'Breakdown' in the Indian EDM scene?
In the recent past, we have had a booming electronic dance music (EDM) scene in India (thanks to Submerge and others who are genuinely trying hard to build it bottom up). However, with any booming scene, we have a lot of noise that starts to spread and override the real signals. And in the process the entire process is fragmented. Purpose defeated.
The noise in question at the moment is, the overuse & misuse of #hashtags and localisation of twitter handles. With fans having quick and easy access to voice their excitement and in most cases faddism to the world, this noise is amplifying faster than ever.
We now have new twitter accounts created for Zedd, Deadmau5, Eric Prydz, KnifeParty, Tiesto, Hardwell,Calvin Harris and many more I assume, each appended with India to it. What value do you bring to the followers in doing this? What are some of the reasons you feel like creating these accounts? Do you share things that otherwise we will not get to know from other sources? Do you tweet interesting and less known facts about artists, that fans would be interested in? Do you share secrets about artists that a fan would find it hard to dig up?
Appreciate the excitement and intent, but IMHO this is just diluting the entire purpose. You might get a follow from the artist himself/herself, but honestly that doesnt mean nothing. You will just end up feeding into his already flooded twitter stream. If you really have to get the artist's attention then simply @replying helps. It's easier for them to analyse their reach too. If you really want to let the artist know that we in India are excited about them, love them and want them to visit us, then just "tweet to them". Trust me this localisation has no end. Do I go ahead and create a TiestoBangalore account? and then TiestoKoramangala?
Remember, fans who love an artist and their music are already following them on twitter. They are in most probability already following promoters and festival organizers such as Submerge, Sunburn etc. as well. So adding another account for fans to follow doesn’t help. Plus, if you are just another super enthusiastic fan creating the account then in most likelihood, you will not have the latest information and insider news on when the artists are coming down to India amongst other details. You then end up depending on research, googling, artist websites/facebook pages/twitter handles and updates from promoters etc. to spread the word. Isn’t your effort redundant? Why take so much effort to repeat something that's already happening. Again, no one is questioning your intent but you might rather support what’s already available and spread the word. If you see a tweet or facebook post from the artist which hints at India, retweet it. Involve Submerge, Sunburn and others you believe in, to take note of it. Reach out to them asking for more details.
In a similar state is the misuse of #hashtags. Assuming most people understand it’s utility, it makes me wonder how having random hashtags created help. It again has the same side-effects as the twitter handles, wherein you end up fragmenting the conversations around it. You don’t need a fancy new hashtag, but just one that allows you to curate and filter tweets based on a particular topic. Just because someone created a hashtag in the past and it worked doesn’t mean it will, always. Think before you create a new hashtag. Oh and remember, this is just a suggestion for one’s own good. It’s not a written rule, but being in this field, this comes from that experience.
In summary, if you are an electronic dance music fan in India, and are excited with the booming scene, then try to focus on building the right scene. There is a thin line between being a fanatic and patron. We need more patrons THAN fanatics, of course some fanatics will be there. We need more people to support the cause. Spread the right word and a positive vibe. Build an environment that we can call ours, which promotes India in the most respectful way in the international dance music world.
