The Yers are an alternative post-punk revival five-piece band from Thailand, formed in 2003. They are very traditional in terms of the way in which they choose to communicate with their fans and the general public using digital technologies, as well as promoting their music.
The band does not have its own website, rather operating through their record label, ‘Genie Records’ which is a primarily Thai label that features the Yers.
After exploring this website to get a feel for the way in which The Yers are represented online, I discovered that the website was almost identical to Western record labels online – it featured tabs for artists; blog; store; music; and news. Although the site was written in Thai, there were English translations provided for me underneath – without me having to manually change the language.
I believe it to be very smart of Genie Records in doing this – it allowed them to break the language barrier that often exists between Western and Asian communities, and also gives the bands featured on the label the opportunity to be discovered by those who may be located in different areas or markets.
In saying this however, the band does have an official Facebook page that is updated regularly with news, music and communications from the band, primarily written in Thai. It features essential information fans need to know, as well as shared photos and videos to get a feel for what the Yers are attempting to promote as a group.
It is interesting to note that although the band is quite active in terms of Facebook use, there is little to no activity on other social media platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram. Although the band does have an official Twitter account, they have not made a tweet in over a year – this shows that they obviously prefer Facebook as their preferred method of communication with their fans and communities around the world.
It would be interesting to delve into this matter further – WHY do some celebrities or groups favour some platforms over others? Is it because of the different functionalities across the varieties? This is something that I would like to explore during the progress of my personal research project into alternative Asian music artists.
Digital Asia 
Hey Keely,
Great post! I’ll be honest, I really liked the song in the video you included (even though I didn’t understand a word). I think it’s incredibly interesting that their website caters for non-Thai speakers, and that you didn’t have to actively translate the page. The fact that they have gone out of their way to do this certainly speaks of they must view their English speaking audience.
I also think the point you made about social media preference is quite interesting. Personally I prefer Facebook to Twitter, so I can see how there would be people out there that are the same. It would be interesting to see if this has impacted their reach at all.
– Gabi
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I am digging them sweet tunes. I feel it resonates with me due to the factors you mentioned, mostly it’s probably due to the similarities with western music… Come to think of it I recognise that the music is similar to western stuff, but I cannot name any bands which exemplify that similarity. Very strange that the band prefers Facebook over Twitter, you’d think twitter would allow them to connect with fans more effectively.
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My guess about some celebrities preferring some social media platforms over others would have to do with what the platforms represent. Facebook, for instance, could be seen as a more intimate and comprehensive platform. It combines photos, opinions and feelings into one feed. This is comparison to say Twitter, which is more information based and designed to be short and sweet. As this site said, Facebook gives your friends and Twitter gives you followers (http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/sep10/Tagtmeier.shtml).
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Hey Keely,
This is a really great post, I loved the idea of talking about their representation online. It could be a really interesting method to compare and contrast in the future, as you said.
This article was written 7 months ago but I think the ideas its offering are still really current, it discusses what is the most popular social media site in Thailand and the role that social media has played in idividuals lives and busiensses
http://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-in-thailand/
I think it would be helpful if you decide to persue this topic further (which, btw I think you should!)
Lauren 🙂
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Hey, very nice post. I’m Thai and i have to admit that i never heard of this band but thats might be the fact that i’m not really into Thai music. I have heard of Genie records before but i don’t know how many bands or singers is in that record label. However, after looking at there website and looking at their bands and singers at the bottom of the page, i found that they have many big and very famous Thai band. As some of their bands are very famous in Thailand, i think that some of those bands also quiet famous overseas and that is why they make it so that their website can be translated to English. For your point about social media, i think not many Thai use Twitter. Almost all people that i know only use Facebook and it is very popular in Thailand but Twitter is not as popular.
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Hey Keely.
Great post. It seems so interesting to learn that the Thai record company, Genie records was almost identical to that of a western record company. I think it is amazing how they can be so similar even though the cultures are actually so different. Amazing really.
I actually didn’t mind the sounds from The Yers and also agree with you and some of the other people who have commented that the reason why we all quite like the music is because of the similarities between this music and modern Western music and what we listen to on the radio or on our ipods everyday.
Somebody mentioned above about the way that it may be unusual that they prefer facebook over twitter however in my own opinion and experiences i feel like Facebook is more often used for musicians and artists even in australia so it is amazing to hear that this is similar for the yers also!
Thanks keely
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apart from the fact that It was in Thai, this song sounds a lot like something you would hear on an alternative radio station in Australia and its actually really good stuff!! In terms of video production it is also very western alternative – basic yet effective for the genre. In relation to their website, I think that is a really good idea because most of the time the loose translations which the browser provides are horrible and barely readable anyway! For someone studying K-pop I think this alternative indie angle you are taking is great! It would be really interesting to see how their fame in thailand has compared to australian indie bands as well as their ‘live music’ culture – as us as Australians are very much into that – is it the same over there?
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