Absolutely. I think it depends on the fragility of one’s ego. Being an artist means at one point or another our egos are fragile…especially when we’re first starting out. I could imagine if I started making music post social media and I threw myself into the abyss of it I could have taken some critical blows that may have stifled my growth not necessarily in the form of criticism but in seeing everyone already knowing what their doing and feeling not good enough etc.
fortunately for me I started around 2002 and out out my first release in 2007 and got tons of support and was in a good place to grow at the time and I’ve only sharpened my skills since then so my ego has a strong enough base to withstand the perils of social media. I know what I’m capable of as an artist but more importantly I know what I’m not capable of so I think entering social media as an artist when you’re already okay with your skill set and your art can be healthy and even inspiring. I would hate to come up now though, the internet is a brutal place and it’s not somewhere you’d want to grow as an artist anymore. I remember how supportive everyone was back in the day on vintagesynth, from when I picked up my first synth and had no idea how to use it all the way to when I was posting test tracks for feedback it was nothing but support and constructive criticism. Same with YouTube, I think it was fantastic that YouTube didn’t exist in the way it does now when I came up. Now you can look up how to make X patch with X synth, how to make X music genre etc and you get handholding tutorials on exactly how to get to where you think you want to go, personally I think that’s a horrible way to get into it, no experimenting, no digging around in the dark and finding your way there just immediate answers. I think the only way I was able to become a professional sound designer was exactly because of the way I had to come up which was totally hands on with very little info on anything just a handful of people on the forum to point me in a general direction and everything else was trial and experimenting, best way to learn in my opinion.
Anyways yea generally I say fuck social media I think it’s an actual cancer on society. At least the way it’s implemented at the moment, the idea of actually connecting people is amazing (like this forum) but the way it works and how the algorithms influence people is truly evil.
But like most major technology it’s a bit of a double edge sword, I throughly enjoy looking up other random artists and hobbyists with the same gear as me to hear what their doing with it and I often find it inspiring and it can get my gears turning and get me in the studio to experiment with ideas I get from what others are doing.
The “attention economy” is run by the worst sorts of sociopaths.
Not saying all devs, but the topmost executives certainly.
Science/philosopy: there’s a good chance we’re all stuck in a simulation.
Zuckerburg: that’s a good idea!!!
LoL
I was going to post a photo of my View Master branded Google Cardboard headset, but when I went to look for it, I found my 500mm mirror lens instead. 
To be fair, plenty of progress has been made. Before the '80s, VR headsets were six or seven figure military training devices that showed wireframe images, like in Asteroids or Battlezone.
The mid '90s brought that experience to consumers, who were unimpressed. Instead, they loved the Nintendo 64, which was essentially a stripped down SGI Indy set top box.
Modern “mobile” headsets have enough processing power built in to render simple worlds, but it looks like the best gear still requires a separate GPU or three.
The one compelling use case I’ve found for VR is party photos. With a 360 camera, you can have everyone gather around the camera, make silly faces, and then take a photo. Then upload the photo to your phone, slide your phone into a minimal Google Cardboard headset, and pass it around. Possibly the safest drunken fun you can have.
Getting things down to a size where Italian fashion designers will incorporate VR into their eyewear will be a leading indicator. When beach vendors are selling VR headsets for $50 next to the knock-off sunglasses then VR is ready for the masses.
I’d rather have the View Master. 
(Wish I still had the one I had when I was a kid. I’d love to look at all those old slides).
I like novels. You don’t need a headset for total immersion.
me too, i had hours of fun with mine. still have it somewhere.
Im just gonna leave this here:
Pretty sure any label you join is gonna ask you to make tiktoks and not ig posts. But do whatever the fak you want how you want, theres no rule saying you need these dumbass platforms. Next release you have, put an ad in a local paper w a qr code. 
this
Is exactly what a hipster would say…
I’ve just hidden everyone in Instagram and only follow cool shit like labels, musicians or weird shit I like. The ads suck but otherwise it’s like an RSS feed but with pictures. It is what you make it I guess?
There’s a big difference between being an artist and being in showbusiness: in most cases the two things don’t coincide
which side are you on?
Yes, you’re right!
I’ve cut down a lot on my social media in 2022, except really for this forum (because I like talking about music and gear) and occasionally a couple of others if I’m looking for info on something specific.
I still watch a lot of YouTube, but don’t watch nearly as many videos by “influencers”. I’m just curious if people think we’ve turned a corner on social media influencers, particularly for music? Is that trend on its way out now that people associate them with paid marketing?
Also, I’m hoping 2023 is the year to pare down my streaming services now that I have a better grip on social media.
Congratulations! Good for you seriously. I just “had to” log into my FB account last week due to a music festival that I participated, just to let the organizer and guest artists know I appreciated their time. But other than this occasion, I haven’t sign it for more than a year.
That’d be very optimistic, IMO. 
I wish you’re right, but unlikely.
I really feel that social media changes people’s behavior for the worst. I understand its importance regarding putting yourself in where people will “recognize” you, but I wish people would willingly spend more time searching for really good stuff and learn what is good and bad instead of letting algo/ads guide you…
Yeah, totally agree about its negative effects. Man, I actually feel sorry for the YouTube influencers, the dopamine fluctuations must be worse than being a drug addict. Even light users get sucked into the “likes”. It’s fucked. Money’s not everything.
I think influencers will eventually go the way of “reality TV”, it will be around, but when people get clued in, nobody will take it seriously. That’s not to say all popular stuff on YouTube is bad. I love the “Bad Gear” guy, but he’s kind of doing his own thing and not sponsored by skillshare or doing paid reviews. I know people have to make a living, but it has become the modern “infomercial”. As long as that’s transparent, fair enough.
Agreed mate! I don’t have any social media except WhatsApp if you can even call it social media. Never did like FB or any other form of that crap I’m quite happy just on a forum like this 
a little more grist to the mill as to just how pervasive an influence social media is to the music industry:
A good mate of mine, who’s been a pro musician and studio owner for many years, works as a music manager, unearthing young talents and giving them backing to try and get a foothold in the industry (NB this is more mainstream acts)
His biggest breakthrough act is someone you’ll have probably all heard of (has had at least one number 1 album in uk)
This lad (who’s still only about 30) came through in a ‘traditional’ manner - wrote his own songs, played gigs anywhere, got heard by my mate who backed him with ‘free’ studio time to get demos out to the major labels, one of whom picked him up.
This was little over a decade ago, but my mate now tells me that even good contacts he has in A&R departments now tell him that they won’t listen to a demo unless an act has XXX tik tok hits/plays or whatever its calculated in.
One of these A&R guys himself says he absolutely hates this, but he is simply not allowed to sign an artist without those figures.
My mate still labours on putting time and money into new artists but says it’s almost pointless.
His big breakthrough act (that still funds a lot of his endeavours) simply wouldn’t have happened had he been coming up now, as he doesn’t do any social media bullshit. It’s like he was one of the last ones allowed through the door.
Why would someone with a large social media following even need some major label to monetize and take a cut out of their music sales or whatever? Seems like what your mate wants to do would actually pay off for a label in the long term as it would actually discover someone new vs. just trying to re-market someone.
My guess is that there’s still huge advantages for a (pop) musician to being on a major label, and its still the biggest dream for many/most aspiring artists.
In terms of the other way round, I’m guessing that the most cost-efficient way for a major to promote a new act is via Tik Tok and the like, so if the act comes to them with that already in place it’s seen a massive head-start, or, conversely, if they don’t have that it just feels like huge hindrance and not worth the risk of building that side of things up. It’s probably 12+ months of work before they can monetise an act - and they aren’t in the long game any more.