The Commodification of Connection?
From email lists to super-fans - as the music industry's buzzwords evolve, as an independent artist I find myself questioning what success really means beyond the hot takes and latest trends.
As independent artists, we find ourselves at a crossroads, questioning the effectiveness of the latest trends in audience-building and the true meaning of success in our careers. Now that the world around us has embraced the narrative that the grind as a musician is hard, what comes next? As every person hawking an answer to a problem switches to telling us the ‘hard truth’ - that virality is dead and direct connection now comes first - we are told they are helping us build something real, something more than likes and viral posts. We are all in unison pivoting away from virality to connection, and aiming for depth over breadth, a refreshing change yes, but will this mean in the future?
There always has to be an answer to sell. So, what comes from the enshittification of selling sustainability? For every short course and consultancy that's peddled, selling us the answer of how to build a 'real' fan base or to find our superfans, I think we are edging closer to the end of this current super-fan cycle for those of us on the ground doing the work. But, given that the super-fan hyperbole has only just started for the major labels, do we, the independent artist community, see ourselves as ahead or behind the major label industry? We should be looking for more, doing the dirty work of experimenting, working things out as the boots on the ground, learning through failure and success. But instead, many of us seem to be toeing the line; funnelling from social media to an email list at best, and just because it's the “right” thing to do… but does it work? The issue with what lies ahead is that the issues for creators have never changed. Is it still just a popularity contest? Are we still like teenagers at school vying for attention in the most basic ways? Even in circles selling sustainability (whatever that means) the urge to revert to short term visibility and attention continues to be irresistible to the platforms, labels and brands who hold the purse strings either literally or through being the conduit through which we reach people. The hype cycles and buzzwords have not really given us answers in a business sense, just a new way of spending our time (collecting data) with little proof of an end product, or how this pans out while major companies with much larger resources pivot to doing the same. The best I can say is that she shift on narrative has offered us other mental models, other ways to perceive and look for value. There will always be unicorn cases, and music/art will always provide an income to some outliers, as with all businesses, but what have we really learned?
These observations are reflected in my own experiences as an artist, particularly in the intangible nature of online connections and the fleeting moments of genuine impact. That audiences/fans are not simple, they are not a clear and definable thing we can build a strategy around. There aren't 1000 fans, the same as 1000 emails does not equal 1000 fans. They are fluid, ever-evolving, they are human. But also, due to the way social media has become their way of engaging with the world and our way of reaching out to it, these audiences have become like sand slipping through our fingers, like the air we breathe, relying on them to live without ever being able to see or feel them. Just when we think we have understood them, they slip away. Just when we think we have built a home for them to come to, the rug is pulled out from under us as the platforms we use shift and pivot to survive. They are us and we are them, yet navigating a creative career is still so hard to unpick and understand.
The fleeting nature of these online connections raises questions about their true value and how they contribute to an artist's sense of purpose and fulfilment. In brief, beautiful moments, a tangible connection slips through the social media system. A beautiful DM from the other side of the world from someone whose life your music deeply impacts. But that equation of art + connection = transaction? Value? It doesn't add up the way we expect. A ticket purchase is not a merch sale, a save is not a follow, an email is not a conversation. Are we chasing an illusion of connection, or are these brief moments of genuine impact enough to sustain us? Should those DMs be framed on our walls like plaques, or do we deserve more? We are left, as we always have been since the beginning of time, battling to build legitimacy, to create the most compelling argument as to why we should be the one to reach the next step. The never-ending game of cat and mouse which, for most, never brings an answer or a conclusion. How can I have a million streams and only 1000 followers? How can I have 1000 subscribers but only one paid subscriber? How can my music bring someone to tears but not motivate them to purchase a song, ticket, or t-shirt? What is meaningful? What is it we should be grateful for, and is asking for more being ungrateful?
The disposable nature of memories and experiences in the digital age adds another layer of complexity to the challenges artists face in finding meaning and value in their careers. The answer I often see coming out of the back end of any death spiral of a thing you love is the people. The connections, the shared memories, the shared battles, the shared experiences. But there are no photos of these, they are not our teenage travels or high school class photos. These dark forests, these networks of people with shared ethos or interests, how do we look back on them, how do we value them? In a platform-used world, there is no memory, no archive, no library or history. Everything is disposable, deletable, unstable, guarded, and organised by algorithms and the success metrics needed to get to the next funding round of the platforms. In a world where everything is fleeting and easily forgotten, how do we build a lasting sense of purpose and impact? The internet has built worlds for us with people we cannot physically reach, so how do we approach a future where the answers seem to increasingly look like real value lies offline? Tangible experiences are also fleeting. I grew up without a phone, without photos. There are only a handful of photos of my first band, probably my most meaningful and impactful music experience of my whole life. And of those photos, I am in none, because as the only one studying photography, I was the only one using a camera. But I still hold it close. That powerful time cannot be converted into anything. It is not a platform for a viable career. It was a seed for the life that I have been on. So now, I want to think about what the seeds I have planted over the last 4 years will grow into. As my first band did not lead to getting signed but instead led to a complex and broad career around music, what will grow next? And given what I have learned in life, how can I be more present and more aware of that journey? More purposeful?
As we navigate the cyclical nature of trends and the constant pressure to build and sustain meaningful connections with our audiences, it's essential to remember the true source of value in our creative careers: the impact our music has on others and the sense of purpose it gives us. Maybe the answer is right in front of me. It's a life, not a flamboyant one, not one filled with the reverence and "I told you so's" I dreamt of as a teenager. It's a life in and around music, full of memories that float to the surface or hide themselves away where they seem less important than metrics. The scary thing about this is not that I don't feel blessed, but that the mess around music-making and connections and feelings is what takes up so much time and energy. It sucks the light from the process, it makes it less tangible, hard to value. Even now, the energy and time we place into things that feel significant because they are part of a wider plan, a stepping stone, or level to complete in a larger game... but singularly, they have little meaning or impact. The equation is now balancing. And maybe that's what we need. An equation. What goes in? Money, time, emotion, purpose. What comes out? Progress, status, money, emotion, purpose? And what are the external factors? Time, rent, money. All underpinned by the great unknown: what are we missing out on? Life, other options, another version of us freed from the shackles of creativity as a career, when the shackles used to be the career that kept us from creativity. By staying true to ourselves and focusing on the moments of genuine connection, we can find balance and fulfilment in the face of an ever-changing industry.
I want to end by saying that all these thoughts are based on my own reality, my insecurities and my uncertainties. I have a had a great 4 years and in that time have tried to make the effort not to be scared to say “If you want to support me this is how…” but it’s not always as a cut and dry as it seems, even after a project like SCENES that really focussed in on small and powerful connections, really the last question will be; will people buy the book? and with the Substack the question will be; will people start a payed subscription? It’s these questions that should offer some answers as to what comes if we focus on emotional value, what comes of experimenting and looking for new models for independent music.. and only you can answer that, and maybe I will never know the answer.
This hit me right in the heart. I really think you are a trailblazer in thought and art.
Interesting, has me thinking a lot. One thing I'm thinking about is how technology has changed the expectations of artists. I might write something once I gather my thoughts. Good read.