I’ve been exploring ways to promote music and connect with people outside of Meta’s Facebook and Instagram.
The problem is that there are so many alternatives that it quickly becomes overwhelming. And somehow, we always end up back on Facebook because that’s where everybody seems to be.
Mary Alice from The Electric Grandmother experimented with Bluesky as a way to engage people, but from what I understand, she didn’t have much success.
I’ve been talking with ChatGPT about alternatives, and a few interesting possibilities have come up.
Discord could be useful for building communities around local music scenes. Reddit has communities where musicians and fans exchange ideas. Bluesky and Threads offer opportunities for conversation, while YouTube could help people discover our music through performances and other videos.
There’s also the idea of using our own websites and email lists to build audiences without depending entirely on social media platforms.
I’m beginning to explore some of these options, particularly for promoting shows, connecting musicians, and getting people involved in creative projects.
But I’m curious about what everyone else is doing.
Are you finding success promoting music somewhere other than Facebook and Instagram? Are there platforms where people actually engage, show up to events, and become part of a music community?
I’d love to hear what’s working, what’s not, and what might be worth trying.