Frank Iero (MCR) over relatie tussen artiest en fans

Frank Iero, bekend als gitarist van My Chemical Romance, heeft zich onlangs uitgelaten over de veranderde relatie tussen een artiest en zijn fans. Deze relatie is erg veranderd sinds de komst van social media en Iero denkt dat deze verandering niet altijd even positief is. Lees zijn mening hieronder.

How do you feel about the shift in artist-fan relationships over the past decade with the invention of social media (Twitter, etc)?
I don’t know tell you truth, it think on paper it’s a really nice thing to be able to interact and have discussions with the people who enjoy what you create and vice versa. And for the most part i must say the interactions I’ve had have been really nice and mutually fulfilling… but it takes some time understanding how to navigate these interactions in order to have positive experiences. Let’s face it there are a lot of rude and unstable people in the world so you’re bound to get some off putting or irritating shit flung your way…so the benefits are definitely on a case by case basis. At times it can be difficult to not let the bad people ruin it for you and everyone else. That’s why its good to take a few days off every once in awhile. There seems to be an influx of younger people looking for attention, good or bad it doesn’t matter to them just as long as someone notices…and they tend to hide under the guise of being a fan but what they’re really after is just a reaction. So they make stuff up or say vile disgusting things to you or about the people you love in order to get noticed or get a rise out of you or others. And it’s really sad and disheartening to me…because at the core of it i know all they want is for one second someone to just notice them and that’s really sad, but they they go about it in such a terrible way that i have little sympathy and i see it confusing people more and more.

For instance I was having a conversation with a young lady the other day about a social media interaction I found troubling or rude and she said ‘but they’re a fan of your band?’ and my response was ‘but just cause they have good taste in music doesn’t mean they’re automatically a good person.’ Buying a record or attending a concert does not enter me into a binding contract where for the rest of my life I have to take a person’s shit no matter what they say or do to me. I may catch a ton of flack for this from people but i feel it needs to be said, just because you like a band or bought a band’s shirt or record at some point doesn’t mean you own that artist or that the artist owes you unquestionable loyalty no matter what you do or how you treat other people. Now this goes both ways mind you. Just because you like something a person created or continues to create doesn’t mean you automatically have to agree with every life decision that artist makes or everything that comes out of their mouths. I mean lets be honest most artists are real life assholes.

Basically my point is this, in 2012 it was reported that there were over 7 billion people, give or take, living on planet earth. (that’s a lot of people) ok so based on the state of the world we live in can we assume that what? at least 50% of those 7 billion are shitheads? No? ok fine maybe that’s a bit pessimistic, lets give humans the benefit of the doubt and say 40% are total shitheads. that’s saying 60% or over 4 billion people are pretty rad ok people. Now the rest of those people the 3 billion and change, a few of them have to overlap into the category of fans of good music or artists that make rad stuff right? I mean some of those motherfuckers gotta like radiohead right? see what im getting at?