FreePlayVL – Music In 3D
* Virtually Live Music IS Social Media!*
By Teddi Davis of FreePlayVL
"All forms of social media work. It just depends on how you use them." Brad Reason aka Doubledown TandinoBrad Reason’s music career continues to flourish entwined with computer and Internet technology. He keenly demonstrates social media is about leveraging technology to connect, network, share, perform, promote, and learn. Most importantly, he shows discipline with these social media platforms is worth the effort! By Teddi Davis
Brad Reason, also known as Doubledown Tandino in Second Life® and other virtual communities, recently shared how the Internet helped him get his start, and how social media has advanced his career. Besides being an accomplished musician and DJ, Brad Reason is uniquely positioned to comment on social media’s usefulness and efficacy. Not only does he create, perform and DJ virtually live music, Brad’s also a new media marketing professional. In fact, he’s a full time social media, new media, and trending technology specialist. Since he spends 40 to 70 hours a week working with social media platforms, his experience and insights are sure to help other musicians make use of today’s most compelling promotional tools.
Brad began his music career over a decade ago. “At first, it was more about using my computer and sampling, than about creating music,” he said. “It was for my own personal enjoyment, and the intrigue.” Creating music with a personal computer was in its infancy. Brad started with a program called Impulse Tracker, which was a basic spreadsheet form of laying out sounds and samples. “As I was creating my first music,” Brad recalled, “the Internet was starting to blossom as well.” He started connecting with other PC musicians via forums and message boards. “Thanks to the Internet, we could share each other’s tunes, and swap samples–it was experimental, and avant-garde,” he recollected.
He was learning and growing by listening to other people’s music, and picking up tips and techniques from his virtual peers. Heavily into electronica at the time, Brad was influenced by Aphex Twin, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, and Air among others. He began to appreciate he was on the cusp of something big because not only were the people around him beginning to listen to his tunes, there was a growing online community of other artists also experimenting.
When Brad decided to incorporate some of his compositions into a play he had written, he was stunned when he got his first request to purchase a CD. “I didn’t even have a burner,” he said. “I was in total shock that someone actually wanted to listen to the music I was creating.”
And then came the MP3.com Web site. Brad could now upload his music, and create CDs. “Once that site became popular, people around the world were listening, downloading, and buying my music,” he recalled. MP3.com was the first online location for sharing, and downloading music. “It was a social media community for music before the term ‘social media’ was even coined,” Brad noted. “You could technically consider that experience as the start of my use of social media.”
Even though MP3.com got into a legal tangle and is no more, we all know the concept stuck. Brad said he now uses sites like ReverbNation.com/BradReason and TheSixtyOne.com/Doubledown to share and sell his music. “New technology, new equipment, and new software followed–such as, ACID, Reason, Cubase, Protools, Ableton Live, Serato Scratch, and Native Instruments–and now,” he said “the possibilities for music making are limitless.” And so are the ways to connect with an audience.
Brad doesn’t use social media to communicate just with his fans, however. He also uses these tools to connect with venues and other music business contacts. As a new media marketing pro, Brad notes most venues are behind the times when it comes to social media. “Venues don’t realize the potential for using these tools for promotion and booking quality music acts,” he said. Not surprisingly, Brad finds venues are ‘very enthused’ that he expertly uses the Internet to both perform and promote. “I use social media to share my music, announce when I have created a new piece of music, announce my live shows, and connect with industry professionals.” He also uses social media platforms to house his portfolio, bio and resume, but Brad especially enjoys connecting with his fans. “I am happy to respond to comments, and keep the lines of communication two-way.”
Brad finds social media so successful, he now limits his use of other promotional tools. In the past, he used fliers, print media, and press releases, as well as posting event info at non-social media based Web sites. “Now, because I am very skilled at using social media to market, advertise, and promote, I use social media fully, and have no need to focus on print anymore.” Social media in tandem with CDs and business cards, with the occasional flier is all he needs now.
“I use FaceBook (for everything), Twitter (for real-time info spreading), LinkedIn (for professional networking), my blog, DJDoubledown.blogspot.com, to keep a portfolio of my work as well as share other people’s interesting concepts, Flickr (for photos and graphic designs), Reverb Nation (for my original music), Soundcloud (for my DJ mixes), Second Life, Club Cooee, Skype, Digsby, Google Wave, PHP bulletin boards, FourSquare, Mashable, and a multitude of other social media and new media platforms.” Brad said, “I am everywhere on the Internet, either as Brad Reason or as Doubledown Tandino.”
When I asked what advice he would give digital musicians relative to social media, Brad suggests keeping all lines of communication open. “Don’t be too quick to dismiss a new form of social media,” he advised. “All forms of social media work. It just depends on how you use them.”
Brad’s music career began and continues to flourish entwined with computer and Internet technology. He keenly demonstrates social media is really about leveraging technology to connect, network, share, perform, promote, and learn. But most importantly, Brad Reason shows discipline with these social media platforms is worth the effort!
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Thank you also to Sitearm:
"Nice article about music and social media: Virtually Live Music IS Social Media! Teddi Davis, editor of Free Play Virtually Live, interviews Brad Reason, a new media marketing professional who is also a musician and DJ. The article shares experience and insights on how to use the newly available online promotional tools."
http://sitearm.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/music-and-social-media/
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