Nicksfix

[iamstevienicks]

The Nicksfix is undoubtedly a fantastic site and so much work is put into it every day

But for me it does seem to have lost its spark, it as some other people have said used to be my first port of call, but now sometimes I forget to check it

[FiercestCalmSea]

If the Nicksfix has become boring,it is certainly not John Kinney's fault..you can only do so much without alot of input from the artist..yea he could put a message board..but we have enough of those,don't we? I don't go there as often as i used to..but he posts info when he can,and i appreciate that.

[David]

Originally posted by FiercestCalmSea
If the Nicksfix has become boring, it is certainly not John Kinney's fault..you can only do so much without alot of input from the artist..yea he could put a message board..but we have enough of those,don't we?

I agree with Sarah. An official site is only going to be as good as the commitment the artist makes to keeping the site up-to-date & active. If we're unhappy with the general absence of breaking news & interesting special features, it's the fault of Stevie's management (or whoever in her camp is behind the site). Kinney needs feeds. He can't pull news & great new photos out of thin air. Of course, as far as commitment to a Web site goes, the rest of Fleetwood Mac make Stevie look as if she is passionately & utterly devoted to her site. As for Mick's "commitment" to "direct communication with the fans," the less said, the better (even though I've already said a lot). His site is nothing but an electronic storefront & a platform for advertisements for products.

Livia, I was happy to hear you say that Kinney recognizes & admits that he relies on the fans for site copy. It's always been a little bur under my saddle that he & his helpers never really trumpeted that fact in the years since the site was officialized. You can go through the whole site, part by part, & find that most of it is info that fans sent him. Several of us used to chat with John K. on IRC when his site was still private. He was always a big Stevie fan, but he rarely had any sort of trenchant opinions about her music. It's obvious he's been devoted to her for a long time (he took great pics of her at her tour stops in Dallas in '81, '82 & '83), but he has always been oddly unable to actually discuss her. He essentially relied on fans to write the words & do the research for the site --- for example, the tour-by-tour set lists, the articles & the "hot dates" page. And none of that stuff was given to him by Stevie Nicks people, either, despite the fact that a lot of dumb, naive fans give THEM credit for it & claim that there'd be no site at all if Stevie Nicks co-workers weren't involved in it, which is bunk. You can count the stuff on one hand that came from her people (PR info on the release of "Shangri-La," "Ask Stevie," occasional items on what Stevie's currently up to & that's about it).

[Livia]

Livia, I was happy to hear you say that Kinney recognizes & admits that he relies on the fans for site copy. It's always been a little bur under my saddle that he & his helpers never really trumpeted that fact in the years since the site was officialized. You can go through the whole site, part by part, & find that most of it is info that fans sent him

Thanks. Well, we DID get a lot of props in the TISL tourbook, which was nice.

I just wanted to clear the air on something else - I never felt offended by the negative comments and I didn't interpret the original post as an attack. The point I was trying to make is, how much time can ONE person spend surfing the internet for every little tidbit of info? I TOTALLY agree that Stevie's management and record company should have more communication with John. On the other hand, how are they, or anyone, supposed to know in advance every time the Dixie Chicks or Sheryl Crow are going to mention Stevie's name in an interview - or that Rolling Stone is going to put some blip in their magazine, etc.? That's the type of stuff that gets broadcast here first, and usually is emailed to John at the same time. He can only work on the website in the evenings and on weekends, which is why it may sometimes seem that he's always "late" with his updates. I also believe that the "powers that be" in Stevie's camp are relieved that they found a website that was worthy of being deemed "official," and that they didn't have to do it themselves, therefore, "they" don't have to keep up with it. Honestly, most official band sites I've seen are lame, the fans usually do a better job.


Livia

[Bella Figura]

I used to email JK about Stevie stuff but when the sight became official, I stopped figuring the "officials" would supply the information. So I learned something new from this thread!! Yay!!

the NicksFix ebbs and flows, it is in a quiet mode now but it will probably pick up dramatically as the new album is released and the new tour starts. It did that with the TISL release and tour, the site was quiet prior to that release and the same with Enchanted as well.

I have not been surprised at Stevie's level of involvement. I am not always satisfied though I feel that her Sept 11th journals were one of the best communications I ever read on the Internet between artist and fan. Hopefully, as Stevie becomes more familar with this medium her ASK Stevies questions will become more detailed and more frequent. BTW, I love her little notes and she never fails to acknowledge her fans good wishes when they are sent through the website... Yeah, I'd love more but I can totally understand why an artist of Stevie's age would feel intimidated by pc and the Internet.

As far as her management goes, they should be communicating with JK often and with good information. I personally feel JK should be getting paid by them for his services, because even if they start paying him today, they still are way ahead with the free publicity they've had from the NicksFix for years. I work in IT and webmaster's like the Knight make good money, don't let them fool you.

[ricohv]

What? JK does not get paid for doing the Nicksfix, even now that it is "official"? Hmmm, that hardly seems fair. It almost seems like highway robbery. It would be hard to put a price on all of the free publicity that he apparently has very generously given (I realize that is not what his intention is i.e. his intention is a fan appreciation site, however, that does also equate to publicity on a well known, "official" site)

[Livia]

I honestly don't know if JK gets paid or not...

[SmthngOfADreamr]

Originally posted by Livia
On the other hand, how are they, or anyone, supposed to know in advance every time the Dixie Chicks or Sheryl Crow are going to mention Stevie's name in an interview - or that Rolling Stone is going to put some blip in their magazine, etc.? That's the type of stuff that gets broadcast here first, and usually is emailed to John at the same time.

There actually are many many services that monitor every kind of media constantly (ie tv, radio, newspapers, magazines). I worked in publicity here in New York and we had everything monitored for each of our clients. I can't remember the name of the service we used though. Again, it's something that Stevie's management should provide for the webiste. It could probably save a lot of people a lot of time. And I should sincerely hope that he receives some sort of compensation for all the work he does. I can't imagine the label being that cheap.