The Birthday Massacre - Internet Presence

Internet Presence

The Birthday Massacre have utilized the Internet throughout their career and are an example of a musical group that's evolved alongside File sharing, and advancements in audio streaming capabilities. Initially the band distributed their music for free, using music sharing software Napster, in addition to sharing their music on MP3.com and their official websites. The band was active in updating their websites regularly, interacting with fans on their forum, and offering their site in multiple languages like French, German and Japanese. Early on the band encouraged fans to create their own content, and consequently the band saw a surge in fan-created content, which they organized on a webring called Violetprison.com, posting in 2003; "We want our fans to contribute and be involved so rather than telling new comers who we are, we would rather our fans tell you."

When asked about how the band uses the Internet, Rainbow said in a 2009 interview: "It's also a way to you know, not just present the music, but make an environment, a visual environment around the music, which was something we were really interested in." When asked about File sharing, Chibi said in a 2010 interview: "It's like the best friend of a band when you're starting up... But then, it's like the worst enemy...The Internet can take you so far." Michael Falcore says in a 2010 interview: "Once it's released people start downloading for free and not paying for it, you know, it hurts the artist." The band has remained popular for over a decade despite receiving very little mainstream press or radio play, referring to themselves as the "Black sheep" of the Canadian music scene.