COMM 2F00 M6.2

1. Peter Murphy
His Fandom & Audience Engagement through Social Media

2. Who is Peter Murphy?
• He started out as a vocalist in a
band called Bauhaus
• Their unique sound helped them
to be considered the first gothic
rock group
• Because of their early rise in the
goth music scene, Peter himself
is often referred to as the Father
of Goth

3. • Peter Murphy is now a solo artist. He
has released a number of solo albums
and once again started touring the
world, years after his former band
Bauhaus came to an end
• He has used collaborations to keep
his fans interested while also
reaching out to new fans.
• Peter even covered some of his old
Bauhaus material with Trent Reznor,
vocalist for the more recent band:
Nine Inch Nails.

4. Peter’s Online and Social media
presence
• As an older artist trying to break back into the lime light, Peter Murphy has a very strong
online and social media presence. He utilizes facebook, twitter, myspace, youtube, and
various other sources in addition to his own personal website to try keep fans
interested as well as branch out to new ones
Twitter: https://twitter.com/petermurphyinfo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petermurphyinfo
Website: http://www.petermurphy.info
Last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Peter+Murphy

5. Through the avenues of his facebook and
website, Peter Murphy gives fans instant access
to his upcoming shows and events, and to his
merchandise.
He uses his website homepage like a blog where he
often posts things about his other projects. He has
recently taken up painting in addition to his musical
talents. He posts pictures of works in progress and
shares with his fans what galleries his paintings will
be shared in soon
He also engages with his fans on his
website and Facebook by posting
photos of himself with excited fans,
and thanking them for their support
openly.

6. In addition to the
many avenues
Peter Murphy uses
to reach out to his
fans, there are
hundreds of fan
sites made public
These websites are set up by fans, for fans to share
information of upcoming events, new albums, and there
are even forums for fans to come together in an online
community to discuss their love for the artist

7. Fans share their
own creativity by
sharing what
Peter Murphy
has inspired
them to draw,
paint, sketch etc.
through social
media sites like
deviantart

8. Peter Murphy has found his audience
Peter Murphy uses social media to reach out to past fans and to keep them
engaged
I think he has found his audience perfectly and just in time. As his fans grow up,
they are embracing technology and he has done the same. By doing small things
like hash tagging the goth genre, or his former band Bauhaus, he opens up his
posts to allow more fans to see it

9. And continues to expand it…

10. Does he post meaningful content?
• Peter Murphy posts many “behind the scenes” pictures of stage setup, music production and works in progress. This makes his audience
feel they are getting a voyeuristic view, that they are special to see it,
and it gives his fans a more submersive experience of his artwork

11. • In addition to this, he shares inspirational quotes and articles that are
important to him. Through these, you can see what really matters to
him in this world. He cares enough to share his thoughts and use his
fame to spread information about causes that matter to him. With
the amount of followers he has retweeting his every move, his posts
really can make a difference

12. How does he engage his current fans?
Peter Murphy engages
wonderfully with his fans by
posting constantly about his
upcoming events, and even
asking fans to request a show
in their home town! You can
request a booking through his
website or on ticketmaster.
Encouraging his fans feedback
keeps them involved in what
he does.

13. Overlapping Online & Physical Spaces
• Peter Murphy does not have a lot of Physical Spaces of exposure
outside of Europe and Asia. His largest billboards are reserved for
Asia, mainly Hong Kong where they are well received and he is very
popular. Although he does still tour on our side of the pond
sometimes (He joined Hamilton’s Festival of Friends 2011) he is not
touring here as often so a material social push in our area would not
be a good investment. When he performed for Festival of Friends
however, there were posters and flyers everywhere, all of which
included links to his twitter and website for more information

14. Does he post consistently?
• Peter Murphy updates his website, twitter and facebook very
consistently
• Always posts upcoming events with ticket information
• He shares issues and causes that are important to him so his fans can
get involved as well
• He leaks his own works in progress as well as sharing photos of his
creative method and behind the scenes looks at shows and albums
• He posts atleast once a day to keep his audience engaged.

15. Peter Murphy, breaking through
Decades ago it would have been much harder for an older artist to
break out of retirement and dive back into the lime light.
Thanks to social media, Peter Murphy’s transition from retiree to rock
star has been near flawless. His old fans were able to watch him pick up
right where he left off as he grew his fan base and began once again
releasing new works and albums. Thanks to his fame and twitter, even
his new hobby of painting was an instant hit allowing him to show his
works in galleries and sell them around the world.
New and old fans alike can follow, friend, and retweet while he reclaims
his spot at the top of Alternative music charts.