Bands have always been one to push new ideas whether it comes to music or other art forms but over the years, they've constantly pushed the envelope on the adoption and execution of social media. Any business or brand should take note on what these groups are doing in the online space, they'd be jealous.

1. Bands have always been one to push new ideas whether it comes to music or
other art forms but over the years, they've constantly pushed the envelope on
the adoption and execution of social media. Any business or brand should take
note on what these groups are doing in the online space, they'd be jealous.
Early 2007 saw Radiohead start what would become a growing wave of bands
embracing some form of social media and breaking away from the traditional
structure of using a record label to promote themselves. "In Rainbows" by
english alternative band Radiohead, was released shortly after breaking away
from their label EMI too much fanfare. What made the release significant
besides it being the first in over 4 years from the band was the release method;
a digital download that fans could get at any price, officially from
the band itself. This meant that you could pay nothing, $5.23 or even
$645 if you felt so inclined. What this would do for the music industry is
jumpstart a process that would turn the traditional record label on its head,
kick it down then slap it across the face with some Facebook, Twitter and
Myspace updates along with a good helping of original band content on
YouTube. What followed next was a massive jump to social media by smaller
underground bands but major acts as well.
Interacting With Fans And Knocking Down
The Record Labels With Social Media: Nine
Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nail's frontman, Trent Reznor, has been very vocal for his disdain
of record labels since starting the industrial rock band in the late 80's. 2005
saw his return to the music scene with a new release and a new crusade in
regaining some of the control over material he lost to his label. The band's first
release in 5 year, With Teeth was accompanied by source files for a few tracks
from the album. Trent encouraged fans to download the source tracks
and create their own remixes of his songs then release it under any
medium they saw fit. No royalties, no red tape, nothing that would
inconvenience anyone from the average underground DJ to veteran sound
producers. Remixers were free to do as they pleased which led to an ever

2. increasing connection with fans that transcended interviews and other
traditional promotions.
In 2007 the bands newest release, Year Zero, started a trend of artists,
especially Nine Inch Nails embracing piracy. The album, which foretold of an
Orwellian future painted with industrial overtones and electronic soundscapes
was given away free to fans through a means any record label would do a
double take over; torrenting it. Touring in support of the newest album, Reznor
encouraged fans to download the album free of cost from wherever they could
just to spite his label.
At a concert during late 2007 in Australia, Trent urged fans to
pirate his album to circumvent the high CD prices his label had set.
On the surface it may seem like a marketing attempt that would've jumpstarted
any failing band but the difference between Nine Inch Nails and any act
looking to cop out for cash was passion. Reznor was looking to truly connect
with fans and felt the chains placed on him by management and labels was far
too constricting. This is the ideal mythology of Social Media but Nine Inch
Nails took it many steps forward by giving fans and potential listeners
something to line; free.
Year Zero and subsequent releases would have some sort of option to listen to
the album for free whether it was embracing piracy, a freemium-like model or
even just giving it away. This meant that anyone slightly interested in the band
had absolutely nothing to lose when listening to Nine Inch Nails' material but
the band's connection with its fan base was also strengthened. Over the course
of the next two years, NIN put out two new albums that continued this trend.
The follow up to Year Zero, Ghosts Vol. 1-4 saw a tiered model of release which
would delight the casual music listener all the way up to the perfectionist. The
first 9 songs from the album's 36 song setlist were available for free with
absolutely no obligation. Piracy of the album itself was often
encouraged but contrasted with elaborate and intricate physical
releases containing artwork and packaging that added a whole

3. other dimension to the release. The band ensured everyone had an option
in digesting 'Ghosts', the best thing to take away from this is the tiered release
model.
When one thinks of a tiered business model in today's digital world, there is
rarely an option available for free and if so, it's limited in scope. Trent was able
to build interest in NIN's back catalog as well as current releases by letting
listeners try out the material without any loss. If they didn't like it, nothing
lost, if they did, that meant a potential album download, a few dollars donated
for a higher quality version or even a ticket purchase for forthcoming tours. As
a thank you to fans, another album, "The Slip" was released almost a year later
in 2008 that contained 10 songs in lossless quality and available totally free.
No copyright infringement or legal action scares from a label but pure,
wholeseome, free content that was complimented with an extensive tour weeks
later.
Trent won a Webby Award in 2009 for his free, online release of "The Slip"
Embracing The Social Aspects Of YouTube:
Weezer and Ok, Go!
The internet has given us access to a bevy of information but one of its most
prevalent aspects has been memes. They've cropped up in various forms,
touching upon different aspects of society yet they're an avenue of inspiration
for bands Weezer and Ok, Go.
Weezer released their single "Pork And Beans" via digital distribution in April
2008 with an accompanying music video. What set the video apart from
other elaborate musical montages is its embrace of popular memes
and celebrities on YouTube. The video pays homage to the Coke and
Mentos guys doing experiments in the background while creating massive

