MUSIC

Musicians give Twitter a try @ promotion

Musical mavens sing praises of social network

By Peter Mongillo
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Friday, April 24, 2009

''@nakia Help me spread the word... Nakia & His Southern Cousins at BD Riley's 9pm," read a typical Twitter update from Austin soul singer Nakia during this year's South by Southwest Music Festival. He saw potential to draw an audience to his shows using the popular social media site.

Colin Meloy, frontman for the much higher-profile SXSW headliners the Decemberists, was not as industrious with his updates: "@colinmeloy Mmmm breakfast tacos at Curra's!"

Musician and concert promoter Singer Mayberry, who had only previously used MySpace, the social media site of choice for the music world, noticed people using Twitter to ask questions to panelists during the conference. Promoters were praising it as a valuable business tool. She decided to give it a shot.

She's not alone. Increasingly, Austin musicians are expanding their online presence beyond MySpace to Twitter.

Twitter is a Web site that allows its users to post short updates, or "tweets," of 140 keystrokes or fewer. Users can elect to follow other accounts, which allows access to another user's updates. It's like a big coffee shop full of people constantly talking. Some provide useful information; others, not so much.

Twitter has skyrocketed in popularity in recent months, with rumors of a buyout offer by Google Inc. and even a prominent appearance in a television ad for Sprint. Its 14 million users post updates on just about anything, including work, family and current events. Celebrities love Twitter — more than a million people follow Ashton Kutcher, who tweets under username "aplusk." In the music world, Meloy (@colinmeloy) and Trent Reznor (@trent_reznor) of Nine Inch Nails both have followers numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

Although this format has become wildly popular, the mundane nature of many updates is a turn-off for some.

"I don't want to be telling people what I'm eating for breakfast," Mayberry says. She tweets on two accounts, one for her booking company, Tangled Snark, and another for her band, Red Leaves. Her posts are all business, with basic information about when and where bands are playing. A recent post on the Red Leaves account reads, "Nico Vega & Red Leaves @ Emo's (inside) on WED 05/13/09 (10:00 PM)."

Singer/songwriter Ben Kweller's updates, on the other hand, are almost entirely of a personal nature. "At the post office on 6th and Guadaloupe (sic). What a pleasure," reads one post. He also recently tweeted about his Japanese tour. "Tofu dipped in panza sauce. Very Kyoto!!" Similarly, Black Joe Lewis (@blackjoelewis) is fond of posting links to photos of his band, the Honey Bears.

Nakia says he sees value in the chance to make a personal connection. "It creates a whole other level of interaction with fans. It's cool to be able to tap into that," he says. During SXSW, Nakia updated his Twitter account as he was about to go on stage and even directed fans to follow him online as he was performing.

It's not clear if using social media such as Twitter to promote a band is effective. Mayberry says that although the shows she promotes on Twitter have been well-attended, she hasn't been able to tell if it's been attracting new fans.

Melanie Martinez, bass player for the band the Tiny Tin Hearts, approaches social networking sites from an almost scientific perspective. She has been using Twitter and another social networking site, ning.com, for about a month. Like Mayberry, she became interested during SXSW. Ning, which allows the band to ask members of their network for information such as ZIP codes, has allowed them to plan a tour by pinpointing the location of their fans. Similarly, on Twitter, Martinez seeks out followers of bands that play similar music.

In a world that increasingly relies on technology for communication, there is some concern that using social media for music promotion detracts from old fashioned face-to-face contact. Mayberry says she has noticed that many bands have given up on traditional methods of promotion, such as posting fliers in clubs where they will be appearing. "It seems like that would be at the top of their list," she says. Nakia is careful to make sure Twitter complements, and doesn't replace, human interaction. After a show, "I'm going to leave the stage and try to connect with people who are there," he says.

For Martinez, it's only natural for Tiny Tin Hearts to maintain an online presence. "We actually met through Craigslist, so we're kind of a Craigslist band."