The Dalai Llama’s Advice On Building A Fan Base
How the artist and fan relationship is manifested on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, the artist's own web site and bolg as well as at live shows, can make or break a career. (Just ask Kayne West.) Too often, artist and fan interactions feel forced or even worse, driven entirely by commerce. (Buy my fabulous new album!) Anyone trying to build and maintain a Tribe faces similar dilemmas, even The Dalai Lama.
How does one of the world's most respected religious leaders build a relationship with his Tribe? In addition to writing books and making public appearances, The Dalai Llama and his team have a strong web presence, tweet daily and you can even friend him on Facebook. Yet the philosophy that grounds his many activities, like building support for Tibet and fundraising, is remarkably simple:
"I look at people from a positive angle, seeking positive aspects. This immediately creates a feeling of affinity, a kind of connectedness."
In other words, as I teach to my Berklee online Future Of Music students: view your fans not as you wish they were (fanatical, high income connectors), but rather as they probably are (busy, underpaid and looking for escape). All audiences want connection, quality and value. If you stay intimately connected to your Tribe, you'll know how to deliver all three.
More: Seth Godin On Tribes, Heretics & Music
A musician has two different personas – “the music” and “the person” behind the music. An information-intensive-hyper-socialized society that shares everything with everyone from everywhere now has access to “the person” behind the music. Fans put a premium on being able to connect with the artist because 1. They now have the opportunity to do so in ways that didn’t exist just a few years ago, and 2. Humans have a subconscious desire to reconcile the two dissonant personas – people want to believe that “good” music comes from “good” people, or at least people they can relate to, a sense of validation. Artists have to work harder than ever to relate to people, to build those connections.
Maybe the Dalai Llama should realise that his fan base is being decimated by the Chinese Government, just saying !
Interesting… this is probably the most insightful post I have read in a long time. It gives me hope that I have more control over my business than I think. I read a long time ago in the I Ching that words have no power unless the speaker lives them. From this standpoint, the power to draw an audience is more dependent on the attitude of the speaker or musician in this case than anything else. Wasn’t quite sure how practical that was and have been thinking about it. This post brings it closer to home. It makes sense. Viewing my audience as real people with real lives changes how I approach and deal with them as opposed to seeing them as just a bunch of numbers with dollar signs. I will consider that one.
Brilliant, a great reply and truthful. Not every good musician is a good (or God) person. I think/thought Hendrix was a good person, and he was/is, but he had his issues as we all go through this life we work through them to make ourselves better people and hence feel better about things. Everyone in the audience is unique and that’s what makes it interesting.
Brilliant, a great reply and truthful. Not every good musician is a good (or God) person. I think/thought Hendrix was a good person, and he was/is, but he had his issues as we all go through this life we work through them to make ourselves better people and hence feel better about things. Everyone in the audience is unique and that’s what makes it interesting.