When we choose to support the career of any
artist, we invest ourselves in what they're doing by providing them with an
income and supporting and spreading the messages they're conveying.
So when we pay for a ticket for a live concert does
the performer actually owe it to us to put on a show?
When anyone goes to a gig there is always a
certain amount of expectation from the artists, we expect them to come out on
time, we expect them to play a set we'll enjoy and we expect them to at least
look like they're enjoying themselves. All artists only really have their fans
to thank for whatever position they find themselves in. People invest a lot of
time and money in the music they enjoy and to a certain extent,
they do deserve something in return. But surely, any actual fan would care more
about the artist's well-being than their own enjoyment, especially
considering the only time their enjoyment is at risk
of being damaged is
when the artist is really struggling.
The way we consume music is pretty selfish,
millions of people (including myself) choose
to download music illegally rather than paying for it. I understand that it
isn't cheap and that apart from the odd exception, the artists
themselves get a very small percentage of the profits made from the music they
create, most of it is famously swallowed up by record labels. But you can't
really use this argument and claim that the division of the
profits is unfair then download music illegally for free.
The mental health of
people who choose a career in the music industry has
been a topic of discussion for quite some time, many artists live with plights such as addiction and depression,
which can famously lead to breakdowns, rehab admissions and even
suicide. So when an artist is suffering through any sort
of mental strife, should they be forced to come on stage and perform every
night or every other night for months at a time? This topic has been discussed
a great deal recently due to Kanye West taking to the stage as part of his
Saint Pablo tour and ranting
about Beyonce, Trump, Clinton and his own
career before dropping
the mic and ending the show he turned up late for
about an hour early. The fact that he did this shouldn't be
too difficult to understand for
people who would claim they support his career,
just two months ago his wife was robbed at gunpoint in Paris,
something which will have undoubtedly put a
great deal of strain on their relationship. Throughout the whole of this year
(especially) he has been judged and picked apart by fans and critics alike for
his famous Twitter rants, some people claiming that they were merely a
publicity stunt whilst others believed that
they showed that his mental health was in
decline, the latter seeming much more likely after recent events. It has been
reported that he was taken into hospital for
his own wellbeing, and that he was "exhausted". This is entirely believable and understandable
as he is not only a music writer, he is also a producer for his own music and many
others, as well as being a fashion designer and living within a
family that are constantly in the
public eye, having their every move documented and scrutinised by the
media (but that's another issue). All of this would undoubtedly weigh
heavily on any person's shoulders and have a huge impact on their
mental state.
The initial reaction
to Kanye's "breakdown" was anger for a lot of people, if they
attended the show themselves or had tickets for the remaining dates of the tour
they seemed to feel as if they had been ripped off or hard done by in some way.
This is entirely unfair.
Although, after a couple of days, many people did feel
remorseful and messages of support came thick and fast across social media from
fans and music publications.
It's not only Kanye, Father John Misty took to the
stage at a festival this summer after touring his latest album "I Love You Honeybear"
extensively and had a good old rant about the entertainment industry and
walked off stage, he like Kanye, faced a great deal of criticism for
this, although his lapse wasn't as severe (but
does this mean we should be any less concerned?). Kid Cudi was
also admitted into rehab earlier
this year, but unlike Kanye, he gained a huge amount of support from
fans.
On his most recent tour, Justin Bieber's performances have
been plagued by tantrums
and walk offs. The Canadian
pop star is seemingly frustrated with the way people, especially his fans, see
him. He wants to be acknowledged as a
real artist, not just a pretty face who young girls can have pinned
up in their bedrooms. Despite this yearning he seems to have, his whole career has
been built upon him being this pin up teen idol, so when his fans continue to
treat him as such he seems to feel extremely
frustrated. He walked off stage at his Manchester show earlier this year and I
spoke to a fan who was at the show. "It was pretty unfair" she said
"I paid over 100 pounds to
take my little sister to see him so for him to just drop the mic and walk
off stage was pretty unfair, he didn’t play for any extended amount of time so
we missed out on a part of the show that other people in other cities got to
see after paying the same price as us". Bieber was
trying to talk in between songs
and when he realised nobody was listening/could hear what
he was saying he said "The screaming in these
breaks has got to stop. Please and thank you. I don't think it's necessary when
I'm trying to say something and you guys are screaming." And when the
crowd failed to follow his instructions he dropped the mic and left the stage.
It is understandable that this would be frustrating, but it is also
understandable that the people watching the show will more than likely have
been young girls who were very excited about the performance. When I asked the
same fan if she feels like we need to show more sympathy to artists she said
"I think it is important for us to care about artists, but there is a
certain point at which their behaviour becomes concerning and before that
point, throwing tantrums like he (Bieber) did and effectively wasting our time and money for no
real reason is unfair on us so he doesn't really deserve our sympathy".
There is definitely a valid point being made there, the star
complex that a lot of celebrities have has given them a sense of
entitlement and importance and makes them feel as though
they deserve to be listened to.
The best thing we can do as fans is be as understanding as possible in regards to our favourite artists, we shouldn't only begin to
care about their well-being once they have passed the point of no return. Amy
Winehouse was shunned and her drug addictions and mental health and she was used and exploited by people whose
main concern was shifting tabloids. Yet after her
untimely death, the same papers that were so keen on getting expose articles
printed about her, were relentlessly sympathetic. We should not let it reach
that point, we should be concerned about them and try to understand their
plight before they are dead and buried. So maybe when stars such as Bieber,
Father John Misty and even Kanye are seemingly just ranting about
trivial things we should show a little more compassion, take into consideration what
is happening in their lives and any other potential underlying issues and try our
best to not be annoyed that they apparently haven't put on
the show they were expected or "supposed" to.
Words: Liam Navey.
