You like something on Facebook because you want to be associated with it.  It is your ego at work.  Millions of people like certain musical artists, and yet often times they have never bought even a single of theirs.  Artists should correct this.  The record industry should correct this.  Here is today’s hand holding.  Either with Facebook’s help or without, artists need to put in badges for their loyal fans.  These would be icons the user could put on their Facebook page that would associate them as a true fan of a particular artist.  Not just a like, which has no real value, this would have a stated value.  The artist could set up the guidelines.  Perhaps you got the word out in your area for the concert that was held, or you purchased every album they released, or you were the first of 10 of your friends to purchase their latest album.  The badge would be based on actual, verifiable data that is valuable to the artist.  The value to the person having the badge would not just be the association, but artists could give badge holders an unlimited variation of benefits, like preferred concert seating, or bootleg singles, for example.

So in spelling it out for those overpaid folks in positions to handle this business, I’ll say it as simply as I can.

“You CANNOT just connect the artist to the world via the web.  You must first connect the paying, purchasing fan to the artist, and give them the greater access.  This puts additional value back into the music and further justifies the sale.  This is the replacement for the artwork and liner notes of the physical disc of yesterday.  Come on guys.  This is 2012.  The data is there, and you are disregarding it at your own peril.  Wake up.”

Make it happen.