Rock Tech Tuesday: The Social Media Scroll (embracing the 15-second attention span)

“The social media scroll — then and now…”

Streaming. Social media. The 99 cent music single. Love it or not, it’s all here to stay. At least for a while…

Great technology seems to hang in there — stays with us — sometimes for generations. The heralded Fender Jazz Bass was introduced in 1960 and is pretty much the same guitar in 2023 (soon to be 2024). There is a discussion to be had on passive vs. active electronics in bass guitars — but I’ll save that for a later date. Awesome is awesome no matter the year it was created. The Fender Jazz Bass is the very definition of awesome (to me in my world).

I’m a technology guy (ask anyone) and as such an ardent early adopter of new tech. Having 1,000 songs in my pocket the day I bought my first iPod (circa 2001) was a total game changer for me: For the first time in my life I could listen to any song I owned on a whim, no matter the time or location.

And it got better: Today I can listen to just about any musical composition created by any human throughout history with ease — millions of songs at my fingertips. Technology can be amazing.

The Social Media Scroll

When I was a teenager my only connection to the outside music world was FM radio and the local record store. One hand on the radio dial — turning the tuning knob — scanning for an artist, a song, or a radio station I would like — 5 seconds at a time. In the local record store I’d spend hours flipping through album covers — looking at each for 5 to 15 seconds — deciding whether or not to take a chance on the artist with my hard earned dollar.

That process from the 1980s is nearly identical to today’s social media “scroll”. Looking… Listening… …Investing from 5 to 15 seconds on each artist looking for music I might enjoy. The goal and the process to realize that goal (finding a band — art we will enjoy) is exactly the same today as it was in the 1980s — only the technology is different. And I love the fact I can perform today’s social media scroll from my couch.

Leveling the Playing Field

What keeps me up late at night — in a good way — are the technology tools available to the average musician in everyday consumer-grade tech: Buy a laptop. Record some music. Release it to the world. An expensive recording studio — or royalty draining record label — need not be involved.

Social media is the new way to reach fans. Many of my music friends and colleagues bemoan social media — blaming it for the downfall of our youth (people made similar observations about radio, TV and the telephone not that long ago…). New tech does create issues that need to be addressed — but if you can look beyond that — stuff gets really interesting…

A reality for Radio 45 is that a journalist living in Europe heard one of our records and wrote a review. We were able to share that review (among other things) with 140,000 people worldwide over a 7-day period. For free! Well… almost free. We pay a few dollars here-and-there to license social artwork as needed.

To me this is equal parts completely insane and 100% matter-of-fact (we’ve been experimenting with engaging the Instagram Algorithm, so we anticipated success with the Algorithm sooner or later…). Bottom line: Social media — at least for now — is a direct channel to your would-be fans.

Embracing the 15-second Attention Span

We’re all different and every band has different goals. The Radio 45 goal is to grow our fan base. Pretty simple. With that in mind, here’s the big deal with the social media scroll — to me in my world:

The social media scroll — the 15 second attention span — is your friend. Today we can create art and share a taste of it with anyone in the world — then measure their response to our art in real-time.

Did they like it? Did they look at it for 2 seconds or 10 seconds? How much of it did they watch or listen to? Did they respond with a “like” or a “share”? Did they buy it? Did they tell their friends it sucks?

A treasure-trove of data awaits: insights into what your fans like and what they don’t. Fascinating.

I make music. Sure — I do that for me — but I hope other people might like the music I make. It’s good when you can create art that other people appreciate.

Today I can make art — package it — distribute it globally — and measure fan response at each step along the way. I can tweak the process by embracing the social media scroll and by paying attention to the information it provides to me. It’s good for me. And it’s good for the fan — it helps the fan find new music they’ll love. Win win. And along the way — perhaps I’ll gain a wider audience…

For me it’s the great, un-ending science experiment. And it’s a great time to be alive!

Until next time,
Scotto

The Social Media Scroll in the 1980s

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#socialmediascroll