Local music scenes/future plans

[Eoin McLove]

A return to a more DIY, underground ethic sounds good to me. I know it's not really for everyone, but operating small and festering in obscurity is perfect for the type of stuff that I'm into. The professionalization (real word?) of the metal underground has become nothing short of repellent to me over the past number of years. It has resulted in a kind of standardization and blandification of things in my view. It has motivated me personally to go in the opposite direction but I get that that approach won't be viable or appealing to most bands. The fact that bandcamp is removed (to a degree) from a sense of community is good. I think that the comments section is irritating as fuck and should be removed. Just keep it purely about the songs. 

[ochoill]

I'm very in agreement with both of ye but do go a fair bit myself with the standard online promo stuff - the post on FB, the one on Instagram etc etc.  I try my level best not to overdo it and keep enough presence to be found rather than push, but I enjoy having music heard as much as making it so have to do a certain amount.  All said though, I much prefer posting here to lads I generally musically agree with, and absolutely love the community of bands a few of us have going on FB - local heads, chatting gear and albums in groups, no bullshit or licking holes, and obviously way more fun when gigs are running because you can sort of coordinate them.

Other side, I fuckin hate FB for all reasons earlier mentioned and just wish things like this place, bandcamp etc were more where it was at.  A decent gig platform to move events and calenders off FB would be a serious help in moving away from it.  Again it's a fine balance of course, and won't be fixed properly unless FB fails, but I guess we can do our best as bands to step back from it as much as possible.

[Necro Lord]

Personally a fan of the Sadistik Exekution method of advertising your band

[The Butcher]

In terms of social media,  the engagement model is strong and FB knows this and exploit it, so they p3lled up the drawbridge a long time ago.. It's a sea of noise but they don't care because that noise makes them money while the reach gets less and less. I do wonder how dominate FB will put in years to come as demographics influence and shift behaviours (kids not wanting to join fb as their parents are on it). Spotify CEO said it's not enough for artists anymore to make music every 3-4 years just shows you the mindset...they want us to feed the beast. We are not just in an age of music overload, it's information overload too. They want every band to add to the neverending mountain of stuff while they skim the cream off the top. As someone said, it can be about the music you love doing and being content with the level you are at...but if you want to push into the mainstream, is it worth selling your soul and adding to the noise? The music industry is a different beast to what it was even 10 years ago.

Interesting point about the pent up type demand/requirement for bands to get back to gigging asap to try recoup on the losses of the past year...surely there will just be way too many bands requiring this and fewer venues to cater for it? I mean...we are probably talking this time next year before things start going again? Can some survive until then? Anathema have called it a day, a band of that size cannot continue I wonder how many more will follow suit..

I do prefer bandcamp...more akin to going into a virtual shop and digging around. Also prefer forums like this. Less crowded and focused. I do think this forum would benefit from a proper front page with some rolling local content, few of us mentioned our willingness to contribute but the forum owner hasn't responded as of yet. I do think Metal Ireland shouldn't have been let disappear so suddenly like that, the amount of information I'd consider valuable (and hilarious) would have been worth saving imo and passing it onto someone (or a group) who would have kept it going. But for another thread perhaps.

[nukeabuse]

This prob also deserves a separate thread but I think you touched on a good point when discussing metal Ireland going down. I know this isn't a problem for people still buying physical versions of stuff and the availability of physical. But I've definitely worry anout the posterity of digital media.

  I don't know how many times I've lost a full collection of music with crashed laptops, lost phones etc. Even now with YouTube playlists the amount of videos that are dust in the wind due to deleted channels and the like. I know they are ways to mitagate this but there's always a few songs that are never thought of again as a result. Which I why I will purchase anything of importance but who now can say they physically own everything they want to here.

Then imagine that loss if Spotify was to go down, YouTube, bandcamp. These websites aren't around forever. Look at MySpace, that was the biggest resource for music for a few years. Not to say the music wouldn't appear on other sites but I'm sure there's plenty of bands were forgotten about after that.

[Necro Red]

So many valid points above it has to be said. Honestly, in my mid 30s and not wanting to sound like a dinosaur now, but I miss the way the scene was before social media became the norm. The sense of actual community was real!
I mean, it's grand having a platform to discuss music etc, but the buzz from word of mouth was exciting and is pretty much dead. Music for me is about being excited and I feel social media has somewhat taken that away. Everyone competing virtually is bullshit in my opinion

[Eoin McLove]

You're completely right but it's still possible to get that buzz, you just have to tune out from the hype machine. I've been more or less spending most of my time checking out 90s stuff that either didn't appeal to me then or that completely passed me by.  The great thing about that is that the hype around those classic releases is justified and means that the albums are at least worth a listen, even if they might not exactly be to your taste. The wealth of great stuff from then that slipped through the cracks is phenomenal as well so you have a bottomless well of brilliant, interesting music to investigate that isn't being rammed down your throat from hipster websites. Winner all round 

[Necro Red]

Funny you should say that because I'm doing exactly that. Digging in to bands that I wasn't very interested in or that passed by the nerd radar. Also listening to more music that isn't metal, but the loyalty lies with the noise. They hype around bands these days is insufferable. Why is everthing the best album ever etc? Really have to ignore the social media and search for music which I don't mind really.

[Mooncat]

Social media is a pain in the arse, I can't tell you how sick I am of people spamming the christ out of me about their new releases etc, and I mean directly. Direct marketing, IE messaging people directly on FB or Insta etc, is really in vogue now and my DMs are filled with people I vaguely know trying to get me to participate in their campaign. Pre-save my new song, come to my online show, buy my t-shirt, vote for me in this competition etc etc. It feels a bit underhanded, like using a friendship, or even a vague friendship, against you to manipulate you into doing things for them because it's awkward to say no directly.

I've had some good success using FB and Insta ads and advertising. Make a little clip of the best part of your song and then choose your settings for who and where to send it to based on their interests and location. Then your little clip will appear in their newsfeed as they scroll by. If they like it enough they'll investigate further and click on your link. If they don't like it then they'll just scroll right by and you've barely even bothered them. Even for one Dollar/Pound/Euro you can get it in front of several hundred people who might be interested. If your stuff is good, you'll get some traction. It sucks to have to play the game that social media wants you to play, but it's a fairly quick, stress-free way to get your stuff in front of a few more potential fans.

Also agree that local forums are an awesome way to gain a few new fans, though it can very quickly turn into spamming when it's a group that focused.