PLAYLIST OR PLAY LESS?
By Charlotte Pearce
There’s no feeling quite like waking up to the news that one of your favorite artists has been cancelled, charged, convicted - or worst case scenario, all three. To have a hero you’ve never met become a villain is an undoubtedly crushing experience for fans across the globe. After a wave of sadness and disappointment, you are met with grief. This comes in the form of a slightly guilty internal monologue where you ask yourself how to move forward. Do I burn that T-shirt from their 2016 UK tour or just stick it in a drawer until everything blows over? Do I completely cut them out of my life alongside the good memories their music once provided me with?
Not only do we have to decide how we deal with this news on a personal level, we also have to decide how we will publicaly deal with it. An artist's actions and a fan's reaction both contribute to a wider cultural shift. Cancel culture is good for establishing right versus wrong, but it also creates an echo chamber which stifles our ability to talk openly and debate what should happen next - it simply locks the situation away never to be seen again. Kind of like throwing that merch into a drawer.
So, how do we navigate this complete mind fuck together?
The first step; decide whether you are able to separate the art from the artist. There is no right or wrong answer here, it all depends on whether you’re left with an uneasy feeling putting all of your songs on shuffle, with the anticipation of that song might be playing next.
The spectrum of issues problematic artists leave us with is broad and complex - it is important to remember that we are not responsible for their actions and cannot bear all of the weight on our shoulders.
SEPERATING ART FROM THE ARTIST: PROS
Music, no matter the artist, is an emotional and nostalgic experience for us. Isn’t it incredible that words in a certain order and an arrangement of chords can make us cry, smile and reminisce?
It’s the same with any form of art. When looking at Pablo Picasso’s art, I doubt the first thing the majority think of was how he was a sadist and misogynist. It would probably more be something along the lines of, huh, that’s a nice painting - it makes me feel XY and Z. Parallel to music, studies found that listening to tunes increases blood flow to brain regions that generate and control emotions, which is involved in processing emotions and controlling memory.
But what do the public think about this? Manish Patras, a Leeds based Creative, spoke to me about the subject:
“I think it's difficult to separate the art from the artist, but ultimately art should be able to stand alone by itself and be judged for its own merits.”
Koyoka, a Belgian musician and creative based in London, said:
“I see art as an entity that artists contribute to, always growing and evolving, glorifying the art rather than the artist. People are just vessels to creativity flowing through them.”
Additionally, we create entire playlists based on mood and atmosphere - from Mood Booster to Morning Commute.
It’s very rare that we create playlists based on personal aspects of an artist. Unless you want to create a playlist from this handy list of problematic male musicians that Feminist Current put together. You’re welcome.
SEPARATING ART FROM THE ARTIST: CONS
Even if it’s great music, it all stems from a not-so-great-brain. The argument here is that if we continue to listen to music conceived by a corrupt artist, we are continuing to support their ideations and morals. The Appalachian suggests that the art and the artist are a package deal, and that ignoring the background of an artist is a disservice to their creations.
Culture impacts art, and art impacts culture. The cycle continues. Sometimes the cycle can be a healthy one, but for problematic artists, it serves as a toxic peloton workout.
P Money, British grime MC, rapper and songwriter from London, said:
“ It’s a tough one. I think it all depends on what they’ve done. But music is music, it's not necessarily the artist we are in touch with, it’s the song, the beat, rhythm, the subject and the lyrics. Personally, I detach completely from an artist if what they’ve done is against my morals or street codes.”
Similarly, Natasha Fowler-Ekar, DJ and founder of anti-colonial music collective GBOSA Nights, said:
“For me it’s a case by case basis. As a DJ you’re wanting to bring good vibes. If I know a song could potentially bring the opposite, I wouldn’t want to play it. I have songs on my USBs by problematic artists that I wouldn't reach for right now, and can’t imagine reaching for them for a long time - however this doesn’t mean I’ll never play them again. If I do, it would only be edits and remixes so others will profit rather than the actual artist. “
By continuing to listen to an artist even while discounting their actions, there is almost no way to avoid financial support. So what can we do? Queue step two.
Burning merch is definitely an optional practice (and might be an enjoyable ritual in order to release some pent up negative emotions), but alas, there’s more we can do than starting a small fire in our limited living spaces:
Streaming platforms come up a lot in this debate, so it’s worth mentioning. This may however be the least effective way to cut off financial support to an artist, as according to this handy chart of how much musicians make from streams, an artist would need to generate 10,400,000 streams in a year (or 865,000 streams per month) to reach a minimum wage income.
Stop buying gig tickets / anything in the artists name
Unfollow their account / tags / fan accounts on social media. Remember that brand deals exist based on this, and brand deals = money.
A less obvious one - stop using their sounds on TikTok. Sped-up versions of songs are taking over our brains enough as it is.
When listening on streaming platforms, there are now block functionalities that enable users to mute artists they no longer want to listen to.
Finally, if you’d like to go the extra mile, research and support organizations and movements that work to counter the harm caused by the artist's actions or beliefs. From research, it’s hard to pin down movements directly protesting an artist’s actions - Spotify had a crack at monetising cultural goods, however this backfired when the musician in question bounced back with a list of fellow problematic artists to remove from playlists alongside themselves. Spotify agreed that they ‘rolled it out wrong’, and regulation of this matter remains a battlefield.
Step three: keep the conversation going.
Cancel culture is a short term solution for a long term problem. This topic is an incredibly gray area that has no specific code to crack it. We therefore need to continue talking in order to figure out the best way forward, and when subjects include rape, abuse, and violence - it’s certainly a highly valuable conversation to be having.
The cultural impact of an artist fucking up is undeniably huge - and because victims commonly vanish between the cracks of money and fame, we must start with ourselves and our own actions in order to form a larger societal ripple effect. Our standards must change, even if it means potentially sacrificing a banger or two.