This stuff is constantly implied and/or rephrased in many music business advice resources for musicians; the idea of the "marketing funnel" from casual listener to "superfan" is a particularly popular emphasized concept.
I find it unsettling, as a musician of decades' experience; I know painfully well that the "bandwidth" of our culture has been shrunk considerably over 30 years by the Nostalgia Industrial Complex and the massive conglomerates that control the "pop" world; but the idea of demanding/soliciting so much energy from the smaller customer-base that remains with us seems unethical to me.
I like people. I like and respect their lives; which are different than mine. Trying to be the parasocial "center" of those lives seems to me disrespectful of their agency and integrity, somehow. I wish there were more room for my work and that of others like me to be just casual things that people enjoy, forgoing this needless intensity and fraughtness. We all have more than enough of that just trying to live.
OMG came here to say this! This speaks to a concern I have around the use of the word “community” and how most advice for artists revolves more and more around generating the proverbial “1,000 fans”, so that artists are encouraged to create tiny personal armies of psycophants that will blindly back anything and everything one makes. As a writer-in-process, I am very suspicious of this advice, because I do not want to write and make things that people who follow me won’t be critical of —but it seems more and more that the only way we’re told we can make money as artists/creators is to acquire one of these fandoms.
I'm with you on this. My perspective is different, in that I don't really want that big a place in other people's lives; which I view as cool and wonderful things in themselves already. The demands we're told to be pursuing on other people's time and agency don't sit well with me; I just wanna make rock n' roll and bring a little fun to my city and whoever else wants some. And I shouldn't have to start a damn cult to do that.
It feels entirely morally bankrupt--but maybe that's me being harsh! As much of a fangirl and fandom dweller that I've been, I've never needed that type of attachment to enjoy stuff. My favourite music/-ians are not those I've been fandom-y about. It taints the creative product itself when it gets overlayed with so much emotion, imo.
But "everyone is doing it" so of course it's par for the course. Just like the power manager who even told the press that he lies about his clients' success because everyone lies.
Aaron also attended the Danny Masterson trial everyday to give the Jane Does support and to support Claire who testified. Now they have 3 married couples on the board so Mike can have control over everything. Aaron raised 20,000 dollars from his followers for Mikes cancer treatment. Oh it’s embarrassing to raise money for Mikes cancer treatment. I donated as well and have no regrets. I cried when Mike was sick even though I did not know him. I also adored Clair and Marc. How I was fooled. But turning on Aaron and the other ex-Gens who I adore more than they know is egregious and unacceptable. It’s mind blowing to see that what they all have done to try to get rid of this cult and none of that mattered to Mike and HIS board. You do not treat your friends like that. I also have to say this Mike Marc and Claire had serious embarrassing allegations against them when they left the cult. Did that bother me? No because I believed the allegations weren’t true or they escaped and are doing the right thing now. Do you even know what Mikes ex wife and kids has said about him? Oh that wasn’t embarrassing? Maybe you do some research. I now believe Mikes ex wife and kids.
This stuff is constantly implied and/or rephrased in many music business advice resources for musicians; the idea of the "marketing funnel" from casual listener to "superfan" is a particularly popular emphasized concept.
I find it unsettling, as a musician of decades' experience; I know painfully well that the "bandwidth" of our culture has been shrunk considerably over 30 years by the Nostalgia Industrial Complex and the massive conglomerates that control the "pop" world; but the idea of demanding/soliciting so much energy from the smaller customer-base that remains with us seems unethical to me.
I like people. I like and respect their lives; which are different than mine. Trying to be the parasocial "center" of those lives seems to me disrespectful of their agency and integrity, somehow. I wish there were more room for my work and that of others like me to be just casual things that people enjoy, forgoing this needless intensity and fraughtness. We all have more than enough of that just trying to live.
OMG came here to say this! This speaks to a concern I have around the use of the word “community” and how most advice for artists revolves more and more around generating the proverbial “1,000 fans”, so that artists are encouraged to create tiny personal armies of psycophants that will blindly back anything and everything one makes. As a writer-in-process, I am very suspicious of this advice, because I do not want to write and make things that people who follow me won’t be critical of —but it seems more and more that the only way we’re told we can make money as artists/creators is to acquire one of these fandoms.
I'm with you on this. My perspective is different, in that I don't really want that big a place in other people's lives; which I view as cool and wonderful things in themselves already. The demands we're told to be pursuing on other people's time and agency don't sit well with me; I just wanna make rock n' roll and bring a little fun to my city and whoever else wants some. And I shouldn't have to start a damn cult to do that.
It feels entirely morally bankrupt--but maybe that's me being harsh! As much of a fangirl and fandom dweller that I've been, I've never needed that type of attachment to enjoy stuff. My favourite music/-ians are not those I've been fandom-y about. It taints the creative product itself when it gets overlayed with so much emotion, imo.
But "everyone is doing it" so of course it's par for the course. Just like the power manager who even told the press that he lies about his clients' success because everyone lies.
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Aaron also attended the Danny Masterson trial everyday to give the Jane Does support and to support Claire who testified. Now they have 3 married couples on the board so Mike can have control over everything. Aaron raised 20,000 dollars from his followers for Mikes cancer treatment. Oh it’s embarrassing to raise money for Mikes cancer treatment. I donated as well and have no regrets. I cried when Mike was sick even though I did not know him. I also adored Clair and Marc. How I was fooled. But turning on Aaron and the other ex-Gens who I adore more than they know is egregious and unacceptable. It’s mind blowing to see that what they all have done to try to get rid of this cult and none of that mattered to Mike and HIS board. You do not treat your friends like that. I also have to say this Mike Marc and Claire had serious embarrassing allegations against them when they left the cult. Did that bother me? No because I believed the allegations weren’t true or they escaped and are doing the right thing now. Do you even know what Mikes ex wife and kids has said about him? Oh that wasn’t embarrassing? Maybe you do some research. I now believe Mikes ex wife and kids.