Twitter and Country Music

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

I imagine if you are reading blogs, like mine, you are somewhat tech-savy enough to at least know what Twitter is, or at least heard of it. If you have used it, you have probably 3 responses: 1) I love it and addicted/almost addicted to it. 2) I check it now and then. 3) I don't understand it nor understand what is useful about it.

Well, for people that know what is and fall into either of the above mentioned categories... has the thought of following country music crossed your mind? Maybe, maybe not. Well, I believe it is one of the best ways to keep up with artists. It touches at one of the core-traits of country music fans: that special connection between the artist and the fan.

There a lot of news/information outlets on Twitter such as this blog/website and many others out there. go to my twitter account: cntryalive and look at the list that I follow and you will find many of those resources. CMT, GAC, all the websites, and even the CMA uses Twitter... and even post often.

Now, the artists. There 2 types of users I have noticed on Twitter as far as country music artists. 1)They use it soley as a promotional tool (catch "this artist" on this show, my new CD is coming out, etc.) or 2) Some promotion, but mostly using it like everyone else would with an added perk of sharing their day-to-day experiences of touring, recording, etc.)

Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Lee Ann Womack, Taylor Swift, are good examples of artists that really use Twitter like anyone else would. It isn't just your new artists either; you will find Willie Nelson, George Jones, and Bill Anderson for example. Its really cool to get a glimpse into their true daily lives... The artist on occasion will even reference replies in their postings directly from the people that follow them. Brad Paisley and Blake Shelton do this often.

Now, I could go on and ask if this is a good or bad thing from an artist point of view and all that thing, but, no, thats for other sites and another time. My point is this: If you use Twitter, want to use Twitter, or been looking for that reason to try it out, this is a good reason.

Some artists are more active than others, some post (very) regularly... Be cautious of who you follow; Do a search for your favorite artist and read some posts. You will figure out quickly if it is actually them or not. Some of the "bigger" stars will have a blue colored icon on their page that says "verified account." You can trust that is the actual profile of the artist/celebrity.

Below, you will find a list of Twitter accounts that are of country music artists: (There more out there, leave a comment with others if you wish!)

aarontippin
billengvall
billycurrington

billyraycyrus
blakeshelton
ChrisYoungMusic
ClayWalker
cmorganmusic
cunderwood83
dariusrucker
davidnail
DierksBentley
FaithHill
GaryAllan
GitRDoneLarry
gjpossum
glorianatheband
jason_meadows
JayDeMarcus
jessicaharp

joedemessina
JoeNichols
johnrich
joshgracin
KeithUrban
kennychesney
ladyantebellum
LAWSOCIALCLUB
martinamcbride
Miranda_Lambert
oakridgeboys
paisleyofficial
rascalflatts
reba
RodneyAtkins
taylorswift13
TerriClarkMusic
therealpickler
TimMcGrawArtist
TraceAdkins
tracybyrd
TrailerChoirTN
TYcom
vincegill
WhisperinBill
willienelson
zacbrownband