In a music industry besieged by CD sales in double-digit freefall, cutbacks, single-song iTunes downloads, layoffs, piracy and illegal downloading, being a rock star in 2010 just isn’t what it used to be -- even if you’re superstar guitarist Slash and you’ve got a new solo record coming out Tuesday.
“I'm very rock ‘n’ roll, and I believe in being cool about everything,” Slash told TheWrap, “but at the same time if you're going to make a record and if you want anyone to hear it, you have to get out there and let them know about it, and today that’s all about getting online and social networking.
“In 1987 it was a whole different landscape,” Slash says with a laugh and a sigh, looking back to the start of his old group, Guns N’ Roses. “Still, up until recently, I was wary of the internet and stuff and stuck in my old-school mentality.
"But I also see it as the only way of doing things because the way I used to do things or the way it was just doesn't f---in' exist anymore.”
Jeff Varner, of management group the Collective, told TheWrap that for one thing, fans were having a hard time finding Slash online.
"When he came to us back in 2008, he was looking to do some stuff a bit left of center, and a bit more progressive in terms of promotion, especially in the digital realm," Varner said. "He wasn't on Twitter, wasn't on Facebook or MySpace, so we got him on them, raised his digital profile. He got a million followers on Facebook almost overnight and he began to get engage with his community."
Like most who dip their toes into the social-media pool, Slash was tentative at first, but quickly found his footing.
"I started using Twitter to put information out there, sorta shameless marketing in real-time. But as time wore on I started talking to people directly from my BlackBerry, and I started having real conversations with fans and not just the die-hards," the rocker says.
