Do you know what makes me angry?
The Capital FM television advert.
Why does it make me angry?
Rihanna declares that Capital FM is the middle man between her and her fans.
The reason why this angers me is because there should be no middle man between an artist and their fans. If there is, it just demonstrates that the artist is not grateful for the people that put them there, that buy their albums, that make them their money. If you're going to place a barrier between you and your fans, then you're ungrateful and think that you are too high and mighty to mingle with them.
This is one of the many reasons why I cannot stand the majority of the chart music because it is plagued with arrogance and mass egos. Since the rise of twitter, certain artists have been using this medium as a way to safely communicate with their fans. Stars such as Graham Coxon, Edwyn Collins, Sean McGhee and many more hold artists such Rihanna, Jessie J etc to shame because they are constantly communicating with their fans and making the effort to connect with them. When I get replies from musicians that I listen to on a daily basis, it really makes my day and makes me feel as though I am part of their project. After all, isn't music about sharing a message, an emotion and a moment?
Another aspect that alienates fans from the very people they look up to is the venues in which they perform. I understand how exciting it is to be at a huge, concert stadium and be part of something bigger then yourself, but artists also need to connect on a one to one basis and a way to do this is to play or do talks at small venues. Take the Manic Street Preachers for example, just days before they played to a sold-out O2 arena, I attended a talk given by Nicky Wire at Rough Trade East. This enlightened me even more about the ethos and purpose of the Manic Street Preachers, I didn't feel like a fan, I felt like part of a family being surrounded by like-minded people. James Dean Bradfield also played an intimate set at Rough Trade a few months ago. Nicky Wire and James Dean Bradfield had no need to attend these events, they have a worldwide fan base and I'm guessing a lot of money in the bank, but they still understand how important it is to reach out to people, make it known that they are grateful and genuinely love the people who they write songs for.
The bond between a musician and their fan base is crucial and developing a middle man is just alienating yourself from the people that made you, not to mention an extremely ungrateful act. Musicians are people like us, not Gods and Goddesses that have to remain on an untouchable pedestal.
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