Evolving and Building Relationships: More Lessons From Music

I’ve been listening to Bring Me The Horizon since Christmas Day when I unwrapped their 2013 album ‘Sempiternal’. I put it straight into my car to listen to on the way home and I’ve been wearing it out ever since. I’m currently in the throes of an obsession with my newly discovered band, which is always exciting. Although it isn’t their latest release, ‘Sempiternal’ is the first album of theirs I heard, and as I liked it so much I thought I’d see what their other albums were like. I was in for a bit of a surprise.

Bring Me The Old Stuff

If you’re not familiar with Bring Me The Horizon (BMTH), I would sort of describe them as an English version of US metal heads Slipknot – they’re pretty heavy. In fact their first album, ‘Count Your Blessings’, released in 2006, is described as ‘deathcore’. Fast forward seven years to their fourth album ‘Sempiternal’ (which, ironically for this blog post, means ‘eternal and unchanging; everlasting’) and they’re still pretty heavy but you can understand the words, and it’s all slightly milder in comparison to their first three albums. Then their 2015 album ‘That’s The Spirit’ is gentler still.

According to Wikipedia, the band have gone from deathcore to metalcore, to more metalcore, to metalcore/post-hardcore/electronicore, to alternative rock/alternative metal/nu metal. Whatever all that means.

That’s quite a big change if you listen to their first and latest albums one after the other, and that kind of departure from a band’s roots can really rile up some fans. I mean, why did 30 Seconds To Mars go all electronic for their latest album? Why don’t Linkin Park release another ‘In The End’? “We prefer the old stuff!” the people cry.

The Importance of Evolving

But bands need to evolve. It can be disappointing when we want more of the stuff we love but instead, we get a psychedelic space rock opera (I’m looking at you, Muse). But wouldn’t we get bored? I can think of one or two bands whose last few albums have all sounded the same to me, and I’m not really interested anymore. Fans – or customers – need something new, even if they’re unsure about the change at first.

If a band is experimenting, it means they’re staying creative, up to date with trends, and true to themselves. Businesses should be doing the same with their websites and marketing campaigns. If we’re not evolving we’re getting left behind, and someone new and exciting will come along and take our place.

Being Grateful Pays Off

I’m going to see BMTH live in November, and I think they’re going to put on a great show because they appreciate their fans. In 2005 I saw Green Day live at the Milton Keynes Bowl, and a year later I saw Bon Jovi at the same venue. I went away from that second gig feeling like Green Day did a better job, despite Bon Jovi’s head start in terms of age and experience. Green Day aren’t newcomers by any stretch of the imagination, and at thirteen years old, BMTH aren’t either. But when Bon Jovi takes to the stage they expect applause and to be revered. They get up, sing their songs, take a bow, and leave. Green Day, Muse, 30 Seconds To Mars, and Alkaline Trio, to draw examples from my experiences, all put on a show. It’s not just about the songs. It’s about talking to the audience, getting them geared up, encouraging crowd surfing and mosh pits, bringing fans on stage, and at the end of it all, saying thank you. And meaning it. Because they know they wouldn’t be anywhere at all without us, and they’re grateful. So they tell us what we mean to them, and they’re genuine. We feel important and we feel like the band loves us as much as we love them.

Rewarding Relationships Aren’t One-Sided

This means it’s not a one-sided thing anymore, with the fans worshipping the band and the band simply accepting the praise. When a band puts on a show, when they stay humble and grateful, and communicate with fans, then it’s a relationship. And it feels so much better than watching someone walk on stage knowing they’re awesome, just doing their job and then leaving, all the while doing so with a palpable sense of entitlement. And that feeling the fans get when we go to a gig when we get that adrenaline rush and we’re moving and in the moment and singing along to every word – when we know we’re appreciated, it feels like we helped to create that. Like it’s our show as much as it is Green Day’s, or whoever.

To bring all this back to marketing, how can you develop relationships in the same way? The answers are all there – evolve and experiment with your products, website and marketing strategy to bring something new and exciting to your audience.

Make customers feel important and involved, and as if they bring as much to the table as you do. Be as humble and passionate as you were when you first started out. Communicate, be grateful, say thank you and mean it.