01 Mar, 2010 The Ideal World
In a world ideal to SM only, we would do exactly what we wanted to do and whenever we wanted to it. In that same world we would need not rely on anyone and have no need to pay attention to the ways of the world that we currently know. That however is not the way things are, although steadily SM are becoming more and more independent, meaning that we can consider doing things a bit more freely than before.
I recall way back in ’01, writing that the day would come when we would make music and video available on our official site, and that we would also make it easily possible to obtain officially sanctioned live recordings.
It seemed impossible and although it may have taken some time to come to fruition, the day duly arrived when we looked at the options available and thought that the tools finally existed to produce independent products with the quality that our supporters deserved. The event of it all also coincided with the ending of previous contractual arrangements that would have made it otherwise impossible. And now, as demonstrated on our most recent tour, it is possible while driving over Sydney Harbor to listen to a recording of a SM gig that has taken place in Vienna only hours previously. That it is officially sanctioned, produced with the utmost quality, plus obtainable at a price that everyone felt to be of good value, made it all so much more worth celebrating and I relished seeing the situation I had predicted come into being a reality.
It goes without saying that the new and instant dialogue possible with our supporter’s through facilities like Twitter and Facebook are also a previously unimaginable bonus to the relationship between some of the people who make music and the people who like to listen. Certainly it goes so much further than when just a decade ago, being a fan meant sitting around waiting for a monthly or so magazine to report on your favorite artist, detailing info that was usually already out of date by the time they delivered it to you.
In my case I have used these forums to get to know a bit more of how our followers think, which in turn influences me when I am considering how to try and make following our group a more pleasurable experience.
It does not involve pandering or indeed patronizing, neither is it profiling – as some marketeering professionals would perhaps comment. Or if it is in anyway, it is to a very small degree. Simply put, we can now get our message to the people who really are interested without depending entirely on the whims of an editor and whether he or she sees our band as worth the profile. How good that is!
And yet while we have these new freedoms to consider, we still don’t have it all our own way. Some of our fans would love to have a new album from us every year and some of the band would not mind that either. But it’s not quite how it works. Least yet so! But I do still envisage a lot of exciting developments to come in this rapidly changing scenario and I thoroughly believe that following Simple Minds is about to become much more interesting and a lot more involving for those who wish to do so.
Let’s see what around the corner and on the road up ahead!