The Balance Between Person and Persona: How social media has impacted the dynamic relationship between artists and their fans

Abstract

The rise of digital and social media has changed expectations regarding the nature and degree of relationships between artists and their fans in the last two decades. Now fans have easy access to their favorite musicians through various digital platforms that close the communication distance between the two. On the one hand, digital media provide the artist unprecedented access to people across the globe and the means to establish and cultivate a close and loyal community. On the other hand, these same tools facilitate expectations for deeper and more personal contact between artists and fans, leading in some cases to unrealistic and inauthentic relationships and risky social behaviors. Privacy seemingly doesn't exist for many of today's most successful artists. In order to attain maximum exposure and social capital, many transform their person into a recognizable brand, demanding consistency of personality, values, and other characteristics to ensure fans' continued interest and support. A meaningful, separate private life seems like a pipe dream for musicians aspiring to mainstream success - a significant price to pay for the opportunity to share and profit from their creative work. How can they effectively differentiate between their performing/producing persona and themselves as a person and why is it essential to establish a clear boundary between private and personal lives?