Keeping up with what's happening?

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Years ago, it felt like one could keep eye on just about everything out there, and now, despite it is not vastly bigger "scene", seems like one is very quickly out of loop.

Of course we face the question: is it necessary to keep eye on all what's happening out there. Of course it is not necessary, but if one would want to keep eye on things, in times when sharing information is seemingly easier than ever, most often I have feeling that I have no idea what is really happening currently.

It may be also merely feeling. I recall talking with old noise veteran who concluded probably already 10 years ago that time of forums is gone and there are so good facebook groups to promote and reach people. I checked them out, just to find out that there was nothing worth of interest I would not know already. Just endless spamming without good enough reason. Everybody posting youtube links, nobody giving a fuck, seemed to be the daily routine, heh...

This Special Interest forum and email remains the main sources of information, and as soon as some label or band operates more via Instagram or facebook, or only on their website, it is very likely to be missed unless someone talks about. Not really feeling like using yet another and another social network. And rarely end up "surfing internet" like in old times, through band and label link pages.

So all in all, this is not complaint! I know that to follow what's going on, one should just follow what's going on, hah... Question on topic merely being how do you keep up with what's happening with industrial/noise and is it even crucial to "keep up". Instead just focus on things what sort of naturally falls on your path? Be it old or new.

[deutscheasphalt]

As far as online goes just this forum for me man, sometimes discogs and friend's recommendations. I don't fuck with ig or fb. And no, I don't think it's crucial to keep up. Got enough music in collection / on hard drive already to last me till the day I die, there's old records I've listened to like 200 times and I still do.

[DSOL]

this forum
IG
Friends recommendations
Facebook 

[absurdexposition]

The algorithms of Facebook and Instagram make it harder to keep up, sometimes having to sift through a lot of posts before seeing label or band updates, etc. You can work the algorithms in your favour over time, but still can't catch everything.

I have a Facebook group for the distro, only posting weekly new arrivals (same as the thread I have for the distro here), and it helps keep a few people in the loop and beyond that I think it's good to keep a presence on that platform. However, the larger groups like "NOISE POWER ELECTRONICS BLACK INDUSTRIAL", etc, I never bother looking at since it's usually like Mikko said, countless people just posting YouTube links and no one actually giving a fuck. Facebook pages are pointless as the posts just get lost in the feed.

Instagram is the same deal for me, weekly new arrivals posts exclusively (and constant use of hashtags). Able to get a good amount of followers by doing this alone, and having my personal account separate with no cross-posting is the best move as well. Can't stand people who have a personal account and a label/band account and post the same content on each - what's the point? It does more to annoy than anything else. Also through following only labels / bands / etc on the distro account I'm able to catch a few more posts than what I see in the feed on my personal account.

I think it's still important to keep boards like this active and I have more respect for the labels that post their updates here than the 'exclusive to Instagram' hype labels. That stuff disappears quickly and the 30 people that get copies are probably the only 30 people that need to care about them.

And in terms of keeping up in general I think just having a distro or following a distro is almost enough. Constant flood of new arrivals and new names to check out.

[Peterson]

I use this forum and email. Some snail mail even! I personally really like it when artists or labels have mailing lists you can subscribe to - a few distros I use often do this also and it's convenient. In general I feel overwhelmed with the notion of "keeping up" and I feel if I miss out on stuff and regret it that's life and it can't be helped much.

[absurdexposition]

I personally really like it when artists or labels have mailing lists you can subscribe to - a few distros I use often do this also and it's convenient.

Yes, definitely. I forgot to mention this. Maybe the best way to keep up?

[Peterson]

I personally really like it when artists or labels have mailing lists you can subscribe to - a few distros I use often do this also and it's convenient.

Yes, definitely. I forgot to mention this. Maybe the best way to keep up?

Also, I tend to just shoot an email to artists I like even if they don't have one, asking if they could let me know when the next thing is available. Works out more often than not, even with labels and distros. Dunno how I forgot that, haha.

[Theodore]

This forum is the main source of information. Also visiting some distros once a week or so to check for new arrivals or forthcomings. Mail lists, yes i am subscribed to some, they usually come with info i already know but they are fine as long as the sender doesn't spam -yes sending a weekly update is spam for me- , if that happens i unsub.

