Can I piss people off for a second? Ok great here we go. It’s time for a 'lil temper tantrum (or reaction to Nate Smith's).
Four days ago, mainstream country artist Nate Smith posted this on his Instagram, and it stirred up a lot of conversation.
By conversation I mean (like social media does) it sparked an argument with two very polarizing sides. Even Country Central covered it.
Immediately it felt to me like a lil bit of a temper tantrum. An artist complaining about something very petty he doesn’t like.
Though, as I normally do when I immediately get hate sparked in my head, I ask questions and try to see it from both sides.
So here we go…I’m going to explore it in real-time via written thoughts with you guys. Buckle up.
Me trying to understand
I can’t help but think back to the conversation I had with Willi Carlisle in his interview. I asked him how he approached social media when it came to marketing his music, and he countered by asking me the same question - how do I feel about having to ‘learn’ social media to continue to stay relevant?
I answered with…when I started the accounts, it was about sharing music I liked in hopes other people liked it too. It was about the music. Now, it’s not so much. If I want to continue to be able to share music with more and more people, I have to learn the algorithms, and distribution on the platforms, learn how to create good content, write good copy, and formulate good hooks. It’s not just about the music anymore.
Not to mention, if I do something that performs well, then the next doesn’t…it’s like what the heck? Do I just suck? I can see that happening if you have a #1 song, then after for whatever reason, the numbers on your next single don’t add up. So you’re like…do I suck?
So in that aspect, I hear what Nate’s saying. You have a skill, a love, a passion. It’s music. You want to be able to do just that and have that stand on its own without having to game platforms for views, streams and relevancy. Yes, artists are under a lot of pressure. Pressures from many sides that I probably will never understand.
And because I don’t know the context of this statement, it could actually be in response to a label conversation discussing their want for him to work on building an even bigger organic following to boost revenue and streams or make marketing easier. You never know. Which in hindsight, can be frustrating if all you want to do is focus on creating. If I look back on the comments to this post, it seems all that are commenting who are agreeing with him, are artists. So obviously this statement resonates with his market.
Except for Kat Hasty when she countered with this, which honestly, I love her approach too.. ha
Me not being able to relate, whatsoever
But unfortunately, this isn’t the case. For most people, not just artists. I think myself, and fans alike, look at this and see:
An artist with 10mil+ monthly Spotify listeners
Hundreds of millions of streams
Hundreds of thousands of social followers
Media spots and award nominations
Worldwide tours, and;
The ‘pièce de résistance’…the ability to fly in private jets…
…complaining that he’s forced to overcome something hard to continue to be able to be blessed with the ability to make music for a living.
I’m a business owner. I own an online marketing agency (if you didn’t know, now you do), and guess what, I would LOVE to be able to only help my clients build online products.
But alas, I also have to:
understand business
lead a team
master financial records and accounting
learn to copywrite
learn how to advertise
build skills and understanding of social media content creation
And I do all that, just to continue to be able to stay afloat running my business. Because if I don’t, who does? My competitors. They get all the clients without complaining that they had to learn new skills to excel in their business and adapt to the times.
I’m also constantly overshadowed by younger business owners who are better than I am. It’s unrelated to how long they’ve been in business. I also see some of my reels for this account go viral while others ….flop.
It’s the way things are today. It’s inevitable that to get ahead in your ‘thing’ you must learn to stand out on social media. With billions of eyeballs, it’s no secret that the winner has the biggest leverage in distribution…aka an audience.
I’d say the majority of small business owners wish for ease in managing their business; that they didn’t have to become good at social media to stay relevant and open. But they do. It is how it is.
We all face enormous pressure today, not just artists. I do understand that it’s a different kind, but it’s something we all go through.
And honestly, my friend, if you did just want it to be about the music…then make it about the music. Fire anyone on your team who forces you to do anything other than that if you don’t like it, and let your music stand on its own. After all, isn’t managing your social media presence, marketing, PR, and otherwise what a team is for?… Lastly, it’s not about being ‘cool’. It’s about being relatable, and of course, good music.
Ok, rant over. Comment and let me know what you guys think.
Bonus..It’s Americana Fest Week!
Alas, as I have a ‘big girl job’ and none of my reels have gone viral enough to make me famous, so I must run my company to make money. That being said I won’t be at a ton of events this year.
But so far, I’ve seen the Lightin’ Management Medicine Round at 3rd and Lindsley and attended the Torrez Music Group Indies and Outlaws Party.
Tomorrow is WesternAF’s showcase and hopefully a trip to the Nashville Palace. I’ll report back next week on how everything went.
And also, next week is Pilgrimage. I love September.
See you next week,
Nikki