connect with fans revisited #3
When Public Enemy launched on a unsuspecting UK raver generation with 'Fight the Power' at the height of the (3rd?) Summer of Love in 1989, for many white kids outside of the bigger cities (certainly us in the north of Scotland) it was the first 'black' music we felt a direct first hand connection with.
Prior to that moment 'black' music, for me anyway, was kinda a 2nd hand experience.
Reggae via the Clash, Tamla via the Beatles, Ska via the Specials etc.
With PE there was no white equivalent.
A great ironic comedy moment in the Neil Innes Beatles 'spoof' movie 'All You Need is Cash' (featuring the Rutles) happens when the documentary reporter visits the deep south to interview delta blues legend 'Blind' Lemon Pie.
The 'blues' is described as 'black music - played mainly by whites'.
Here's a great sound bite from PE's Chuck D, talking about the fan-driven online music project Sellaband in this morning's Metro.
Sellaband allows fans to invest and connect directly with bands/artists they want to support.
'With as little as $10.00 you can support an artist and help them on their way to the recording studio. By buying a ‘Part’ for $10.00 you become a ‘Believer’ in an artist and if they make it to the studio, this first Part will make sure you receive a Limited Edition of the album you helped create.'
Shit name but great initiative.
As Kevin Kelly says in 1000 fans 'They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version.'
Chuck calls these fans 'believers'.
That led me to this excerpt from Hugh MacLeod's 'Hughtrain'....
'It's no longer just enough for people to believe that your product does what it says on the label. They want to believe in you and what you do. And they'll go elsewhere if they don't.
It's not enough for the customer to love your product. They have to love your process as well.'
Connecting with fans = believers.
