A band's popularity = their internet presence ?

I just had to ask Cathy some other questions while I was down at the 930 Club last week. I was really anxious for another opinion on the way internet has made musicians and fans much closer. It is unique for every band/artist, but I will say most have some sort of internet page (myspace, buzznet, facebook, twitter... you name it) for their fans to find and follow them on. So I asked her about it and it made me laugh because the conversation went something like this:

Me: What do you think about fans now being able to stay in touch with musicians via social networks?

Cathy: If you had asked me this two weeks ago, I would have called it stupid... twitter? it’s like Perez Hilton, but for one celebrity.

(she's so right!)

But we talked about how she "forced herself" to understand it, and now she tweets all the time. It was meant to communicate easily, and that's exactly what it does! So... success? Fans can now see exactly what their favorite stars or idols are doing daily.

I asked; would you say fans are changing their expectations of musicians in general (performances, albums, artwork, creativity/ originality, lyrically, aesthetically… anything really)?

For her she wouldn’t necessarily stop liking a band because of this, but does give that extra “wow-factor”.

I think for up and coming fans though, this is a necessity. Growing up with the internet at their fingertips, if something is not online it is almost as if it’s not real. If someone is not in a relationship on facebook, it’s not real. If a band doesn’t have a website up or some means of social media, they aren’t a serious band. That’s the way it’s become, and again we can see the importance of the record label being left behind, as much as they try and cling to their musical influence. But there is no question in my mind that young fans crave that interactive exchange with their favorite artists, and when these musicians engage they take this relationship to the next level and the gap between fan and band becomes a little smaller. 

I love the band Paramore. 

I very recently found out that they have an extremely loyal and dedicated online community- specifically livejournal. 

community

band's journal

The band journal is where members of the band (usually the singer, Hayley) post to keep their fans updated about what's going on while they're recording their album, while they're on tour, etc etc etc. Fans can then post comments on each entry and either ask questions or just respond.

The LJ community is where people from literally all.over.the.world. with livejournals come together in a group to talk about how much they love Paramore, post videos, and often icons or backgrounds they have made with photoshop. 

Their community is so important to Paramore that on their live album "The Final Riot!", they play a song they don't usually play because their livejournal community came together and requested it by talking about how much they all loved it! HOW AWESOME IS THAT

Anyway, I really respect Paramore for their dedication to fans and remembering that they are the most important thing despite how famous they have become, because I can imagine it is too easy to get carried away in the fame and luxury of being a rock star. In their blog and through their songs they still come off as grounded and appreciative people, which makes me love them and their music even more. 

And I think when a band achieves this and fans really feel important and recognized then they will want to support them. Now the internet has made it much easier to keep the fan-artist relationship strong. It is not uncommon for fans to post comments or questions and artists to respond or video-record themselves actually talking to their fans. Some bands have Youtube accounts where they periodically post videos where they just talk, and we love this. We love this because we can see them talking to us, and it is as if we are friends talking one on one. Imagine your idol posted a video blog which you could go to and watch and they updated it every couple days or so. It really makes a difference- like Cathy said; gives it that extra umph which can be the difference between a good band and a really good band you'd actually follow and buy tickets to see. Technology and social networks are really changing what we expect from the people we idolize on a personal level. 

Final Thought: a snippet from Paramore's blog, just to show you exactly how they've mastered their relationship with millions of fans and why they are so rad....

"Thank you again for the incredible support that you've shown me and the guys. We always say it but seriously... Paramore fans are the best fans. Wanna fight about it?

Oh and PS. To everyone who's picked up 'brand new eyes'. Holy cow. I'm hearing all kinda numbers and reports about having one of the top two records of the week. Regardless of whether it happens or not... this is madness! I LOVE IT! We're so proud of the new album and so stoked that so many people have already heard it. Keep telling all your friends! We wanna see you at the shows singing along!

Love,
Hayley"