Although i had created my FB account for music information purposes, it doesn't help at all if that's your goal. As being said its algorithms getting worse and worse. Even if you have small number of friends and liked pages like me won't do it better. Now i mainly use it to spy other people's taste and life, haha. Basically a page to kill your time. - You can set getting notifications or priority about someone's posts, i have done with some, it works though looses its meaning if applied on many or if that someone posts dozens a day. I don't use any other "social" media.

Keeping up it's not important for me - anymore [?] - , although i consider myself updated. Just happens cause of my routine in the internet. - Yes, in these internet times, even with zero money anyone can have access to more music than his time on earth. Also i have to say that for me it feels bigger discovery to find a band / release from the past i didn't know or had missed than to listen a good promising "new entry" first.

Though keeping up has meaning if you don't want to pay double money later for stuff you missed and want, but it's too late ...

[Duncan]

I get a lot of tips from this forum but I have to say it's mostly stuff that wouldn't be considered new and given the diversity of music discussed here it's often not even what you'd call noise or power electronics.  Even so I think here is a great resource for delving into people's tastes and grabbing some good stuff.  In general I've always felt like what has been called the 'scene' is so tiny yet constantly productive that there's no sense being too worried about keeping up with everything so I'm happy to take what I get from friends and people I'm in contact with who share recommendations.  Let's not also forget that because it's such a small scene there's often a lot of hype and received opinion about stuff that you're really not missing out on if you don't hear.  I do try to make a consistent effort keep up with some of the more hotly praised newer names but to be honest I rarely see or hear anything besides an obvious motivation to simply sound a bit like one of 3 or 4 classic acts and say naughty things.  From what I understand the 'research' people put into their 'themes' is a big arbiter of worth at the moment...Seems to make people happy though so game on.

[Cauldhame]

I follow Noise Receptor closely, both the blog and physical versions. Richard's reviews are always argued convincingly and I've made quite a lot of blind purchases based on his recommendations before. In practice I buy nearly all PE/Industrial from Unrest so I also keep an eye on the FB page. These jointly tend to keep me busy enough.

[urall]

Main source is this forum. I use Instagram and Facebook as well and am subscribed to newsletters as well.
IG is sometimes useful for updates but FB is just messed up.
I mostly tend to use FB to keep up with gig announcements,
but they even show a lot of the time in my feed when they're already done thnx to the algorithm.

Oh and i look at my soundcloud stream as well.
I know when certain labels post new tracks a release is gonna follow shortly most of the times.

[Urban Noise]

It's hard to keep informed on all that is happening... with the social media it was supposed to be easier, but it isn't. For me it basically works on checking this forum, getting a few mails from labes/distros/bands and people suggesting something they like, Noise Receptor and Special Interest zines. Anything else comes by chance. I try to follow the bands and labels I like, checking their web pages once in a while and anything new comes naturally with time. Sure I lose some cool stuff out there but, we can't have it all, we can't know it all.

I think that in this time and age it is all about catching attention. You can have the best release out there, but if for some reason it doesn't click on people to check it out, it is as good as nothing. For me the real promotion is a friend or a client sharing their opinion about something, after this comes the "hunt" for more info. This is the way I keep track on what's happening.

And about social media... Facebook is the only one I use and I only have it to keep in touch with people or having that possibility. Besides that, that crap is mostly a waste of time. A good tool gone bad.

[Andrew McIntosh]

... just focus on things what sort of naturally falls on your path? Be it old or new.

Yes. Which is pretty much how it's always been.

[Goat93]

I like to get information via this forum or discogs, the music from labeltrades or from labels/distros i order regulary anyway.

Just endless spamming without good enough reason. Everybody posting youtube links, nobody giving a fuck, seemed to be the daily routine, heh...

You get too easy too much music everywhere, it seems. even spotify is a good resource for new or old music. it seems the streaming music lost the content, message, ideologie and is just music

[SiClark]

Mainly this forum, the new releases thing on discogs, notifications from bandcamp and emails of newsletters/updates from certain labels. I don't really use social media stuff that much.
It seems impossible to be aware of everything coming out but it's not really necessary as other people here have mentioned. I have tons of releases already so there is a limit to how much I really need.