Leaving Facebook a big leap for artists
Not all musicians can afford to hit delete on their account, which is a key promotional tool
Folk singer Claire Coupland doesn’t love Facebook, but when it comes to promoting her music career, she’s almost married to the social-media goliath.
Her relationship with the platform is fraught with her questions about its true effectiveness, but like most musicians, the Toronto-based performer sticks around. She shows up nearly every week to post something that she hopes will attract new listeners and keep loyal fans entertained, such as a new song or recent photo.
And despite concerns over Facebook data breaches, she hasn’t seriously considered joining the chorus of users who severed ties with the platform and deleted their profiles. It seems like most musicians haven’t.
“Everything’s there. It’s all connected already, so I don’t know if it’s wise to get rid of a Facebook fan page,” she said. “I would never get rid of mine.”
Coupland, like many independent musicians early in their careers, is always looking for ways to promote her music without spending a lot of money. Facebook is cheap to use and can potentially reach millions of listeners.
But it’s also problematic for people concerned about privacy and the widerreaching impact of data exchange between Cambridge Analytica and Facebook that went undetected for some time.
That puts artists in a tough spot where most believe they can’t afford to leave the platform, but they don’t necessarily like it either.
The Darcys’ Wes Marskell holds those mixed feelings for Facebook, calling it an “overarching menace,” but a necessary tool for musicians. He balances his dislike for the platform, and its privacy concerns, against his belief that “every- one else is collecting that sort of data” on its users too.
But Facebook’s attractive features make it impossible to follow the lead of singer Loreena McKennitt, who recently announced plans to delete her Facebook profile over concerns for the privacy of her fans.
McKennitt said after details of the data exchange between Cambridge Analytica and Facebook were recently made public, she had to make a decision.
“As a business owner and a citizen, I became very concerned that Facebook was offside,” she said in a recent interview. “I’d rather stop partaking in an infrastructure that I know is very compromised.”
McKennitt’s plan to dump the platform, which she says she’ll do on June 1, has been met with mixed reactions.
Some say the singer is being hypocritical by publicly expressing concerns over privacy, but still using Facebook to promote her new album in the weeks before she officially closes her account. Others are unhappy they’re losing an easy way to learn about upcoming tour dates.
Leaving Facebook is a privilege as a musician, McKennitt acknowledged. “There are many artists whose Facebook page is probably managed by their label,” she said. “They may not even have a choice about whether they can shut it down or not.”
“I’m also lucky from the standpoint that I’m kind of a legacy artist,” she added. “I could retire tomorrow and I’d be fine.”