It has been too long since our friend Andrew Jones of Checkered Owl appeared on the blog. Enjoy this new piece on haters, which was originally written in the wake of Andrew’s latest short film being released, and heed his advice. For fun, we’ve included the film as well.
Don’t read the comments. Don’t feed the trolls. Shake It Off.
The advice is all good, but in those moments when you encounter a genuine hater, it’s a remarkable thing. All your insecurities come rushing to the forefront. Every reason you are hesitant to create and to put art “out there” rings in your head. You can ignore them but it’s hard to ignore yourself.
But first slow down. Now stop.
You’ve already won. YOU took a risk, put yourself out there and YOU created art. They lost, because they spent their day pissing on your work instead of contributing to humanity.
To be honest, this is hitting me today, because I faced a hater.
I recently made a short film called “Finding Fairies“, it was my first time getting to direct my kids in a film and was a really fun project for us. The hater didn’t like it. Which is cool, it’s a family film celebrating childhood wonder, not everyone’s cuppa. That’s fine. However instead of just moving on with life, he decided to “call me out”. I don’t really know why people do that, or what impact they hope to have, but I know it wasn’t meant as a bit of encouragement or constructive criticism.
But here is the reality, his comments only made my supporters get behind the film more! More views, more shares. His comments only pushed me harder to let people see what we made! Is it a perfect film? No. But my crew and actors and actresses worked too hard to let anyone stop us, and we are proud of it.
Don’t let the grumblers win. Don’t let the haters decide what you contribute! Grab that negative energy and turn it around. Go do what you do best instead!
Whatever your artistic endeavour is, make it, TODAY. Write the song, post the video, create the pot, paint your door, write the next chapter of your book! Creating is an act of giving to the world, being rude isn’t. So take the high road and make something today!
P.s. If you would like to see the video it’s right below the post.
P.s.s. I hope you dig it, but if you don’t that’s fine too. Go make something better.
If there is one thing we can probably all agree on about life on the internet it’s that those who fuel the content generation machines that keep the web buzzing with viral sensations love nothing more than drama. It can come in any form, from political to celebrity, as long as its captured on camera or in sound bites. Those bits of media are then uploaded, streamed, remixed, and shared on a plethora of clickbait hungry blogs hoping to grab a few more easy clicks from someone else’s pain. It’s a long-running and admittedly sick trend, but a trend nonetheless, and earlier today one of metal’s best underground acts were found cashing on our collective love for all things dramatic.
Partnering with the fine editorial team at Faster Louder, the member of Thy Art Is Murder released a collaborative feature on the popular music blog detailing the best and worst bands they have toured with up to this point. The list named several artists, praising some and trashing others, all with seemingly no concern for public or professional backlash that may occur. The band highlights 3 genre peers as being ’the worst,’ each of whom have fans around the globe and international touring experience, as well as 3 they consider ‘the best.’ While those regarded in high standing are certainly given some well-deserved praise, the acts the band chooses to look down upon are essentially bullied for an entire paragraph. Volumes, for instance, are referred to as follows:
The “homies.” The billionaire rich kids. Their dad is like some Grammy-award winning producer. Fully don’t like these dudes that much. The last time I saw the singer I told him I was going to beat him up, real bad, to his face.
There is also an allegation of wrongdoing on the part of someone associated with the band, as well as a story of a near physical altercation from a previous tour.
The band given the worst treatment is Within The Ruins, a metalcore act found on Victory Records, who Thy Art Is Murder claim “fully suck.”
While there is certainly nothing wrong with having an opinion or sharing it, the members of Thy Art Is Murder are not doing themselves any favors by conveying their thoughts and feelings in this way. The band comes across as bullies at best, and at worst they appear to be cocky assholes who believe the best way to raise awareness for what they are doing is by stepping on bands who have shared time with them on the road. Nothing could be farther from the truth however, as it is the bonds built through working in music that ultimately propel artists and professionals forward. The music community is surprisingly small, and everyone knows someone who knows everyone else. When you talk poorly or act out of line towards someone or some group, there are repercussions down the line the offender may have never thought possible. Maybe the person who books Within The Ruins also heads up a major festival that now will never work with Thy Art Is Murder, or perhaps they rep a band that would have otherwise served as a perfect tour pairing. Now the possibility of that happening is gone, and for what? A few clicks?
