It's not just the music videos

I have learned a lot from following Summertime Dropouts.

One part of that was seeing frequent status updates about their video for "Full Time Cutie" getting accepted by different channels. I don't even remember how many there were, but a lot of it was getting into channels in local markets. There were updates about internet radio too, I think - I know I didn't see every single tweet - but what it reinforced is that there is a lot of work to be done in getting your music out there.

That leads to just one way that the music industry has changed. When I was a teenager, it was very common that I would learn about a band by seeing their video, and then if I liked them, and especially if they had multiple songs that I liked, I would try to find their music at Tower Records, and maybe see them in concert.

Fans may still find a band via seeing and liking their video as seen on some music channel or program, but then they are going to go online. It will not be to buy the music often enough, but sometimes it will, or they will watch the video on Youtube, which you can earn some money on, or listen on Spotify or some of the other music services that pay some money, but most earnings come through shows and merch. These are some other areas where Summertime Dropouts does really well.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuBdRd_Yrsa4wUv28X-Lpgw

On their Youtube channel there are chances to get a feel for the band beyond the music. There are crafts, dog videos, footage of transportation videos, and people walking like storks. Honestly, I believe it was the Sean Jhorts video that cemented my love for Joshua Stoll.

In addition, both on the main landing page and on their "About" there are links to their main page http://www.summertimedropouts.com/.

Here you can see that they have done a great job of creating fun merch that fits them. The "Cheap Crappy Lotion" refers to their song "Getaway", if you get attached to the dog from his videos, you can buy a Siku shirt, and based on a Twitter conversation with fans, it has led to their book, 100 Things To Do With A Potato.

That sounds like fun, and it is, but it is not merely fun. It is also a lot of hard work, a commitment to connecting with fans, and thought about how they want to be and what they can do.

Getting your video on MTV Argentina is good, and you may gain some fans from that, but in most cases it's not going to be enough. So you follow people on Twitter, and maybe they click on the link and try you out, and you have content there with appeal. Maybe some of them wear your T-shirts and wristbands, and that gets some of their friends interested. And, ideally, you get to open for other bands, and you win their fans over.

This is more work than having a label do it for you, but you can do a lot of it without the label deciding you are worth it, and therefore you can do it without them telling you how to be. There is some freedom with that. It seems to work best for bands who love what they do, and know who they are.

The Summertime Dropouts are good at that.