this post was submitted on 31 May 2024
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To be fair the right boycott things for being inclusive. I like to boycott things for being divisive or shitting on the little guy.
Does it matter? To the companies and people I boycott, probably not. But I know I’m not giving my money to people I don’t agree with.
I guess my point is, in what way is Foo Fighters playing for Amazon divisive?
Amazon was going to pay someone to perform at that show & that performer, regardless of whether it was FF, was not going to convince Amazon to give that money to employees that deserved it.
So what exactly did the Foo Fighters do to earn this level ire? You’d rather Amazon gave that money to another performer?
If everyone really feels that strongly about FF taking this gig, then start a campaign telling FF how you think the money should be spent.
I’d certainly consider that a better use of everyone’s anger.
Divisive. Just look at these comments.
The argument if it’s not them it’ll be someone else is pretty weak.
I may as well rob my neighbours house, if it isn’t me it might be someone else aye?
Yeah I’d rather they give it someone else if it goes against FF morals. I certainly would have turned it down if I were them.
Look, congratulations on being able to turn down a paycheck from Amazon. I myself would absolutely take that paycheck from Amazon.
But I digress… So, back to the topic at hand.
In what way is any of this FF’s fault? What have FF done to divide anyone? Perform?
Amazon wanted a concert. Amazon got a concert. Amazon was going to get a concert, regardless of who performed.
Your argument is that FF are fault because… because why? They should’ve turned it down?
Who should have performed for Amazon then?
If that argument is so weak, you go right on ahead and tell me who the ethical choice would be for an Amazon concert? Dua Lipa? Green Day? Chris Brown?
You know what? Your right. Every single established musical act should have displayed the mental fortitude & character to turn down Amazon’s money.
The key word there is SHOULD, but should isn’t always realistic.
Be mad at Amazon. I’m with you on that. But blaming a band because you don’t like person who signs their check is pretty self defeating in my opinion.
The Foo Fighters don’t owe any of us shit & our opinions on their income streams are irrelevant.
Thank you. I really do turn down money for what I believe in and I’m not rich, I just think there is more to life than money. As a software developer I could earn a lot more by working for say a gambling company, but I wouldn’t do that as I find the industry particularly morally bankrupt.
You’re conflating what they have done wrong with what I finding morally acceptable. FF can do whatever the fuck they want and be fine, but they can’t do whatever the fuck they want and still receive my money or attention.
It’s not that deep. FF don’t even know I exist, and they’ll continue to be rich and successful. Just without me compromising my beliefs.
I don’t know if the devil performs these days but I think he would be quite fitting. Perhaps if Hitler was alive he could paint them some pictures.
I’m not trying to dictate who performs for the Amazon execs, just that whoever it is isn’t getting my money.
You know who does get my money, based on their moral fortitude and beliefs. Someone like Macklemore. I will support people whose beliefs align with mine.
I really don’t know how I can be any clearer than that and I find it staggering that I have to defend myself in here, but you are fine with FF performing for execs from one of the most parasitic companies in the planet. If FF and Amazon can do what they want without recourse then so can I no?
Let me ask you this. Do you just not care if you contribute to the worst aspects of society? Would you ever not give a company your money if it’s something you want?
I forgo a lot of purchases as I can only find them on Amazon. I’ll pay more to buy things elsewhere. I don’t support McD, I try to avoid nestle as much as humanly possible. I left Facebook over a decade ago when they did nothing about rampant misinformation. I don’t support Weatherspoons in the UK over how they treated staff during Covid. I wouldn’t bank with Barclays as they invest in Israel etc.
You’re standing a moral trapdoor. If you’re going to blame Foo Fighters for taking Amazon’s money, you’re going to have hold morality against every other artist on Amazon Music. Every artist selling physical media on Amazon. Every artist participating in any Amazon sponsored summer music events. Every last one of them.
Provided you manage to do that, rid your musical world of every artist attached to Amazon, go for Ticketmaster next.
Then go for the ones who allow Budweiser, Miller Lite, or Deathwater to be sold at their venues. All of them are produced by corporate behemoths killing this planet.
Moving forward from there, we could start breaking out all the shitty record labels you should have issues with, before going onto any band that has performed with an instrument made from a questionable source of wood (ahem…).
If this what you’re willing to burn your fandom over, I feel sorry for you. I hated that Pearl Jam caved to Ticketmaster, but it didn’t change my opinion of their music.
It’s the music that speaks to you. You’re the one allowing some odious sense of morality about corporate contact take it away from you.
What in the hell is rock & roll about that?
And for the record, I don’t even like the fucking Foo Fighters. They sold out long ago.
I give money to musicians who make music that speaks to me & I'm for sure as shit not going to let a corporation get in the way of that.
