweet, Facebook, and Addthis buttons on this page to help spread the word….
Some text Reproduced from official press release….

Now watch the video to get you in the mood..

Only Connect

Amongst the things I’ve been doing recently in terms of music-making is trying to improve my Facebook band page, and hopefully make it a place for people to hang out and discuss my tracks, and hopefully download some of those tracks while they’re visiting. So far I’ve only got about 40 fans, which isn’t a lot, but while they’re visiting my page, they’ll want something to listen to…

So, is Facebook the place to do all of this for someone like me who isn’t that well-known? I’m not sure right now. A lot of the bands I’ve seen on Facebook have some free tracks on there, plus fan photos, gigs, and other announcements. A place for fans to hang out.  I guess that a lot of bands on Facebook have already got a big following, or at least some sort of following. They’ve been playing gigs, so the people who go to the gigs might want to share their experiences and want to connect with the band members and get more of them and their music. The same probably goes for a band or solo musician who has had a hit record or is well-known on TV and in the music press. The same as before. They’ve already got some sort of following.

I honestly don’t know if Facebook is the right place for someone like me who hasn’t played a gig or hasn’t already got a following. I know that people like Lily Allen built up a following on Myspace. Maybe it was the way Myspace is set up that makes it musician-friendly and fan-friendly. Music player, a place to post comments, a mini-blog, some photos, and that’s it. All in one place. However, she probably used it for people who’d seen her in gigs and in the press to connect with her.

Can you build up a following or get loads of fans on Facebook if you haven’t already got a regular following? I’ve had one of my tracks, albeit a remix of another band’s tune, released on a CD, been played on radio, and even been in the top 30 of radio airplay charts. The same track was on an EP on an Indie record label, and was followied by a couple more remixes, also released on indie labels. However, do the people who buy those tracks and listen to them on Soundcloud, Last FM, Beatport, and Bandcamp want to connect with a musician who they’ve never seen in person, who hasn’t been on the tv, or who hasn’t created a buzz. The website “The New Rockstar Philosophy” says that Facebook ads work for bands who have a “serious” budget. Most relatively unknown bands haven’t got a serious budget so that’s out. I usually send my Facebook friends those wonderful “suggest” messages, and other bands probably do too. I guess most people ignore those messages, and certainly don’t recommend your band to their friends if you do the “suggest” thing.

So, should I stick to Myspace to connect with my “fans” or “friends” (I have over a thousand) but I guess most of those are people who went on Myspace to plug their own music when it was the in thing. Should I use Facebook ads or just plug my Facebook page all over the web? I think the answer is that I can’t up the interest in my music by my Facebook page alone. I’m going to have to do a couple of gigs and connect with the masses, and maybe create a buzz or two.

Why Facebook and kids

Well, I’m certainly getting a lot of hits on here about kids using Facebook. Why’s that then? Dunno, really. Maybe a lot of kids go on it, and a lot of parents either want to monitor what they’re doing on it or don’t want them on it all. I like all this social networking thing. Don’t get me wrong. Think it’s great. Very useful, very now. Can’t see the world going back to a Facebook-less era. However, why are parents still letting their kids as young as six or seven going on Facebook? Why? What reason? Have they forgotten how to talk? Fine – if your relatives are halfway round the world. What about Skype. What about setting up your own family social network on blog thing. Anyway. The debate still goes on and it rankles with me that I still see all my kids’ friends on there. So what are the schools doing about it? Not a lot at the moment, but maybe it’s finally getting through to the schools that something should be done about it. Take this for example.  Internet Safety for children.  Maybe things will start changing.

So, why am I on Facebook if I’m not happy about young  kids being on it? Well, I’ve been in touch with a few people from school, and I’m using it to plug my music. That’s it. That’s all. If you’re on Facebook and want to become a fan of my music, click here and “Become a Fan“. I’m also on Twitter.

The gratuitous plug.

I did a remix for dub band International Observer a while ago. The track is called “Popcorn Slavery (mistrust remix)” and is out on the band’s EP on Monday 22nd February. You can hear previews of it on my Soundcloud and Myspace pages, and it’s available to download from Monday on all major music sites, and the band’s own Bandcamp page. Spread the word.

Here’s the soundcloud player for it….