I sell smartphones for a living and could totally care less about the fact that a new iPhone 12, Galaxy S 30, blah blah is coming out. Wow, now it has 3 camera lenses, not 2, whoa! I am so jaded now to the smart phone industry. Maybe that’s because half of my job is explaining the cloud and walking people through how to transfer pictures of their Pep-Pep and Nana. I totally get why Famous Musicians wouldn’t be in here chatting it up, considering they live and breath music everyday.
Edit - apologies for the grouchy response. I’m stuck at work now and the Superbowl party has begun.
In the early to mid 2000’s I was a frequent visitor/lurker on the Okayplayer website. This is a site which Questlove from the hip hop group The Roots had a hand in creating.
During this period there was a thriving community for hip hop/Neo soul and alternative music leanings. Many artists officiated with (or friendly with) Okayplayer would frequent the boards quite regularly, similar to the way us regular folks do.
It provided direct verified engagement with artist such as Lupe Fiasco, Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli etc, at that time, basically, the elite of their musical movement.
Over time I noticed that these artists no longer frequented the boards. I attribute this to a couple thing
The artist seemed to get into conflict/abuse from certain members. There was quite a lot of disrespect of the artists. One example was when Erykah Badu posted to defend her honour after being insulted about her relationships/personal life. I think artist got fed up with arguments. I used to observe this and think that we have this awesome direct line to our idols, and it’s being ruined!
The advent of Twitter and other social media meant that artists could connect directly to their larger fan base. Using a specific site might be limiting.
Perhaps artist are too busy making music or using Twitter to be on forums. Or maybe Thom Yorke and Aphex Twin are lurking here!
When the Deputy Chief of Staff learns that he is well known enough now that a dedicated web forum about him has popped up on the internet.
And he tries to interact “with the people”
(warning for language at the end, but this was network TV in 2000)
I thinks thats the reasons why musicians tend to not be that active in forums, too. 98% of the talk is about new gears, new synths etc. and actually not about making music.
i think that at some point you will just focus on actually using your gear rather than thinking about what to buy next. this applies not only for music making and photography but also other hobbies like motorcycles, bikes, espresso machines, wood working tools etc…
Not sure if it’s already been mentioned, but I guarantee (and know for a fact in some cases) some are visiting and posting here and GS but don’t say or do anything (including their username) that would give away their identity because there’s no benefit and lots of downsides…
Instead of saying “Hi, you may know me from such things as Aphex Twin, could you share with me your hot tips on making beats” you say “Hi, Could you share with me your hot tips on making beats”
