I enjoy reading the blogs of other musicians. Part of the reason for blogging is the self expression, but a big part is also fan/customer relations. In this “why should I buy what I can download for free” world, one theory about maintaining sales is to develop relationships (or perceived relationships) with your audience. If people like you or connect with you on an extra musical level, they are more likely to support the business aspect of your art, at least in theory.
I like reading The Bad Plus’ blog, Do the Math. I own their CD “These Are The Vistas” and have enjoyed listening to it, but I never got on the “buy every new CD” track with them. This video from this post made me go directly to iTunes and buy “Prog.”
It is similar to my old cruise ship buffet theory that as long as I ate an apple along with the 7 chocolate eclairs that it was all cool.