Ryan's Gig Guide - August 2018

14 rgg Aug 2018 www.ryansgigguide.com Many assume that standing out in the entertainment world and craving to be the centre of atten- tion is a necessity if you're consid- ering a serious career in the music industry but not everyone deems it wise to be visible on a daily basis dancing on the front- line and frothing at the mouth with online exposure.This month we explore various techniques used by some singer songwriters and bands intent on dominating popular social media platforms. These methods can help main- tain, build or even destroy the credibility of a musician. QUANTITY OVER QUALITY Often referred to as spam or the anti-sur- prise. Noticeable when a musician relentlessly updates their public every two minutes by publishing crucial opinions promoting every- thing relevant in their world whilst enforcing an ideology that their music career is ex- tremely active.This data is often integrated with numerous selfies indicating where they eat, defecate and fornicate whilst showcasing a gigantic smiling Snapchat head that totally ig- nores the rule of thirds. ANNUAL INFO BLAST Arguably a technophobic cry for help. Nor- mally a singular and vague stab-in-the-dark statement used on social media by a band as a form of public announcement. For example "Single out so go look for it" which reads like a kiss and not tell premise highlighting that they're already too cool and mysterious to de- liver helpful clues to potentially coerce hu- mans hoping to successfully amalgamate into their collective or fanbase. Information such as song names, download or purchase web links, why it's so exciting, related artwork, history, trivia or anything useful at all is frequently ab- sent. QUESTIONABLE RESOLVE When artists publish questions with intent to generate further discussion and shape aware- ness of future events or music releases. For example "What should we call our next album?" is a question advertising a forthcom- ing product. It may prove to be effective mar- ket research whilst simultaneously allowing a fanbase to feel like an essential part of the de- cision making process. However, as democratic as it might first appear it can also emphasize indecisiveness within a band or even demon- strate a lack of artistic direction. If the public insisted your album should be titled something inappropriate such as "Bouncing Jugs" then you risk allowing complete strangers to dictate and influence the direction of your music ca- reer. THE IT'S COMING A very clever ruse used by musicians that re- quires absolutely no evidence whatsoever to validate it. Not only is it coming but no one other than the creator knows exactly what it is.There's no guarantee that the coming of the thing is to the liking of the intended client but it will exist and if it doesn't exist yet then it matters not because it can be coming soon or even forthcoming.The longer the duration of what's coming the greater the anticipation; shorter coming's create exiguous hype. One ADVERTISING THE RELUCTANT SUPERSTAR By Nick J Townsend