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Following the pandemic, which gave solution to an equally as economically detrimental cost-of-living disaster, loads of us are doing no matter it takes to get by, and musicians are not any exception. Occasions are powerful, and it’s even tougher to get music followers to feign enthusiasm for brand new music; the collective sense of ennui is virtually aurally impenetrable, which is making artists more and more reliant on their ‘tremendous followers’ who would spare no expense to interact in a meet-and-greet expertise with their icons.
After studying the sullen and begrudging interview Doyle from the Misfits gave on the need of charging followers for meet-and-greets to make ends meet after followers “stole his music”, I couldn’t assist however draw the parallels between the swathes of individuals turning into OnlyFans creators and the huge enhance of artists charging for the pleasure of assembly them
In December 2019, there have been 100,000 creators on OnlyFans. Quick ahead to 2023, and there are 2.1 million content material creators, and that’s solely the tip of the ‘Subscribe to Me’ iceberg. A enterprise article in TIME dubbed the enterprise mannequin as the way forward for working tradition with the rise in platforms corresponding to Twitch, Patreon and SubStack.
As many conventional modes of labor are unable to match the charges of pay for individuals proficient, participating, or enticing sufficient to promote subscriptions, there’s completely no disgrace in adapting to economically survive, and operating within the parallel strains between artists charging extortionate charges to share the identical air with them and folks taking to OnlyFans to fund their existence is not at all an try and throw shade on the latter.
The Rise and Controversy of the Meet-And-Greet Expertise
In 2019, MTV documented how paid meet-and-greets have develop into a staple of gig experiences; even with the numerous bounce in ticket pricing, artists and their document labels are nonetheless mercenarily desirous to bleed extra out of religious followers. Relying on the VIP expertise in query, well-funded followers can get the possibility to look at the artist soundcheck, take dwelling unique merch, take a selfie, and briefly chat with the artist. However the monetisation of fan interactions doesn’t sit properly with everybody.
One of many loudest voices within the refrain in opposition to the commodification of interacting with artists has been Matt Healy from The 1975. When questioning the motivation behind the priced interplay packaging, he delivered a blow to the key labels which have normalised the expertise, including extra parts of exhaustion to the touring expertise. It’s a good level, though not one which excuses his latest racist downfall!
Members of the pop-punk outfit The Maine have additionally commented on the phenomenon, stating that it’s onerous to show down the cash which could be on the desk from the price of a handshake, however they’re standing agency of their view that music ought to by no means be about your place of financial privilege. Funnily sufficient, I wish to go and purchase all their information now.
Followers have additionally famous that the extra you’re keen on an artist, the tougher it’s to refuse meet-and-great packages. However loads of individuals are nonetheless arguing in favour of the experiences, together with the tour supervisor, Emmy Levine, who believes the pricing of them is honest when contemplating the neglected prices of touring. Apparently, when setting the pricing fashions for meet-and-greets, there was no different possibility than charging lots of of {dollars}, along with the price of a ticket, which may simply attain three figures alone. I might be inclined to imagine her if it wasn’t for the artists who get by simply high quality with out placing a premium value on a social interplay.
There’s a motive why paid meet-and-greets had been banned by the founding father of the Warped Tour competition when he established it in 1995. Kevin Lyman rightly believes that the minute bands cost to fulfill followers is the second the interplay turns into nothing greater than a transaction. He recognised that even when paid VIP experiences could be instantly extra financially helpful for bands, within the long-term, it’s solely going to warp the artist-fan dynamic and doubtlessly go away followers much less inclined to point out their assist sooner or later when it lastly sinks in that it’s preposterous to pay cash to fulfill somebody and expertise a meaningless trade.
Some artists are getting creative with their meet-and-greet incentives in a approach which doesn’t fully diminish the interplay. Take LANY who’ve been within the behavior of randomly choosing 15 – 20 of their followers to look at the soundcheck and hang around with the band as one of many higher examples. Their modern method to adapting to their rising reputation which eliminated the plausibility of hanging round with followers after the present ought to set the usual for artists who’re beginning to make the most of the artist-fan dynamics.
In the meantime, the rapper G-Eazy needed to discover a solution to fund bringing his barber on the highway with him, so he allowed his followers to fund it by charging them extreme charges to have the identical haircut as him and Incubus is charging $10k to go backstage with them. EVEN with the inflated price of touring, there’s no approach that’s justifiable. And it could sound like a pleasant gesture for Disturbed to distribute a few of their VIP revenues to charity, however what’s the level in taking the cash of the followers within the first place?! Extortion is extortion. It’s no much less nefarious if the perpetrator is your favorite artist.
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If you’d like a number of concepts on enhance your income streams with out extorting your followers through meet-and-greets, learn our weblog on the worth of tremendous followers.
Article by Amelia Vandergast
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