While Making a Mixtape, Asher Roth Built an Online Community
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In between his three albums, rapper\\xa0Asher Roth\\xa0has released several mixtapes, including 2011\\u2019s\\xa0Pabst & Jazz\\xa0and his\\xa0The Greenhouse Effect\\xa0series. The third entry in that series,\\xa0The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 3, hit streaming services on September 3, 2021.
But there\\u2019s something about his latest mixtape that makes it unique from every album, EP, and mixtape he\\u2019s released so far: It was a collaboration with his online community of fans and supporters.
As Asher contemplated making music during the COVID-19 pandemic, he came up with an idea: What if\\xa0The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 3\\xa0was \\u201centirely produced by fan/friend/follower submissions?\\u201d He set up a\\xa0Discord, and off they went. He\\u2019d post acapellas \\u2013 audio clips of only his vocals \\u2013 and community members would produce song submissions, which Asher would review live on Twitch. The project would adopt a narrative story, adding guest verses from the community, too.
With the mixtape out, Asher stops by to talk about the collaborative process behind the release, the tools he used, and the community building lessons he learned along the way. One of the great things about this story is that the creation of this mixtape has helped birth an active online community, which Asher hopes will foster further collaborations between members.
Asher and Patrick also discuss:
- How guardrails help encourage sustained creativity
- Why Discord?
- Now that it has achieved its first big goal, what\\u2019s next for the community?
Our Podcast is Made Possible By\\u2026
If you enjoy our show, please know that it\\u2019s only possible with the generous support of our sponsor:\\xa0Vanilla, a one-stop shop for online community.
Big Quotes
Why the RetroHash Discord might put a cap on member count (10:42):\\xa0\\u201cWith these [major social media] platforms, they\\u2019ve grown so big. They\\u2019re almost essentially black holes eating themselves. It\\u2019s really hard for you to garner any attention without being extremely controversial. \\u2026 Getting away from the biggest, best, largest, and fastest, and just concentrating on who\\u2019s really paying attention and who cares seems to be working [for the RetroHash Discord]. Keeping it to a volume that is adaptable and able to move with the times is important.\\u201d \\u2013@asherroth
When you\\u2019re starting an online community, it\\u2019s easy to get discouraged by the big numbers of other platforms (13:22):\\xa0\\u201cWhen you look at YouTube views, if that gets sucked up into the right portal, you\\u2019re talking about hundreds of millions of views, if not a billion. When you\\u2019re comparing your online community to something like that, of course you\\u2019re going to be like, \\u2018This is never going to work.\\u2019 \\u2026 [But] if you think about it in real world numbers, if you\\u2019re doing a show, and there are 1,500 people there, that\\u2019s a lot of people. \\u2026 [Conversion and retention rates are the] kinds of things I\\u2019m a little bit more interested in than the grand scheme, final tally. Those numbers are being a little bit gamed.\\u201d \\u2013@asherroth
When you\\u2019re starting an online community, it\\u2019s easy to get discouraged by the big numbers of other platforms (25:01):\\xa0\\u201cThe easiest way to integrate other artists [into the creation of\\xa0The Greenhouse Effect, Vol. 3] was to give them challenges, give them direction, and give them a role instead of just leaving it open for interpretation because that allowed me to really filter down who did this challenge the best.\\u201d \\u2013@asherroth
With the mixtape done, what\'s next for the Discord? (37:33):\\xa0\\u201c[On the RetroHash Discord], I would love to start to focus on specific artists. Artist development has always been something that I\\u2019ve been fond of. It\\u2019s kind of disappeared. The music industry is pretty vigilant about getting young talent. You have a lot of these kids who are getting into the game at 16, 17, 18, 19 years old. They\\u2019re pretty green and na\\xefve to the ways. I\\u2019ve always been more than happy to be somebody that says, \\u2018Look out for this. If you see this, this is what this means,\\u2019 etc. [We can use] the Discord to focus on artists and use the producers, tools, and people who are there to help.\\u201d \\u2013@asherroth
About Asher Roth
Asher Roth is a rapper who first achieved mainstream success with his international hit, \\u201cI Love College,\\u201d and his debut album, 2009\\u2019s\\xa0Asleep in the Bread Aisle. His most recent album,\\xa0Flowers on the Weekend, was released in 2020. Between his albums, Asher produced a run of critically-acclaimed mixtapes, including 2011\\u2019s\\xa0Pabst & Jazz, and his\\xa0The Greenhouse Effect\\xa0series. The latest edition in that series,\\xa0The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 3, available on September 3, 2021, came together through an online collaboration with fans and supporters during the COVID-19 pandemic. Asher releases projects online under the brand\\xa0RetroHash.
Related Links
- Sponsor:\\xa0Vanilla, a one-stop-shop for online community
- RetroHash, Asher\\u2019s website
- The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 3, Asher\\u2019s latest mixtape, created through collaboration with his community of fans and supporters
- Asher\\u2019s Discord server
- Sunflower Philly, \\u201ca community-based, nonprofit organization focused on providing access to art, music & sustainable resources through a curated series of events and programs in North Philadelphia,\\u201d that Asher is creative director of
- Asher on Instagram
- Asher on Twitter
Transcript
Your Thoughts
If you have any thoughts on this episode that you\\u2019d like to share, please leave me a comment,\\xa0send me an email\\xa0or a\\xa0tweet. If you enjoy the show, we would be so grateful if you spread the word and supported\\xa0Community Signal on Patreon.
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