Posted by Ann Bernard

Back in early 2007, May 13th to be exact, The New York Times released an article on Jonathan Coulton titled “Sex, Drugs and Updating Your Blog” written by Clive Thompson.  In case you don’t know, Jonathan Coulton is an American singer-songwriter, famous for his songs containing themes of geek culture as well as his rise to popularity through the use of the Internet. 

The article is a great read – it talks about how Jonathan has come to make a very comfortable living doing what he loves because he figured out how to properly leverage the web to promote himself and his work.  Through his “a song each week program” that he posted to his blog; Coulton developed an extensive and loyal fan base.

You will also read about a few other artists (OK Go,  Dane Cook, Arctic Monkey, Hold Steady) who also found their fame through the internet. 

“…seems likely that the artists who forge direct access to their fans have the best chance of figuring out what the new economics of the music business will be.”

The quote above, taken from the article, doesn’t just apply to the music industry.  Anyone in the entertainment industry looking to grow in popularity, spread their art,  grow a fan base and make a living from their work has to properly leverage the web and technology to make things happen.

You’ll also read in the article about some drawbacks and challenges of using social media (the web).  It’s a process that creates a cause and effect - it's important to maintain the right effect.  Once you engage with your fans there are responsibilities and consequences that are best known from the start.

It’s also useful to have an idea upfront on how you want to spend your time online and how to turn that time into a solid return.

I’ll be introducing a few bloggers in the next few weeks that are going to help you figure all that out.

One of you those bloggers is Kenneth Yeung.   Kenneth has been working in the world of interactive marketing and social media since 2003.  He has a great deal of knowledge to share, but he also looks forward to exploring how social media differs and is best leveraged by people in the entertainment industry. 

His posts will start out with rudimentary explanations of what is social media, take a look at social networks and what purpose they serve, and how to engage in the “conversation”.

We’ll make sure that you can be like Jonathan Coulton – be in charge of your own destiny, build a solid fan base and enjoy the popularity of a rock star!

Filed in yut media bloggers

Comments: 0