Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin – HuffPost 8.10.10

Mike Ragogna: Do you have any advice for new artists?

Steve Berlin: Be born rich, I guess, would be my first advice (laughs). You start there, and you’re probably in much better shape. Really, what it’s about now is–in addition to finding your voice as a musician and a songwriter–you really have to develop your social networking skills. The bands that I see succeeding the most are the ones that have really figured out how to communicate to their fans on a one-to-one basis, and their fans feel like they’re friends and confidants. They have a really close relationship with their friends through all the social networking tools that are out there. So, if it isn’t you, find somebody that understands it and knows how to use it, and do it. I think it’s really important, from the word “go,” to connect with your fans, and utilize every form of conveyance there is. I think it’s really important that that is part of the package. You can’t just be a brilliant singer, brilliant musician, or a brilliant songwriter. You need to find out how to use that stuff or find somebody who knows how to use that stuff if you want to be successful in the future, I think.