What not to say to your audience

One simple statement can make or break an artist’s career. Many artists have damaged their reputation and careers in the past by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time – as seen below. An artist’s image is key to their success, and gaining a loyal fan-base is even more important. The last thing that you want for your artist is to see them fail. Let us look into some examples of what not to say to your audience, and what to say to succeed.

 

Homophobic statements

Sexuality is a topic of extreme privacy and sensitivity for millions of people around the globe. The last thing your artist wants to do is alienate a section of potential fans. It is not a matter of the general political agenda of your audience; someone will be offended. Using a homophobic slur will not only certify your artist as unintelligent; it will damage their career.

Religious Outlast 

Religion is another topic of sensitivity for many in our world today. Unless your artist is one based around their religious faith, I would avoid speaking about their spiritual opinions. One example you may recall took place on October 3rd, 1992. Sinead O’Connor, the famous 1990s Irish singer songwriter, appeared on Saturday Night Live for a live performance of her newest hit, “Evil”. O’Connor, a roman catholic, tore a picture of the Pope during her performance. America was shocked by her actions the next morning and her career never was the same.

Racially charged statements

To many of you, this seems like an obvious topic to avoid. Racism or any sort of racially charged statement will ruin your artist’s career. It does not matter if they see it as a joke or really do not mean it; just do not say it. The audience your artist may be in front of might not react negatively, but the media will. We live in a day and age where everything is seen, recorded and uploaded for all to see. Do not let your artist speak on the matter of race in any negative fashion on any occasion.

 

Keep your cool 

If your artist struggles with anger issues, you may want to rethink the idea of live performances. In many cases someone in the crowd is going to do something that will make your artist angry or uncomfortable. It is in your best interest to keep your artist from blowing up and causing a scene. This past summer on the Vans Warped Tour, a band called The Dickies used harsh slurs and rude comments towards a fan in the audience. They did not know that they were being recorded and were kicked off of the tour for the rest of the summer. The video does contain highly explicit language.
as seen below

The last thing you want is for your artist to miss out on a large opportunity because they threw a tantrum.

 

Artist success all comes down to the golden rule, “treat others the way you want to be treated.” The last thing you want is for your artist to alienate their fan-base due to crude, racial, homophobic, or sacrilegious comments. Without the fans, your artist is nothing so it is important to treat them as well as possible.