1. Portland Maine's Music
Community and the Impact of
Local Media
Kim Morrison

2. Statement
What role does local media play in the
Portland music community? What is
bringing fans out to shows?
I was interested in finding out what sources local music fans rely
on for information about local artists and updates about shows,
and if those sources actually have say in swaying the public
towards one artist or event.
I also wanted to get the perspective of many local musicians to
see how they aim to reach their audience, bring new people out
to shows, and sell their records.

3. Relevant Literature
I haven't found anything written about this topic specifically.
The idea for this study came overtime, as I have been involved in small music
communities in various places for a while. I started looking at how pop culture and
the media control a lot of what becomes popular in our society. Portland is a
smaller city with a healthy music scene. I study things like show reviews and listen
to what people are saying about different aspects of the music community. There
are many things that seem to be presented by promoters as much larger and more
exciting than they actually are (great marketing!).
Due to the lack of information on this topic, there weren't many other options
except to do the footwork myself!

4. Expectations
There was a lack of literature, so in that regards I was a little
unsure of what my findings would be. But due to my experience
in the area, I am expecting to find that the most effective
source for a thriving local music scene is based around the
social scene and social media.
I believe local media will have a decent effect on the listeners'
decision on what albums to buy. Local media will also be
capable of creating a 'buzz' around an event, but will not be the
ultimate force convincing one to attend an event.
My hopes are to find that the general audience members are reaching out to find new
music more often than not. And that musicians are seeing new faces at shows,
and local media is helping to benefit both artists and fans.

5. Study Design/Methods
Survey
Participant Observation
I spend a lot of time at shows, with music fans, and with musicians,
so I felt participant observation would be a great place to start.
I also wrote up two surveys; one for the musicians and one for the
fans. There was a mix of open and close-ended response type
questions.

6. Survey Results (Fan Survey)
Question 1: How often do you go out to see live music in Portland?
The average answer was 1-3 times a month.
Question 2: Where do you go?
(feel free to choose more than one answer)
a) Same few bars (they always have good music)
b) Where ever there's no cover charge
c) Where my friends are going
d) Where the bands I like are playing
e) The land of cheap drinks
f) other:
The majority of participants answered with the combination of
A,C, and D.

7. Question 3: Out of every 5 shows you go to, how many times would
you say you purchase something like a CD or shirt from the merch
table?
90% said they purchase something one out of five times, and the
other 10% said never.
Question 4: How do you find out what shows are going on around
Portland?
a) The Phoenix b) Dispatch Magazine
c) smaller, independent and locally focused blogs/zines
d) My friends
e) Social media
f) Fliers around town
100% answered with E, with other combinations as well, mostly
with option D.

8. Question 5: What genre of music do you feel brings the most people
out for shows?
This had an interestingly mixed response including answers like
rock music, cover bands, electronic music, and funk.
Question 6: If you don't have the chance to grab a local artists album
at a show, where would you go next to get it? Internet? Bull Moose or
other local music store? Contact the band and make them mail it to
you?
90% of fans will use the internet to find an album, 10% said they
would check Bullmoose.

9. Question 7: If you read a good review of a local artist's album but
had never heard their music before, how likely is it that you will
purchase that album? (On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being very unlikely,
10 being very likely)
The majority answered with a '3'
Question 8: Would you pay to see a band you've never seen before
just because your friends are there?
100% answered Yes.
Question 9: Would you go see a band you hate for free because your
friends are there?
This answer was split into thirds; 1/3 said yes, 1/3 said no, and
1/3 said for a little while.

10. Survey Results (Musician Survey)
1.) What do you use to promote yourself to the Portland
community?
(pick as many as you need)
a) Social Media b) Ads in local print media c) Tell my
friends/word of mouth
d) Fliers e) Someone else does it (venue, promo company,
another bandmate, etc)
f) Promote? I just show up. g) Other:
100% of those that answered chose A. Some of those
answers included a combination of the other choices as
well, and a few had said they also buy ads on the radio
(something I missed!)

11. 2.) What local media do you feel is best for increased show
attendance/sales?
a) The Phoenix b) Dispatch Magazine
c) smaller, independent and locally focused blogs/zines
d) My friends are more effective than media
e) Drink deals determine everything
f) Other
About 90% answered with D, and a few others wrote in WCYY
3.) Do you see a lot of new faces at shows, or typically the same few groups
of people?
The general answer was that there is usually the same main groups of
people, but that group seems to always be growing. There are also
usually temporary new faces, but that's more about bar-hopping.

12. 4.) Do you have an album available at a local music store? Where?
Only 15% said they did not have an album any of the local music
stores. The other 85% all had their albums available at Bull
Moose, and the second most popular store was Moody Lords.
5.) As a musician/artist, do you feel it's more important to branch out
of Maine rather than build a strong following in Portland?
There was only one person that said they viewed traveling to be
more important than building a strong following.

13. 6.) How often do you go out to see local music (if you're not on the
line up..)
a.) 4-7 times a week b) 1-3 times a week c) 1-3 times a month d)
Never
Two-thirds of the participants said they go out to see live music
one to three times a month. One-third answered with one to
three times a week.
7.) What genre of local music do you feel is currently attracting the
largest crowds?
The answer for this was split pretty evenly between rap/hip-hop
and electronic music.

14. Conclusion/Discussion
My findings show that local musicians and fans are on a similar page, and in order
for artists to best target their audience, they should keep on this path. It seems to
be more important to build a network within your home town for many reasons.
Question 9 on the fan survey points out that two-thirds of people will attend a
show if their friends are there even if they personally don't like that band! The
artist's need to make sure to keep some sort of personal connection with their
audience, and I believe people will continue to attend their shows. Unfortunately
for small print media, local blogs and zines etc, it seems the direct connection
between fans and artists could cause those medium to be deemed irrelevant or out
of touch.
I found it interesting to see that the musicians mainly viewed rap/hip-hop to be
the most popular genre at the moment, and the fans did not list it at all. They
seemed to meet eye to eye in acknowledging the popularity of electronic music.

15. This study makes me wonder more and more what will be the
next thing to make the music industry more navigable. Social
media is basically taking over, and if small music communities
and pop culture ultimately have the same resources considered
to be their strongest way to promote, will there be less of a gap
between the two cultures? Will the bar be lowered for this who
have 'made it' or will the small-town artist have a better chance
of making it (or both)?