Submitted by when_you_sleep in Music

i've been making myself this question since i deleted my last.fm account because i didn't use it a lot, but i've seen people that say that using these kind of tools actually help "unknown" artists get more listeners and fans, so i'm not sure what to do right now; idk if i should make another last.fm account since i do like some more "underground" and unknown artists and projects, and i would love it if more people knew about them, so i came here to ask what do you all think :)

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ziq wrote

If they get known they'll stop being good so

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__0 wrote

At the same time recognition from a small amount of people who browse microgenres on rym is hardly bound to corrupt someone’s musical output.

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ziq wrote (edited )

True. I was just being contrarian

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fortmis wrote

Bandcamp is honestly the only music platform that has preserved a shred of dignity for musicians. I love YouTube because it's free, but I use bandcamp to buy music, and to listen to albums more concisely (sometimes YouTube doesn't have it well organized).

Definitely delete Spotify // Apple music // etc. Demonic platforms they must go

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rattledlove1139 wrote (edited )

I never use those stuff if that helps i just look for keywords in weird combinations on a youtube client and bandcamp since those both are really big places for people uploading and see what I find. I don't like soundcloud layout as much but that one too sometimes. Youtube client is especially nice because it doesn't try give me the most clickable it's just whatever. Following archive/promotion channels and recommending forums is nice too, like the dungeon synth archive shares dungeon synth albums (by request) on youtube with artist bandcamp links to buy

Edit sorry if what I say is unclear I just mean maybe it does but even if it does there's other things too.

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__0 wrote

Bandcamp is great, its the only place with a more specific geographic organization for music (great for figuring out bands to ask to play with on tour, or groups to see while travelling) … unfortunately a lot of places share names, and there is a lot of bands saying they are from the bigger town next door if theres a more lively scene there …

I check the new releases in my town every once and a while just to keep up to date …

Another hobby i used to have was combine two different genres, a year, and a country on discogs and see what interesting weird music i can find, i used to try and download as much as i could find as much as i could on soulseek, found so much cool music that way.

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fortmis wrote

Bandcamp is also probably the best platform for purchasing music -- like actually buying an album -- lol remember the days???!!!

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__0 wrote

Yeah! Im a freak who still buys physical copies of things, a good record store is still the best place for that, but Bandcamp is the go too place for buying digital copies, love how everything is accessible as a flac file, or alac etc its great!

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__0 wrote

Depends a bit on how you view music scenes and categorization. I use discogs a lot, rym occasionally, i spend a fair amount of time at local record stores listening to discount local/diy records, and used to go to at least 2 diy shows a week, and organize the occasional event …

Some scenes are way smaller and more interconnected than you would ever think, As much as I’ve learned so much from cataloging sites, there is so much more in the conversations at the venues, in old tour posters, in who knows who and thanks for letting us crash on your couch in the liner notes that something like discogs or rym doesn’t quite replace yet.

There is no bottom to the well of participatory culture, no boundaries to the influences and strange coincidences that aren’t and in my opinion shouldn’t accept simple cataloging as adequate documentation.

To me music offers a chance to serve as a small refuge from many of the ills of the modern world.

Unfortunately the last few years has really damaged my willingness to take part in my local scene,

But shoutout to all the bands that record in basements, bedrooms, buildings scheduled for demolition, street corners, as prisoners, as patients. Shoutout to my friends who’ve moved twice a year facing constant displacement and gentrification, evictions, floods, housefires, venue closures etc and still manage to get together and write music/songs/recording ls for themselves and for the people they care for.

There is always going to be a lot of nuance and circumstance that is hard to express on paper, the unwritten and unrecorded deeper meaning behind some art that cannot translate to this idea of a universal consumer…

Idk

Its hard to mesure.

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when_you_sleep OP wrote

yeah i agree on everything that you said, but sadly i don't deal very well with people, i get nervous and stuff like that, so it's kinda hard for me to just talk to people about the music that i like or going to small concerts and simply hang around.

so that's basically why i was looking for, idk, alternatives or something, and that's how i ended up using last.fm for a while until i realized i barely used it and now here i am wondering if this kind of tools help artists.

also i have a question, why do you use discogs?, i just want to know if i could also use it.

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__0 wrote

Well the discogs vs rym debate is a long one, i just feel that discogs has a better focus on the physical side of music, although you can find just about anything online now, i find that a lot of stuff as far as smaller labels and being able to quickly glance at who has released on them, i just find my flow with the site is a little more fluid, with rym I usually find myself on the charts… actually some fantastic lists on rym … i feel like making lists on discogs is way more tedious so only a few people do it … lots of great reviews on rym, its quite entertaining to read some if the more colourful reviews, whereas on discogs the comments on releases are more focused on the quality of the pressing, mastering etc … i just kinda think that each of these sites provides a different focus, it just helps to have various sources of info if you want a more complete view of things. Admittedly a small part of discogs for me is also the marketplace, i buy a lot of random cheap crap records on a whim and a lot of them i eventually sell online since most record stores dont want to touch any diy or local stuff with a 10ft pole. Ive had cases of releases being on rym but missing from discogs and viceversa …

Oh and as far as general awkwardness and feeling uncomfortable around crowds at venues i feel the same way most of the time … i used to go to a tonne of shows but admittedly I spend a lot of time on the couch in the back of the room, or there was one venue with a good zine collection and I usually spent half my time there reading haha I haven’t been to a show in like 3 years at least …

Its also very rare to find people to talk to about music, but like i knew some people who used to host listening parties, and have a few friends where we often get together and have a few drinks while digging though the records and putting random stuff on.

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when_you_sleep OP wrote

alright thank you very much for clearing up my doubts :), i really appreciate it.

and i think that i might as well go to a few shows just to listen to the music or maybe read a book, thanks again :)

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rot wrote

honestly youtube and other anti-social media might be even better at that.

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