4. fountains of Mentos powered coke showers. Pianist and singerTay Zonday
imitating the video style of his single "Chocolate Rain" while weaving in and
out of Weezer's own song. Star Wars Kid's crazy lightsaber antics and Ms.
South Carolina appearance are all referenced as YouTube pop-cult icons.
Weezer instantly appealed to an audience of millions that regarded these
memes as pop culture corner stones and as inspiration to create new content.
The video went on to win a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video.
Rock band Ok, gained significant popularity in 2005 after a choreographed
video of their first single "A Million Ways" was first uploaded to YouTube. A
year later in August 2006, the video had become the most downloaded music
video at the time reaching 9 million downloads giving the band recognition for
their odd choreographed videos. The band continued to gain significant
notoriety for filming another choreographed video of them dancing on
treadmills to an upbeat song they release, "Here We Go Again" which soon
became a YouTube sensation. Within six days, over 1 million people had
watched the video and eventually reached 50 million views of the
original upload by April 2010.
Both of these bands appealed to a culture that thrived on the latest meme, the
latest happening. Ok, Go and Weezer knew which spots to hit and created
music videos around icons, concepts and ideas that were already well
recognized by millions of YouTube users. By uploading their content directly to
YouTube, they had an opportunity to tap in to those millions of people to
promote their music.
Free Is Good, Free Is Social
If you have a product that can be released via digital means,
promote it by giving it away to build interest. It's not simply enough to
give away the product and let others judge it; build hype and then release it for
free or through a freemium like model to support a free version of your product

5. in contrast to its paid equivalent.
These bands also experimented with a new and untested distribution model:
digital. Your business and brand may have already experienced digital outlets
but its important to stress that a lot of connections are being made online. The
print industry is starting to embrace the digital world to supplement its losses
from print media, your business can learn an important lesson if it's still
avoiding going online.
An aspect of this is the freemium model that offers basic services or product for
free and charging more for more advanced versions of that product. Finding
balance between free and paid is crucial to maintaing a freemium model for
your business. Nine Inch Nails continues to experiment with this in some form
but they've always maintained a balance. They've released an album in some
form for free that will attract casual listeners and those interested in the band
while selling a product that audiophiles will appreciate and pay for. Lacking
balance with a freemium product will only distance potential consumers. If
they don't have a gateway product that doesn't cost them anything and won't
take up too much of their time, they have no real way of gauging your services
or products. The point of a freemium model is attracting potential consumers
with a free version and selling them something they're truly interested in.
Music And Social Media? How Can I Use
That With My Business?
All of these bands innovated by connecting directly with their fans/consumers,
they cut out the middle men, got off the stage and said "hey, let's make it
interesting to sell our music to you and have fun doing it." The first and most
important thing to take away from this is to connect DIRECTLY with your
consumers, fans and friends. These bands embraced the very ideals of social
media by creating Twitter accounts to announce ticket pre-sales, Facebook
pages to gauge interest in releases, YouTube channels to release original
content and personalized websites to let the community interact directly with
the band. If you're not taking mental notes on this, I don't know what to tell

6. you. All of these outlets were critical for keeping fans interested in the band
and attracting new followers, simply setting up these channels, maintaining
them and populating them with worthwhile content can have the same effect
on your brand.
You also need to measure the effectiveness of these channels on a regular
basis. Guessing what works instead of having hard numbers in front of you
will be the downfall of your online presence. Bands have had these tools at
their disposal for years. What once started as radio plays has morphed in to
number tracking services such as RockDex and Band Metrics. Your version?
Retweets, YouTube channel views, Facebook Likes, Klout Score and Google
Analytics. Not checking these numbers and ignoring them when
they're not bringing in enough unique visitors is fatal.
These bands also stuck to their genres but carved out new niches for
themselves. Maintaing your brand's identity is critical but it's just as important
to test new waters and explore them diligently. Don't go overboard and totally
depart from what made your company or brand what it is but adding
something interesting in to the mix will help maintain interest.
When looking to expand your business, looking for new perspectives is
important. Music has always been an inspiration for artists and writers, there
isn't any reason musicians shouldn't be a role model for your
business or brand. What we'd like to know is what you can do with this
strategy for YOUR business. Let us know in the comments.