We’ve all seen the posts. Some random guy you’re Facebook friends with from however many years ago posted about their new independent record label, or their blog, or some other seemingly irrelevant project. I’m guilty of plaguing my acquaintances with a variety of these requests myself. Between my rap career, YouTube career, blogging career, and gaming career, there have been quite a few posts looking for any kind of attention that anyone would give me. And they typically go unmet. I’m not here just to advertise myself though. Rather I’m here to discuss how detrimental it is to our future if you choose not to support your local artists today.
The point that I cannot stress enough is that supporting local artists is an investment in our future. Think of your favorite singer, doesn’t matter who. Beyoncé, Ben Folds, anyone really. They all had to start somewhere, doing the small local gigs and self-start venues to gain some level of notoriety before they could sell out concert halls. Is every single independent artist you’re friends with now going to end up having a notable career in their art? Unfortunately, it isn’t likely. But some of them will! And if at any level you’re genuinely friends with them, you should be supporting their endeavors!
Your level of commitment to their growth can vary. Whether you just like their page and occasionally like or share their posts, that’s great! You’re still helping them build their audience that way. If you take legitimate pride in your friend’s work, though, be an unstoppable fan for them. Go to as many of their shows as you can, be a test dummy for their make-up or hair, commission some of their art! Yeah, you heard me. You cannot just go up to one of your artist friends and ask for some personalized work with their sole payment being exposure. As great as it is to get our names out there more, we are still artisans and you should not expect to get work that takes time, effort, and supplies for free.
In summary, your local artists are the future of their industries. If you want to still have music to enjoy, paintings to enjoy, books to enjoy, the best thing you can do is support them now while they're still growing. I for one never want to live in a world where there is no art, so I'm going to keep creating too.
