All right, so as you may have guessed from the title, in this post I'm going to be talking about all the ways we help our artist(s). Like I said in the introduction post, I really don't believe that fans understand just how powerful they are. There are so many ways that we can help and support our artist and some of those ways are going to be extremely obvious, like those I've always mentioned. Namely the first way that we help our artist(s) is to buy their music. Go to their concerts and buy their merchandise whenever possible. I'm going to take a second to add that I know that sometimes we aren't able to support our artist(s) financially and that's okay. If anyone ever feels guilty over that fact, they shouldn't. The truth is that while those are the most obvious, they are just the beginning of how we help.
We also help by requesting the songs they've released as singles. Now, sometimes I wonder how much this really helps. Sometimes radio stations have a set list of songs that they are allowed to play and they don't or can't deviate from that and if the song you're trying to request isn't on the list than it won't get played. If they take requests, it might just be more as a way to make the fans feel like they have a say. My guess is that it'd be the bigger stations that would do this. My feeling is you'll have more success with the smaller, hometown stations where you might be more familiar with the DJs who may be more inclined to play requests. That all said, I believe that we should request the song anywhere we can whatever the situation is. And even if the song is not on a list of songs they can play, if enough people request it and do so often, maybe that'll be enough to get it on the list. Definitely worth the effort there.
How else do we help? By recognizing the power of the music video. I've said it many times: music videos are crucial to an artist's success. Especially in a time when so many listen to their music via an iPod or other mP3 devices or their cell phones. You might not listen to the radio all that much, if ever, but odds are you'll find yourself turning on CMT or GAC - assuming you have those channels. As I'm sure most country fans are aware, both of them do a weekly top 20 countdown. It's no surprise that songs who have videos who do well on the countdowns do better on the singles charts. So we help by voting. On GAC, you can vote for 5 videos a day. There are some who believe you should only vote for your favorite artist on those. But if you're like me, you like several and want to support as many as possible, so I always do the 5 when I remember to vote. CMT's tougher because you can only vote for one. You have to pick wisely. Keeping in mind that the less known your artist/their song is, the more they need the votes. So if you're torn between casting a vote for say, Carrie Underwood, and giving a vote to someone like Thompson Square, I'd vote in favor of Thompson Square because an artist as big as Carrie is going to have more people voting for them.
A word of caution here: the music business is a tricky one. The newer upcoming artists will always need more support, but don't get complacent and assume that an artist doesn't need your help because they are one of country's biggest stars. Stars fall. New people come in and take over. So don't forget about them. Though honestly, the most important thing is to vote for whoever you think needs it the most or maybe just who you love the most - however you want to do it is awesome, just try and make the effort.
Speaking of those videos, you also want to make sure to watch them as often as possible on CMT.com and on their youtube channels, whether it's their main channel or their VEVO one - these days a lot of artists have both. Streaming the videos online shows that you have an interest and on a site like CMT, that can result in more airtime. And if you can help get them in CMT's top videos of the day on the site, than it'll show up on the main site which could lure other people in watching it. Which results in more airtime. The more the video gets shown, the more fans the artist might pick up and these days it's hard for a song to move up the charts if it doesn't have a video that's doing well. Not impossible, but the videos are very helpful there.
When promoting something, whether it's your favorite country artist(s) or something else, never underestimate the power of word of mouth. Talk about your favorite artist(s), understanding that your recommendation might just be enough to get someone to go out and buy their CD(s). Another thing not to underestimate? The power of the internet. Particularly the power of Facebook and twitter. There are fans who create fan twitters to promote their artist and I think that's awesome!
I feel like there's things I'm forgetting, but this feels like it's getting pretty long so I'm going to stop here for now. Be on the lookout for the next installment of this little series, which may continue ways we help if I can think of what I can't think of at the moment and of course, I have yet to go into the ways that we hurt them. More song reviews and album reviews on the way too! Let me know what you think about whatever and if you have any suggestions for other topics I could cover.
Thanks for reading!
We also help by requesting the songs they've released as singles. Now, sometimes I wonder how much this really helps. Sometimes radio stations have a set list of songs that they are allowed to play and they don't or can't deviate from that and if the song you're trying to request isn't on the list than it won't get played. If they take requests, it might just be more as a way to make the fans feel like they have a say. My guess is that it'd be the bigger stations that would do this. My feeling is you'll have more success with the smaller, hometown stations where you might be more familiar with the DJs who may be more inclined to play requests. That all said, I believe that we should request the song anywhere we can whatever the situation is. And even if the song is not on a list of songs they can play, if enough people request it and do so often, maybe that'll be enough to get it on the list. Definitely worth the effort there.
How else do we help? By recognizing the power of the music video. I've said it many times: music videos are crucial to an artist's success. Especially in a time when so many listen to their music via an iPod or other mP3 devices or their cell phones. You might not listen to the radio all that much, if ever, but odds are you'll find yourself turning on CMT or GAC - assuming you have those channels. As I'm sure most country fans are aware, both of them do a weekly top 20 countdown. It's no surprise that songs who have videos who do well on the countdowns do better on the singles charts. So we help by voting. On GAC, you can vote for 5 videos a day. There are some who believe you should only vote for your favorite artist on those. But if you're like me, you like several and want to support as many as possible, so I always do the 5 when I remember to vote. CMT's tougher because you can only vote for one. You have to pick wisely. Keeping in mind that the less known your artist/their song is, the more they need the votes. So if you're torn between casting a vote for say, Carrie Underwood, and giving a vote to someone like Thompson Square, I'd vote in favor of Thompson Square because an artist as big as Carrie is going to have more people voting for them.
A word of caution here: the music business is a tricky one. The newer upcoming artists will always need more support, but don't get complacent and assume that an artist doesn't need your help because they are one of country's biggest stars. Stars fall. New people come in and take over. So don't forget about them. Though honestly, the most important thing is to vote for whoever you think needs it the most or maybe just who you love the most - however you want to do it is awesome, just try and make the effort.
Speaking of those videos, you also want to make sure to watch them as often as possible on CMT.com and on their youtube channels, whether it's their main channel or their VEVO one - these days a lot of artists have both. Streaming the videos online shows that you have an interest and on a site like CMT, that can result in more airtime. And if you can help get them in CMT's top videos of the day on the site, than it'll show up on the main site which could lure other people in watching it. Which results in more airtime. The more the video gets shown, the more fans the artist might pick up and these days it's hard for a song to move up the charts if it doesn't have a video that's doing well. Not impossible, but the videos are very helpful there.
When promoting something, whether it's your favorite country artist(s) or something else, never underestimate the power of word of mouth. Talk about your favorite artist(s), understanding that your recommendation might just be enough to get someone to go out and buy their CD(s). Another thing not to underestimate? The power of the internet. Particularly the power of Facebook and twitter. There are fans who create fan twitters to promote their artist and I think that's awesome!
I feel like there's things I'm forgetting, but this feels like it's getting pretty long so I'm going to stop here for now. Be on the lookout for the next installment of this little series, which may continue ways we help if I can think of what I can't think of at the moment and of course, I have yet to go into the ways that we hurt them. More song reviews and album reviews on the way too! Let me know what you think about whatever and if you have any suggestions for other topics I could cover.
Thanks for reading!
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