RecordPlug

[This is copied from a post to the RecordPlug group on G+. If you’d like to participate there, add your google id to our list signup: http://www.group.as/recordplug/. You can also discuss it on our Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/recordplug?v=wall]

A few times in the thread yesterday, different members brought up the topic of relevance. Fear of my work being irrelevant (or outright disregarded) is something I’ve certainly wrestled with a good bit over the years, and I hear it constantly from musicians, music bloggers, podcasters, etc. My general atitude these days is “screw ‘em… they’ll catch up to it” and to trudge forward with oblivious delusion with whatever the project is. And that seems to work for me on the creative side.

But then you release that thing you’ve been working on for months (sometimes years); or play a show to the same 20 people; lack of sales; lack of email responses; ignored press request… or on the other side… you dread the stack of crap CDs bands have sent you to review or play on your show; look at your pitiful web stats; read angry emails from prima dona artists; etc. Whatever your activity/angle with music is, the feedback vacuum sorta sucks the wind out of you. And you begin to question the merit of what you do. Often, people just quit… or worse, get jaded about music in general.

The only way I know to get around some of that is in having a supportive community. Some find that in the local music scene. A lot of us found that on LiveJournal and email lists 10 or so years back. Some find it now on Facebook, Twitter and maybe G+… but I think to a lesser extent. Regardless, it feels to me that those type of “scenes” — whether that be literal local community or a cobbled-together virtual one — are one key way of staying out of that vacuum of feeling irrelevant.

So, what do you think? Have you found it to be as important? Are there other ways of mitigating this? Do current social networks provide enough moral support, or is there something missing from them? Or is this just part of the process… and the tough push through it quickly to the next thing?