"The Art of Asking"
Amanda Palmer's TedTalk was very intriguing, and I would imagine that it has been met with a lot of mixed responses. Palmer begins her talk with a short story about her 'job' as a streetside statue, and forging an emotional connection with passerbys, resulting in them donating a few dollars. The most interesting part of the story however, is when Palmer states that this exchange between the statue and the passerby goes beyond just a simple donation; it is a fair exchange between both parties, built on intimacy and a recognition of one another. While I do have my own opinions regarding this interpretation of 'fairness', the fact is that through her performance, Palmer is able to entice pedestrians enough for them to willingly hand over money.
The way that Palmer makes the analogy between her streetside statue career and her career as a musician is also very striking. Rather than rely on her album sales and actual music to generate revenue, she capitalizes on her connections with her fans, making use of close relationships to fund Kickstarter campaigns and couchsurf across a variety of different locations. In a way, Palmer is extremely business-savvy to be able to make her fans fund her activities without actually promoting her work the usual way (advertisements, albums, etc). The fact that she was able to gather 1.2 million for her Kickstarter off of only 25,000 fans is quite impressive, and it shows that her fans truly do want to support her.
On the other hand, my inner critic just can't help but point out a few aspects of this 'relationship' that are questionable at best. When Palmer is recounting the story of how she slept at an undocumented girl's house while the girl and her parents slept on the couch left a sour taste in my mouth. Palmer seems to justify the situation by stating that the girl was a huge fan of her work, thereby rendering this 'exchange' as a 'fair transaction'. While it may not be her intention, scenes like these paint Palmer as a musician who straddles the border between forging an intimate connection with her fans, and taking advantage of her fans. Buying your favorite artist's albums is very different from said artist coming over to your house and sleeping on your bed while you and your parents sleep on the couch. Perhaps, this is due to a cultural difference, but I would even be hesitant about 'crashing' at a friend's place in this fashion, let alone a fan of my work.
Despite these issues, Palmer is able to successfully amplify the complexities behind a celebrity-fan relationship. Usually, fan interactions are limited to fan sign events, concerts, backstage tours, and stockpiling albums to show support. There is a clear separation between fan and celebrity, and in regards to musicians, there is a heavy focus on the work (music) itself. For Palmer however, she feels comfortable meeting up with fans on her own time, sleeping on their couches, eating together, and even taking a bath at their place. She is able to create a best-friend type relationship with her audience, and this is the driving force behind her ability to rely on them as a direct source of income. Yet, this also raises a lot of questions. Just how genuine are these connections? In a usual musician-fan relationship, the guidelines are set very clearly: you like the celebrity and their music, you buy albums to support them. They're not your best friend, but you adore them and look up to certain qualities that they possess. In Palmer's case, where is the line between celebrity and friend? Just how 'fair' is the exchange if Palmer is just using these so-called 'emotional connections' as a way to get more cash? And lastly, if Palmer knows that it is largely the connections themselves that are pushing her fans to support her, how much of her career is really about the music?