Update 7/20/2009 2:06PM: A link to Nikki Sixx's response to the Wall Street Journal article appears at the end of this blog post.
Gotta love Nikki Sixx...The man knows exactly what to say to get attention!
Wall Street Journal Interview & Commentary: Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx Hates the Internet
( http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/07/19/motley-crues-nikki-sixx-hates-the-internet/ )
My response, from the Comments section after the Wall Street Journal article (in blue italics here, so I don't have to rewrite it):
"MusicBizAdviceEditor wrote:
Joe in Poughkeepsie or Sue in Roanoke has always "decided when something is a great show".It’s called Word of Mouth. The only difference is that now, instead of sitting around in their living rooms or hanging at a diner out with friends, Joe and Sue are talking to millions of people at once. You just have to keep what you can under wraps, then let Joe & Sue do your marketing for you once the cat’s out of the bag. As for Twitter, it’s long past the "eating a ham sandwich" stage and has morphed into a viable medium for quickly sharing & finding information…as well as an instant focus group."
I do, however, understand Nikki's feelings about trying to maintain the mystique. For good or bad, when fans find out "too much" about their favorite artist, it alters whatever image they've created in their own minds about that person (kind of like meeting an Internet email pal, or--if you go farther back--kind of like meeting a pen pal).
Based on their feeling about what they find, you stand a 50/50 chance of being rejected by them.
But, it can also work in your favor. There's a certain celebrity, who shall remain nameless, that I wasn't a fan of at all (to put it mildly) until I happened upon them on Twitter. This celebrity's tweets---this celeb writes their own-- have continually shown this person to be a fun, cool person with interesting things to say away from the business, who not only cares about their family, friends and fans, but about the planet as a whole. Had I not seen their tweets on Twitter, I probably would have continued to have a negative image of this person.
So tread lightly, yes, but don't reject the idea out of hand completely...
Especially if you're blessed to be as entertaining as Nikki Sixx, whose old posts from the early infancy of AOL are still legendary!
For those who don't find Twitter "ridiculous" (just kidding, Nikki), or who do but want to give it a second chance, follow me at http://twitter.com/MusicBizAdvice . I'm not as entertaining as Nikki Sixx, but I have a lot of fun talking with our readers and try to give interesting info.
Randi Reed
Founder / Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com
Update 7/20/2009: You can read Nikki's response to the Wall Street Journal article & comments here.
Disclosure of Endorsements/Recommendations/Financial Compensation or Business Relationships per FTC Blog Disclosure Regulations in effect December 1, 2009: In the early 90's I worked for the talent agency that booked Motley Crue, and before that I worked for a concert promotion company that presented many Motley Crue shows. Since that time I've received no financial compensation or free product in direct connection with the band or its individual members. The MusicBizAdvice.com website, and by extension, this blog, sells Amazon products, including music, as an Amazon Associate.
