People on the forum to promote a band/product?

Averatu · 2011-06-17T16:55:20+00:00

We are all involved in some way in the 'music biz', be it pro's, amateur enthusiasts or weekend jammers. We all own and buy gear, looking for new stuff, the latest stuff. I'm quite new to this forum business, I cant take 'social media' very seriously. I'm here to informally converse with you all about various and sundry topics, get advice, try give advice where I have experience. But is quite obvious there's a fair few people who post here to promote products, bands, or themselves, and their advise would therefor be biased. For instance, Frikkie working for guitar company XXX would not recommend competitor YYY's 7 string guitar, even if he knows the guitar is better suited to the needs of the person posting a question. Especially bugging are the guys who take every opportunity to mention in their replies 'this cool website' or 'that new software', or the review of a band that read like a 'one sheet'. It smacks of infiltration marketing. I'm a fairly opinionated bugger, not wanting to step on toes. Feel free to tell me to sod off.

Averatu

PeteM wrote What I find annoying about this thread is that no specific instances of abuse have been sited by the OP. I hate generalisations. What are we achieving by this discussion?
If one doesn't like the forum... for what ever reason... well...

Oy vey!!
If one does not like the discussion.. for what ever reason...?

PeteM

Averatu wrote
PeteM wrote What I find annoying about this thread is that no specific instances of abuse have been sited by the OP. I hate generalisations. What are we achieving by this discussion?
If one doesn't like the forum... for what ever reason... well...
Oy vey!!
If one does not like the discussion.. for what ever reason...?

Too true... I'm going back to things about guitars and music and stuff.

AlanRatcliffe

We do need to make the distinction between someone selling a product and a regular forum member punting their music/gigs/selves. The former is strictly off-limits, the latter is not always. It can be a pretty blurry line on the latter one (if you are part of a show charging R150 admission and playing in a 100 venues around the country, it's more of a "product" than a small band or solo artist punting their gig on Friday), so I try treat them individually on merit. Similarly, There is a difference between Keira (for instance) advertising that she has a few slots for students available and a music school.

I don't think that anyone can point to a specific case where a distributor or store has gotten away with blatant promotion (and if they have, why haven't the person annoyed by it reported it?). The only "unpaid" promotion we have had have been those which offered special deals or give-aways exclusive to our members (Tokai, Epiphone, Laney, Snapjack, Strymon, et.al). There is occasionally some "subtle marketing" happening too, but once again, if the net result is of benefit to our members, then I let it go.

As far as the fly-by-night video posters/youTube channel owners go. I don't give them the boot immediately, they are given a chance to take part and add some value to the forum (especially those posting lessons). If they don't, they are warned and if they continue, they are banned and their threads deleted. But until I give them the chance, there is no way of knowing if they will add value to the forum or not.

I think the guys who only come here when they want something like votes for a competition or try a one-off band promotion, are thankfully fairly rare. I also think that for the most part, our members generally treat them like the strangers they are and generally ignore them. So I don't think there is any reason to regulate and crack down on them - after all, that would then limit one of "our own" from being able to ask for support too (which they would probably get).

On another related (and similarly contentious) issue, the smaller product distributors (and those with affiliations) tend to be as much enthusiasts of musical gear in general as they are businessmen, and want to take part as much as the rest of us, but the affiliation often means that they sometimes have to keep quiet about something new they are passionate about or take abuse from critics of their products without responding. No, it's not entirely fair on them sometimes, but it's a far better option than the alternative free-for-all. And to be honest, I have to admire those few guys who stick it out (Like AndreM, TokaiSA and Chad Browne) without complaint, because ultimately they do their brands credit by so doing.

MIKA-the-better-one

THis makes me so Angry, who the hell would ever post a link on this SITE!!!!!!! Who would dare be so self indulgent as to link his peers up with some rubbish about his band.
I think its Down Right Terrible!!!! I think the forum should carry out strict procedure to have anyone committing such an offence to be taken to the back outskirts of the forum and shot!

Damn links, and bands, and procucts and oppurtunities.... only thise things we have no experience to must be posted thus ensuring a unbiased GFSA Society!!!!!!! SALUTE

singemonkey

MIKA the better one wrote THis makes me so Angry, who the hell would ever post a link on this SITE!!!!!!! Who would dare be so self indulgent as to link his peers up with some rubbish about his band.
I think its Down Right Terrible!!!! I think the forum should carry out strict procedure to have anyone committing such an offence to be taken to the back outskirts of the forum and shot!

Damn links, and bands, and procucts and oppurtunities.... only thise things we have no experience to must be posted thus ensuring a unbiased GFSA Society!!!!!!! SALUTE

Back in Edenvale? They kick you out of yankee-land already? ?

MIKA-the-better-one

Not yet, I am in Georgia/ North Carolina at the moment.... Right where they filmed Deliverance.......
Great Times

Keira-WitherKay

MIKA the better one wrote Not yet, I am in Georgia/ North Carolina at the moment.... Right where they filmed Deliverance.......
Great Times

so hows the USA treating you? .played any gigs with that cool DrZ yet???

oh if you where they filmed deliverence... just get very nervous if someone asks if you can "squeul like a pig"

MIKA-the-better-one

I have actually not used the DR Z yet..... I took a 1 week holiday to go and play in rivers, and white water raft. Which has turned out to be great.
I am talking to a few musicians back in tampa see what happens this week..... I need a job first ☹

Malkav

Keira WitherKay wrote . now if only chad would post some of his 8 string work ? nudge nudge wink wink ,chad we're waiting ....

I can guarantee the moment my band is done with our recordings I will also join the painful list of spammers ? Should be around about sometime in July, though I have a feeling your expectations will probably not be met ? I'm defininitely not on the same "level" if you know what I'm saying ?

Alan Ratcliffe wrote they sometimes have to keep quiet about something new they are passionate about or take abuse from critics of their products without responding.

I love XXXXXXX's so so so so so much but I can never talk about them and all the recent technologies they've employed cause it's against the rules, and they get bashed constantly by people who obviously haven't tried the recent models. :'(

[EDITED by Alan]

Malkav

HAHAHAHA! See right there, nothing get's past the mods ?

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