TWO weeks ago, I launched the music video for “Skodeng Blues”, the latest single from my album “John Bangi Blues”, on my YouTube channel.

As a one-man operation, I’ve had limited opportunity to promote it while touring. In my experience as an independent musician, publicity is often overlooked, but it’s crucial for success.

In the past, during the golden age of music labels, before digitalisation and the internet dislodged established industrial practices, the artist could focus solely on his craft.  The flipside of this was that many artists who signed their life away without reading the fine print often found themselves getting a raw deal. Even experienced troubadours like the late Leonard Cohen found himself cheated by his manager in the twilight of his career, which forced him to carry on recording and touring.

Today’s landscape demands multitasking. As an independent artist, here are three ways I’ve adapted to the social media world:

Make being offline your “brand”

“Monkey see, monkey do” is the rule for those who wish to transform themselves into some form of public figure. Follow the lead of the successful personalities. It is also how we learn new things. You don’t have to sacrifice your offline life to be present online. Establish a public pattern of behavior to your audience first before pandering to other things that could skyrocket your popularity. Alternatively, you may choose to maintain no online presence, which is a statement in itself. However, you’ll need a friend, partner, or kid to maintain some online presence, such as an artist page on Facebook or Instagram.

Bring back some mystery

As a Gen X-er growing up in the pre-internet age, the only way I could find out what my favourite artists were up to was to read about them in articles in newspapers or magazines. Malaysia did not have MTV until Astro arrived in the mid-1990. This added an aura of mystery to our favourite artist. In today’s “Hey guys!” social media world,  where artists are everywhere in your face, mystery is sadly lacking. But you can bring it back.

Hack algorithms with things you can leverage later

In the present, with social media being the platform of promotion of choice, for better or worse, artists have more control over their works and career. However, this also means that artists now have to multitask. While there is still the expectation of personalisation that comes with the social media trap – audiences expect special insight into the lives of their favourite artists offstage or offscreen – you can still hack this by sharing things that do not involve your face or your opinion. I love photography so I post photos of places that have some meaning to me without saying too much. Here’s an open secret: the internet loves cats. So I post photos of cats – random and my own – which I also used for my gig posters, album covers and merchandie. – March 17, 2023.

* Azmyl Yunor is a touring underground recording artiste, and an academic in media and cultural studies. He has published articles on pop culture, subcultures and Malaysian cultural politics. He adheres to the three-chords-and-the-truth school of songwriting, and Woody Guthrie’s maxim “All you can write is what you see”. He is @azmyl on Twitter.