What is it about?

Online platforms such as YouTube or Facebook not only enable musicians and bands to share videos, songs, tour dates or band gossip, but also to directly engage in discussions with their fans, which may also involve social and political issues. To provide an illustration of metal bands’ possibilities for online interaction, I have created a digital metal landscape that includes a set of digital tools, platforms and applications for different music- and non-music-related activities. Against this background, I discuss contemporary metal musicians’ political and social engagement on social media and the reach of their comments within digital metal communities.

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Why is it important?

As social media and apps are an essential part of our lives, it is important to look at the advantages and disadvantages of these digital tools.

Perspectives

My observations could or should be the starting point for a broader discussion of political orientations within the digital metal communities, especially of extreme right-wing opinions, which can be disseminated faster and, in some cases, more undisturbed in the comment sections of social media in the digital age.

Susanne Sackl-Sharif
University of Music and Performing Arts Graz

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This page is a summary of: The dark side of blogging: Digital metal communities and metal influencers, Metal Music Studies, June 2021, Intellect,
DOI: 10.1386/mms_00047_1.
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