Jukebox

Do Artists Actually Understand Press?

It’s not often we write columns like this ourselves at Jukebox or Jukebox:Metal. Generally we figure you’ve got enough of our views to read in our reviews, so for columns it’d be better to present the views of others. But every now again we’ve got something else to say that doesn’t have a place in a review. This is one of those things. Do musicians actually understand the function of the press and media they are so desperate to be featured in?

Countless artists will come out and say they don’t care about getting in the press. They are lying. All of them. With the possible exception of artists so huge their fans follow their every move themselves and don’t need to be told what they’re doing. If a new Elton John album comes out, Elton’s fans know about it. They don’t need the press to tell them and Elton doesn’t need the press to tell everyone else in order for him to make his money. But apart from artists of that stature, of which there are very few, the rest want to be in the press.

That comes with a caveat. They only want to be in the press if the press are saying nice things about them. I guess that stands to reason. No one wants people talking badly of them, whatever scale it’s on. But that’s not how it works, and very few seem to understand that, even if their public relations representatives do. This has been sparked, not just by previous experiences of our own at Jukebox, but by a recent comment by Bullet For My Valentine drummer Michael Thomas in an interview with MetalSucks.net ahead of the release of the band’s brand new album Scream, Aim, Fire, when talking about bad press, which went: “We don’t care really. If someone doesn’t like us, we can’t please everyone. It’s whatever. If you like us, great, if you don’t like us, don’t open your mouth really, just keep your mouth shut!”

Thomas, and he’s not the only one, appears to be under the (grammatically horrific) impression that the press only deal with things they like. Now, what would be the point in that? Imagine coming to Jukebox:Metal to read the latest reviews and every one of them was a five-star glowing recommendation. How would this inform your decision to buy a CD? Unless you can afford to buy all of them, which very few music fans can as far too much music is released on a monthly basis. How would non-stop adulation for everything help you decide which one(s) to spend your money on? And how could you be sure we actually have an opinion? If we say everything is fantastic, how can you measure what isn’t? There is no good without bad.

OK, so the complete absence of certain albums might tell you that we don’t think those ones are any good, but you can’t always assume that. It could just be that we haven’t heard it. That might indeed be the case, but at least with a range of both good and bad reviews to read you wouldn’t be forced to assume any album not reviewed is bad.

Media outlets also have a responsibility to their readers. How they handle that responsibility varies, but in general it is the duty of the media to present their readers with impartial and accurate opinions and information. “Impartial opinions” essentially means that the music press should inform its readers of the relative qualities and failings of a release and not just say “I don’t like this band, so their album sucks”.

That Thomas also doesn’t understand why his band received a frosty reception from Iron Maiden’s fans when they supported them on tour recently doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence that he really knows what’s going on, but his view on the press is not unique.

Artists aren’t the only ones. There are many fans out there who react badly to anyone who dares voice a negative opinion of their favourite band, equally believing that reviewers shouldn’t review things they don’t like. The only time a reviewer shouldn’t review something is when the style of music is not something they like. For example I think we’re all aware that I am predominantly a rock and metal reviewer. I do the occasional acoustic singer/songwriter or blues release, but more often than not it’s rock and metal. So I shouldn’t review a rap album. It just doesn’t make sense for me to do that. But I should review a metal album regardless of the style of metal, because I like metal. If the metal album turns out not to be a good one my responsibility to Jukebox:Metal’s readers remains the same; to tell them of it’s relative failings. And merits, if it has any. I can’t just take the stance “oh well, I don’t like it even though it’s metal, better not tell anyone”.

Of course, if the press is good artists and labels are all too quick to come out and brag about the glowing reviews their new release or latest tour has been receiving. The same press they don’t care about being in. You can’t have it both ways! There’s no good without bad, remember.

Written by Andy Lye - January 2008
Read more: Features