If I had a say in the happenings of Thy Art Is Murder I would urge them to consider finding a new publicist, as the person who encouraged them to create this feature obviously did not have their best interest in mind. The popularity of their rant against other bands will fade within a day, but the damage done from trashing their peers may linger for the rest of their career. The situation could be made better with an apology, but given the brash way the band described those they consider ‘the worst’ I doubt we will be hearing anything akin to “sorry” from them in the near future.
Let this be a lesson to all artists: Tearing one another down is never going to help you get ahead. You might grab a few fleeting bits of attention, but the longterm impact of publicized negativity is rarely good for business. As your mother always said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say a word.”
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
Hello and welcome to the ninth installment of our Journalism Tips series. We started this column as a way to help aspiring writers get their start in music, but over the last month we have been evolving into a place writers come to have their questions about life in the business answered. Today we are continuing that effort with a response to a question posed by one reader in regards to how writers handle the hate that comes their way online.
If you have any questions about developing as a writer/blogger in music, please do not hesitate email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
This may come as a shock to some of the younger writers reading this, but not everyone who reads your reviews will agree with, or even be able to appreciate, what you write. It’s not talked about all that often and it’s never taken to the kind of extremes that warrant news attention, but every writer that has developed a voice worth reading online has and will most likely continue to encounters people who disagree with their opinions on everything. It gets tough and, if we’re being completely honest, can drive even the most talented writers to ask themselves why they didn’t dedicate the last several years chasing after a different career, but it’s of the utmost importance you do not let such messaging break you.
The hard truth is that there is nothing you can do to prevent people from telling you that your work sucks. You are entitled to the opinion you have on the art you critique and the anonymous voices of the internet have a right to the opinion they have about your opinion on that piece of art. They also have a right to express that opinion, and there will be some who choose to exercise that right. The best thing you can do is learn to come to terms with the fact you will never make everyone happy and try your hardest to resist letting any amount of hate detract you from sharing your thoughts with the world. That is far easier said than done, of course, but that is the kind of mindset you are going to need if you want to make it in the writing world today.
There are no guides on how to handle the internet’s disdain for your work, but we can offer a few pointers:
Don’t be afraid to read the hate. You may learn to see things in a whole new light.
There will always be people who choose to express their disagreement with your opinion by telling you to kill yourself, but that is not the case with everyone. Some people simply see or hear things you may not, and reading their explanation for disagreeing with you may help you find a new reason to appreciate a certain artistic creation. Maybe you missed the string quartet on the closing track, or perhaps you overlooked a few subtle connections in the storyline of that recent indie film others were raving about. You might have a lot of good points to make, but you certainly do not have all of them. Others have insight to offer as well, and taking the time to listen/read and consider their thoughts will not only aide you in better understanding certain things, but it will also help you further develop a relationship with your readers.
Try to resist the urge to engage the nonsense.
Remember how I said there will always be people who wish you would kill yourself or otherwise have your life take a turn for the worse because you did not enjoy something they like quite a bit? You may want to engage them and go off with your own delicately-designed string of obscenities, but it’s important to realize from the start that you cannot win a war with the internet. Those haters are looking to get a rise out of you, and feeding their desire for attention will only result in worse words being swapped between people who otherwise would never interact with one another. It’s pointless. Move on.
Remember: It’s only the internet, and there a 99.98% chance the anonymous haters of the internet will never engage you in real life.
Every writer I know has been told over the internet, in one string of obscenities or another, that they are worthless human beings with poor opinions on pop culture who should either get cancer or kill themselves because they’re too stupid to do anything else on this Earth. You know how many of them have been told that in a real life setting while standing or sitting next to another actual person? None. It doesn’t happen. The @nickelback4ever and @musicsnob2006-s of the internet are not going to leap from your laptop or smartphone and grab you by the collar. It’s just text on screen, and it can only do as much damage to your spirit as you allow it.
When the going gets tough and you just do not think you can take anymore hate, do us all a favor and put down the glowing screen you have dedicated your life to and step outside. Close your eyes, take a deep breath or three, and remind yourself there is a lot more to this life than the opinions of other people. Be yourself, and be confident in your thoughts and opinions. Don’t let anyone take away what makes you unique.
