"The expectation of presence"

One of the takeaways from Oasis manager Marcus Russell's guest lecture at Cardiff University last year was the band's loathing of social media duties. These days, however, whether you're a fledgling act desperately trying to get noticed or an established artist needing to stay visible, self-promotion and short-form video content is considered practically essential.

In an article for the Guardian, Daniel Dylan Wray spoke on the subject with a number of different people, including musicians Charlie Wayne of Black Country, New Road and Benefits' Kingsley Hall, as well as author Benjamin Myers and comedian Stewart Lee. The consensus was that social media is a necessary evil - one that keeps you in the public eye but also saps energy and distracts from the creative endeavours you're setting out to promote. Hall made his views very clear: "[N]one of us really want to do it. It's a horrible conundrum. This grinding, relentless popularity contest. Seeing creative people chasing the algorithm, craving to go viral, and completely forgetting their purpose: it's tiresome."

For someone like Lee, who has so far managed to steer clear of social media but now seems resigned to biting the bullet, the challenge is particularly pronounced. Social media participation would problematise the distinction he's carefully cultivated between himself and his distinct onstage persona - but without it, he fears "gradually watching audiences ebb away".

It's possible to exist outside the system, so to speak, but very hard to build or maintain any sort of substantial fanbase. Even those who have refused to play the game, such as BC,NR, acknowledge that the landscape has shifted significantly over recent years. Wayne admitted: "[S]ince we formed in 2018, there is 100% more pressure to do it. The real change is the expectation of presence. That because you have the option of engaging your audience constantly, you should." The grim reality is that - as Lee implies - if you don't, you're likely to get left behind or forgotten, however brilliant your work is.

This is just another facet of the changing relationship between fans and artists. Last year, I noted that toxic fandom is being encouraged by musicians' social media use, and that this use is largely being driven by an industry that thrives on greed. The implication is that artists are effectively hostages, being exploited within the system just as much as their fans.