THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF FANS AND THE SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE NIGERIA MUSIC FACTORY …by Wale Applause

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Social Media

I expect to be castigated by some readers after this epistle, but as usual I will be quick to remind you that my epistles are purely my views and opinions. This epistle would have come up sometimes later, but after a heartfelt discussion with 2 colleagues I respect so much in the PR factory – DJ Sean of the AceWorldTEAM and Ozone of Ozone Media, I decided to put pen to paper, hands on keyboard.

This is being done in view of the general public to see the hole being created intentionally or indirectly by we the fans with and without the aid of the social media network.

Truth be told, the social media network has improved the promotions of our acts and their craft. It has become the cheapest and fastest means of reaching out to the fans, but its negative effects should not be overlooked. It’s obvious knowledge that the reasons why artistes remain in their craft is acceptance by the fans and as such they should be respected. This doesn’t stop the fans from also bearing at heart that artistes are just humans too who have decided to pay the price and use their “talents” in the quest for stardom. The havoc which has been done by the social media is not one that happened in a day. It is a build up over time. I must say that in my humble opinion, this platform of promotions have made a lot of artistes lose focus. Imagine an artiste who thinks that with 10,000 downloads on one of the reputable sites, he has made commercial success. Please how much has that saved in your bank account? This is Nigeria where you hardly or never get paid for online traffic caused by your song.

In my opinion, I think a lot of artistes need to go back to the basics.

Twitter, the trending social media network as at press time is one medium via which acts reach out to their fans and they get a feedback from them too. It has a follow and follow back mechanism which allows for direct messaging when both parties are behind each other. While some people advocate that artistes should and must follow all their followers, I have a contrary view to this. Not because I don’t think that fans should be respected, but because I know that some fans go beyond their boundaries at the slightest opportunity they get. Some go as far as insulting or cursing their supposed “beloved artistes” when a plea for money or other benefits is not granted.Also on this social media network, fans all in the name of a follow back or retweet give unnecessary hype to songs and acts that are not worthy. While un-serious acts who blindly fall for this just hit the retweet button, they also often times block fans who choose to tell the truth. This is so disheartening. A lot of the new acts do not see any room for improvement and think the only thing to be given to them is kudos. It is also understood that some fans do not have very great communication skills, but this is not a warranty for a block on this social media network. That’s why i think a couple artistes need emotional and psychological training.

Still on Twitter, it must be said that most artistes come here to profess fake attitude. They come online displaying fake colours. While they are rude and proud in their normal everyday life, they come on this social network to appear as just as saints. You need to hang out at events to have a feel of what I’m saying, especially when they do not know who you are. To the fans, a follow back, mention or retweet doesn’t mean that your favourite act is a good individual. An in-depth on them tells you more.

On this same social network, artistes now fool themselves thinking that the number of followers you have is equals your acceptance, so in this bid buy followers and trends. This goes beyond Twitter to the purchase of Facebook likes and Youtube views.This is a shameful act. Some acts just drop a wack song, and in a couple hours it’s trending on twitter. This is self deceit. If you want to lie to the world, at least you won’t lie to yourself that you purchased that trend.Some videos which should not have more that a few hundred views now jump to have several hundred thousands of views; this is an insult to talent and good music which our music factory was once known for. These acts leave a very big hole in the credibility and creativity of our music factory and artistes.

Lastly, this message is to the fans. Please endeavour to always grab a copy of albums by your cherished artistes. This is the major way they can be supported. These people put a lot of effort into what they do. Please enough of the always search for download links, these acts need to be supported. All thanks to piracy as these CDs come in cheap and handy.When a fan uploads all the tracks from an artiste online for others to download, it is not support, it is murder. It’s unjust. That’s their intellectual property. It should only go online when the artiste deem fit.

With these, I would like to say that I really do mean no harm, but then we just need to put a better face to our music factory. Emphasis should be placed on creativity, credibility, depth and talent.

If I splashed a little dirt on you, it wasn’t aimed at you, but its all good you caught your sub. It’s time for a change.

Wale Applause

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2 COMMENTS

  1. "If I splashed a little dirt on you, it wasn’t aimed at you, but its all good you caught your sub." … That's one hell of a contradiction. Good article though. I think I support most if not all of your views. (Y)

  2. Everywhere in the world, showbiz isn't about showing ur moral side, but ur marketable side. Ur into PR u should know this. If u need morals go to church. #nuffsaid.

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