Direct Line to Artists: The Fans, The Viewers and The Followers

It goes without saying that we are living in a social-media-ruled world. With the titans being Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Social media is a way for us to connect with friends, and even meet new people. So why shouldn’t artists do the same with it? Having a fan/viewer/follower (whatever you want to call it) these days is like having their address and phone number. It’s a way they can reach people on a personal level, with the advantage that they chose to be reached by the artist. They didn’t have to fill out a form, or even send in their application. They just hit they “Like”, “Follow”, or “Subscribe” button. It’s that easy! But here comes the interesting part, because social media is so personal (for both parts) is it an advantage for an artist to have 24/7 connection with the world? Aren’t they already followed by the paparazzi enough? Well, let’s get into that.

Troy Carter, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Coalition Media Group, and manager of recording artists such as Lady Gaga, believes social media is a must for an artist these days. In some cases though, artists may not be tech savvy but he says that they should at least know how to tweet. Why tweet? It’s the easiest. Carter goes on to say that social media for an artist is just as important as touring was 20 years ago. It’s a way to build audience. The trick to having a real connection with their fans, that’s why it’s important for the artist to manage these accounts themselves.

What we’re seeing recently is that Facebook and Youtube are becoming “team managed” accounts, leaving Twitter to be managed by the artists themselves. Like I mentioned before, Twitter is easy to use and it offers the advantage of not being as personal as Facebook. In Facebook, your fans can post or tag you in countless posts and your wall content becomes those of fans. However, in Twitter your timeline is your timeline. Fans can tag you using the “@” but this doesn’t appear on your timeline unless you decide to reply to them. In any case, fans have chosen to follow the artist and they do it because they want to know more about them. Whether a fan is next door or on the other side of the world, they both are going to feel connected to the artist. That’s something that they couldn’t do before with other types of media, or anything a paparazzi can photograph or a magazine can achieve with its publishing’s. It’s the artist voice the fans want to hear.

Social media is a global platform, it can be accessed from anywhere by anyone. That’s a great platform for artists who want to build their fan base, but they must not rest on that alone. Going back to something Troy Carter said, he stated that the worst thing for an artist is to have people know their name from a massive outlet. IT gives them no ownership, it doesn’t create that special connection between art and fan. That’s why social media is a great tool for artists but they have to put in the work to go out and perform. It should be used as a means to connect with the “ARTist”, and for the artist to keep true to their fans. 


Source

The Fourth Kardashian Sister

Surely you know who the Kardashians are, right? Even if you don’t know them by name, you recognize them. Here:

Yes, them. With Kim (far right) being the #7 in the 100 Most Powerful Celebrities according to Forbes, and also the top of the Overexposed Celebrities list. You can’t help but ask yourself…why are they famous? Well, some say the Kardashians had their claim to fame when second oldest, Kim (daughter of Robert Kardashian, the lawyer who represented OJ Simpson in the murder trial) made a sex tape with the rapper Ray J (or Brandy’s little brother if you must). Others say it’s because E! (and Ryan Seacrest, executive producer) shoved their show “Keeping up with the Karshiands” down America’s throat like it was nobody’s business. But I like to think it was something more than that, or rather someone. May I introduce the fourth Kardashian sister (or their mother), Kris Jenner:

Her last name may be Jenner, but that’s only a technicality. Kris is full-on Kardashian. She has transformed herself from “mom” into the quintessential “momager”, and she’s doing everything right. With the success of “Keeping up with the Kardashians”, Kris has gone on to produce several spinoffs like: “Kourtney and Klhoe take Miami”, “Kourtney and Kim take New York”, and “Klhoe and Lamar”. She is the president of her own production company, Jenner Communications, and the manager of all of her family’s careers. Kris has her own QVC collection, along with the Kardashian Collection for Sears, and the K-Dash line. Oh, and did I mention she’s an author? She wrote a memoir titled “Kris Jenner…And All Things Kardashian”. She, as Bruce Jenner said on the show, is a “marketing machine”.

Kris Jenner is undoubtedly the reason behind the success of the Kardashian Klan. Her time and attention paid to her artist reflects directly on the achievements of her family, and of course their bank accounts. When a reporter for Forbes asked her, how she decides which are the best opportunities for their brand she said, “When you love something that much it comes really easily – it’s just a natural. If something doesn’t feel good and it’s a struggle and it’s just something that we don’t like, then it wouldn’t be anything we could put our name on.” She also accounts Social Media as one of the tools she and her family uses to help grow the business by staying in touch with the fans and self-promoting. Kris Jenner lives and breathes Kardashian, and her success is mostly due to her attachment to the brand. That was her trick, she didn’t treat it as a family venture, she saw it as a brand venture and as a manager she sees the opportunites and takes them. If not, she makes them.

She has been known to be a tough negotiator and fighting to have her brand (family) on the media as much as possible. On her interview with Forbes, Kris mentions something that is really relevant in a manager’s life that people tend to look past. She said that in order to keep it all under control you need to be a well-organized multi-tasker. Being an artist manager is not a 9 to 5 job, nor does it have the simple “in” and “out” basket where you have your tasks in order. Everything is happening at once, and everyone wants your attention at the same time. You definitely have to be organized and able to manage various tasks simultaneously.

She gave on last piece of advice that I think holds true for everyone in the rough-n-tough entertainment industry. “When you love what you’re doing, it shows in the outcome.” Kris Jenner. So here’s to the fourth Kardashian sister, and may we learn from her.

Sources:

·      Schawbel, D. (2012). Kris Jenner on Building the Kardashian Family Brand. Forbes. Taken from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2012/01/17/kris-jenner-on-building-the-kardashian-family-brand/2/

·      Pomerantz, D. (2012). Kim Kardashian Tops Our List of the Most Overexposed Celebrities. Forbes. Taken from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2012/03/29/kim-kardashian-tops-our-list-of-the-most-overexposed-celebrities/

·      The Celebrity List. (2012). The World’s Most Powerful Celebrities. Forbes. Taken from: http://www.forbes.com/celebrities/list/