TOG Solutions

At the beginning of the decade, it seemed as if the Internet was the bane of the music industry’s existence. File-sharing programs such as Napster, Morpheus and BearShare popped up, and musicians, for the most part, were up in arms about the fact that music was being distributed for free. Never mind the fact that mix tapes and bootlegs have been around as long as the industry has.

Never one to be in tune with an ever-changing world, the Recording Industry Artists of America (whose membership is comprised of record labels, not artists) came to the conclusion that the Internet was the worst thing to ever happen and opted to sue the “evil” file sharers out of existence, a practice that, to date, hasn’t exactly had the effect the RIAA was hoping.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world started catching on to social media. The end result? Musicians have found that through volutarily sharing their work was far a far more effective use of their time, and far cheaper, for that matter.

The idea of using social media to give the public music for free is championed by some high-profile artists. One of the biggest advocates is Trent Reznor of nine inch nails, who has stated that social media is the best way to be heard, while at the same time building a loyal fan base.

By far the best example of how social media has created music superstars is Atlanta rapper Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em. Riding positive reviews of his free music posted on SoundClick, Soulja Boy moved on to creating a presence on both MySpace and YouTube, where he posted his then-unknown song, “Crank Dat.” The video became a viral phenomenon, and the song became, at the time, one of the most downloaded of all time. He continues to use social media to debut new material, as well as interact with fans.

So, if you are an independent musician, the question isn’t if you should use social media. The real question is can you afford not to do it?