Many
musicians have been up in arms over Facebook’s recent changes to its
advertising policy. The language or the policy sounds like it is mostly
intended to limit the marketing abilities or major brands/products, however
BANDS have somehow (rather sneakily) been thrown under this umbrella. It used
to be that Facebook was the best (and most free…completely free actually) way
for artists to connect with their fans and publicize upcoming shows and
releases. But now Facebook wants people to pay to let a fan know that they’ll
be playing three block away from their apartment on Friday night. A band I know
in Brooklyn recently told me that he had tried to post a link to nice write up
they got from Pitchfork, but of their (relatively meager) 400 + fans, only 11
saw the post. It didn’t matter how many read/liked their posts in the past, not
even their friends who Like’d them to be polite got to see it until he posted
it on his personal page.
On the one
hand, it’s ridiculous that a group of twenty something who wait tables part
time are being treated the same way as Target or GAP. On the other hand, it’s
also very, very, very ridiculous. The silver lining is that if the history of
the internet and social media is any indication (along with growing resentment
towards Facebook in general), something just as good or better will eventually
take its place.
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