Jazz Odyssey

This article from Wired on the marketing setup for the Fantastic Four movie is a must read.  I’ve long been a proponent of tapping the expertise of a passionate fanbase and continue to believe that superserving those fans is a good long-term investment in an artists’ career.  But no investment is a sure thing, and the wishes of fans can on occasion be in direct opposition to prudent marketing decisions or run counter to the wants/needs of the artist, label or manager.  Community management in these instances can turn nightmarish, and its easy in those circumstances to question whether the opinions of a fanatical fanbase come at too high a price.  But each instance is different, and in the era of self-publishing where every fan can have a say it takes a significant investment in a fan community to gather enough intel to seperate fact from fiction, and ensure that a vocal minority isn’t misperceived as the voice of the masses.  Read on…