Being the Media, and Being the Publicist

Back in the day (whichever days those are), Indymedia had a slogan:  be the media.  Keep complaining or quit complaining, but there are other things you can do in addition to that, either way.

Recently I wrote something on Organizing 101.  Every few years I feel the need to write that essay again, under the new circumstances of a changing world.

As I'm just about to embark on another fairly sizeable concert tour around parts of Europe and the US, I'm feeling inspired to say a few words on the notion of crowdsourced publicity, in the context of the ever-changing reality in terms of how we communicate with one another, what we communicate, and why we do it.

When I'm doing a gig anywhere, there is invariably someone who, often within earshot of the organizer of the gig, will say to me, "publicity for this was really bad, it wasn't well-promoted."

This situation always makes me cringe, of course, on behalf of the usually very diligent gig organizer who tried hard to get the word out.  But there's usually someone who will say something along those lines, whether it's a small crowd or a big one that surrounds us.  There are always people who are disappointed that I'm not packing stadiums -- and that's a lovely sentiment, whether it's anywhere within the realm of reality or not.

In the real world, without the aid of big hits, big record labels and management companies arranging blanket media coverage of a tour to pack those big venues, for the rest of us entirely devoid of those resources, getting a few dozen people into a room at the same time can be very challenging, and whether or not it happens often comes down to how well word of mouth is functioning.

I'll explain what I mean by that.  Word of mouth, or the phenomenon of people telling other people about something, is something that is extremely subject to the vagaries of the communications reality in which we find ourselves.  The more we can all be conscious of that, the better.

That is, for example, if we want to tell our circle of friends and comrades about an artist we've discovered, a new piece of music, a new movie, or whatever else, and our default way of doing that is in the form of public posts on social media platforms, this medium of communication will tend to discourage people from posting about a local event happening in their town, because it may not be relevant to most of their friends on whichever platform.

Posting about a controversial artist publicly can also invite attacks from all sorts of potentially unexpected quarters.  The potential of facing this kind of hostility and trolling also tends to discourage public posts about certain people or issues.

What many of us may or may not realize is in so many cases, even if we are trying to promote a local event through means of public posts on social media platforms, sharing a link to an event listing with a few words of recommendation tends to be the sort of post that no one sees, since this sort of post doesn't seem to satisfy any of the algorithms.

If you're good at public social media posts that get traction, I'm not trying to discourage such things at all!  I'm just saying that there are reasons people are discouraged from promoting local events in various forums they use daily, and reasons why when they do promote local events in those forums, it doesn't work very well.

So, now on social media as it once was with getting a gig listed in the local paper, what really matters is true word of mouth communication, not any of that nonsense, barring the exceptional cases.

What works consistently is talking to folks, in person or in some kind of personal conversation.

Then there's the question of why.  With all the hurdles facing us on the platforms we mainly use to interface with the world these days, why bother trying to figure out how to circumvent the designers and do something like promote a local event?

First of all, I'd like to throw out there the notion that there are powerful forces involved here who really don't want to help anyone promote links or events in the physical world that get people off of their platforms.  That in itself seems like one good reason not to cooperate with their algorithms, if at all possible.

Another is what happens when we spend more time online, and less time out in the world at physical events, like at concerts of touring artists like me?  We get more lonely and depressed -- the verdict is long since in on that.  There's no question, regularly getting out and being with other people in a physical setting, without staring at your phone, is essential to everyone's emotional well-being.

Then, with overtly political artists like me, there is this other thing to mention.

There's probably no way to fully compensate for the phenomenon, but I think it's good to be conscious of it.  That is, when times are more optimistic, when there's a vibrant social movement on the streets daily and that sort of thing, then more people are more apt to do things like tell their friends and comrades that an artist singing songs related to that movement is coming to town and doing a concert.  When there's less of a movement happening, people are less inclined to talk about it.

This is all understandable, emotionally, but it can create a terrible feedback loop, and it's truly counterproductive.

Why?  Because even when a social movement isn't happening like it once was, and even if certain artists may serve to remind you of what may be a pretty sad state of affairs, if the artist is any good at all, and is, say, me and my singing partner, Kamala, then generally we'll be aiming to leave you in an uplifted state by the end of every show.  Whether the team is winning or losing, if the cheerleaders are any good, you should enjoy our performance.

And you'll likely also enjoy seeing other people.

Ah, other people.  When the social movement you may have been part of is in a shrunken state, this has often come along with schisms of all kinds, and now there are people in the scene you've fallen out with, who may be coming to the gig, too.  Safer to stay home, many are thinking.

But therein lies the power of music.  Everyone in the same room, hearing words that are sung -- and therefore words that are going straight to the emotional centers of all the brains in earshot -- relating to the same songs, laughing and tearing up on the same occasions, singing the same words together, this brings people together, and helps everyone recognize what they share in common.

Which is probably the most important reason everyone should find a way to tell their friends and comrades about an artist coming to their town who might cause them to feel such feelings, and be in such community.

My sermon is over.  Hope to see you on the road and in the streets.