Last week a friend alerted me to a tweet by Trevor Jackson. In response to Plastician, who said:

"All young producers trying to not do up social media citing Burial as an example....

Burial was on Myspace. By the time Twitter came around he was big enough to not have to join in anymore.

We would all love to be in that position but you need to rise above the noise first."

Jackson said:

"No one needs to be on social media, you either do it because you’re vain, desperate for attention, have no real mates or totally bored. All young producers should just let their music speak for itself, if it’s great it WILL get heard. No need to rise to anything, ignore it."

It developed into a larger conversation, involving LuckyMe and Martyn, but I simply screenshot Jackson's first tweet and shared it on Twitter, saying it was “totally realistic and helpful advice”.

I say this because I think it's naive at best, harmful at worst to suggest that producers simply let music speak for itself. The idea that "if it’s great it WILL get heard" is baffling to me - maybe it will get heard, eventually, by accident, maybe the artist will have given up and moved into a different realm? Yes, music is an art, it's a passion, but people need to live, eat, pay bills, and they can't wait around forever. What he said about social media itself, I can't really argue with. It's often horrible, shows the worst of human nature, allows people to spread harmful views and lets people gang up on others. I'll come back to this.

Anyway. A conversation grew out of my screenshot, eventually finding its way back to Jackson. The bulk of the conversation involved people like The Black Madonna and Eris Drew, and Jackson said "I’d much rather be having this conversation with new young artists and seeing how they feel than veterans of the industry with a large fan base. They might have a very different take on the frustrations of using these platforms". I said I'd ask... Here's a sample of what I got in response:

As you can see, it got a big response. HE VALENCIA started his own thread on the subject: “As someone who exists relatively outside of a lot of big scenes and circles social media has allowed me to network, travel and or tour diff places and meet up with people. Pull off the impossible.”

These are real benefits to social media, which shouldn’t be ignored. But as said several times above, it’s not always beneficial for your mental health. I hadn't tagged Jackson in my original tweet for a few reasons. I don't like him. I don't like arguing with people online - that kind of confrontation makes me feel sick and anxious, leaving a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. It's easier to share these ideas with people inside your own echo chamber, certainly. Jackson accused me of having an agenda - maybe I did? If it was it wasn't anything more than showing up what I think is an antiquated view on things, which doesn't help anyone. He subsequently said:

Is there any harm in suggesting less competitive ways to try and get their music out there? I can think of numerous new artists & labels with little or no social media presence that work, to their advantage perhaps?

If the market is more competitive now than it was in the past, it's only because there's simply more music. Everyone needs an angle. Some people leverage their obscurity (Jackson mentioned Wah Wah Wino, who are famously quiet online - although bear in mind they released music under other names before they arrived at their current state, and are distributed by Rush Hour, which must help). Some people are busy on the 'gram (naming no names, draw your own conclusions).

One thing I've learned from putting out a compilation recently is that nothing is guaranteed - knowing someone who writes for a site is definitely going to help, providing a foot in the door and the possibility of some coverage. That isn't possible for noobs, and what better way than social media to make a few friends, make a few connections? Especially if they're not based in London or Berlin.

Further, when it comes to finding music, social media is great because people simply share what they like. Looking around, there are fewer sites than ever uncovering new music. I saw a tweet recently that summed up coverage of ambient music as "techno producer makes ambient record or Brian Eno album reissued". If you're not already a known quantity, it's unlikely you're making headlines. Everything is news from a press release, a premiere/video/mix/interview led by a PR campaign, listicles of influences.... I know I'm a part of that, and I apologise. But it's hard to be mad at someone looking for a way to get themselves heard.

What’s the conclusion here? I don’t have one. Don’t take potshots at people and expect them not to read it?

At the end of the day, I think Jackson and I both want to share good music with a receptive audience. If there were more people trying to do that, maybe the ~industry~ wouldn’t be in such a state.