If Jeff Bezos wanted to give Widespread Panic $50k for a show, I’d support it. Why? Because John Bell directly supports Hannah’s Buddies, Dave Schools & Jerry Joseph have supported an organization bringing guitars and lessons into war torn communities in the Middle East, because JoJo supports musicianship rebounding from Katrina, especially in communities of color.
If Jeff Bezos wants to give a band I like a metric shitton of money, I feel relatively at ease in assuming they’ll do something better with that money for society than Bezos ever will.
But go on you. You keep fighting that good fight… hope you can still a find a band that isn’t tainted.
So you’re saying if you can’t completely remove yourself from society then what’s the point taking a stand on anything?
Like if we can’t stop all murder what’s the point in prosecuting any murders.
I never said anything about not listening to any bodies music. I said I want give them my attention on platforms that do reward them with money. I won’t buy merch etc.
I’ll give my money and time to things that I actually care about. Like taking direct action against companies killing Palestinians.
I didn’t say that at all, but what stand are you taking? Because right now?
Right now, the only thing you’re mad at is that your band took a pay day from someone you don’t like. Now you have an easy target & easy answer to your disappointment: boycott.
But boycotting the Foo Fighters ain’t gonna do shit & you fuckin know it. It’s an easy & that’s all you needed to start typin’ away.
The Foo Fighters aren’t the problem, Amazon is. The Foo Fighters didn’t support Amazon, quite opposite. The Foo Fighters didn’t do shady shit to receive the money they were paid, Amazon did.
That money was leaving Amazon for musician or band. Full stop.
You’ve decided since it was your band, BBOO MY BAND.
But your band can do a whole hell of a lot of better with that money than Amazon can.
Arguably, the band you like would do better things with that money than other bands or musicians who might have received that money, if your band had declined.
In my mind that is a net positive out an inevitability shitty situation.
It’s not the best positive, neither your actions nor the Foo Fighters’ can give you the result want here.
So you have a decision:
You claim it’s because you can’t support a band that takes money from Amazon, but you willfully ignore that bands really don’t have the ability to avoid Amazon any more, at least not if they want to reach their fans where they are.
And given that you haven’t even begun to speculate what the Foo Fighters might use that money for, give this some consideration…
A little over two years ago, the band lost Taylor on the heels of the pandemic, mid-tour.
Now, I don’t know a ton about the Foo Fighters financial situation, but I’d guess that the loss of their drummer after a global pandemic had an impact on the band’s debt to cash ratio. I’d also wager that death makes the touring insurance conversation a bit different this round & could present some other logistical challenges getting another tour off the ground.
Maybe they’re trying to cover some of that debt so they don’t have to pass it along to their fans. Maybe they’re going to help Taylor’s family with some of it.
Fact of the matter of is, you and everyone else on this thread has jumped on the hate wagon without even considering what that money might be used for. It’s reactionary bullshit & it’s sad.
You think you’ve found a cause, but you’ve only heard half of a story & you’re willing to let Jeff Bezos take the Foo Fighters away from you over it. You’re too impatient and angry enough to let the dust settle & the whole story unfold.
So again, go on you. Fight that good fight.
You don’t know me and you don’t know how many companies I boycott on moral grounds.
You don’t know what direct action I take against companies I don’t agree with, nor the activism I do IRL to further causes I support.
This is one thing in a large and growing list of causes.
I’ll end the conversation here as there is nothing more to be gained.
I do hope you have a great weekend though.
There’s that self righteous indignation. Quit on something you care about because it touched something dirty… brilliant outlook.
End the conversation friend & have a good show. That’s if you can find one that’s not tainted.
You sure have shown the world your merit by turning your back on the Foo Fighters because, well, Amazon.
Those evil evil Foo Fighters destroying your planet with all that Amazon money…
You stand for your own sense of self morality & nothing else. Some fucking fan you turned out to be.
Dave is this you?
Dave? No, just someone who’s willing to give a band I like the benefit of the doubt over penis shaped billionaire.
Good luck changing the world by turning your back on the things that make you happy!
Thanks dude.
I appreciate you being supportive of me choosing to spend my time and money as I please, something I support of you too.
FYI - I am very happy, I spent the day with family today, put a deposit on a new tattoo and treated myself to a lovely Seiko. I’m now listening to some Chopin and waiting for food.
Excellent bro. I went for a hike on National Trails day & have avoided issuing judgements before hearing the whole story!
Oh, and I’m listening to North Fork Two-Step by Slang.
Oh oh! Wasn’t Chopin largely believed to be an antisemite? You gonna walk away from those tunes too?
Nice. I’d love to get down to some National Trails.
Huh… interesting revelation about Chopin, I was aware Wagner was pretty anti-Semitic.
As for not listening to Chopin, I think I can be pretty sure that he isn’t making any money from me listening to him, the same as listening I my FF CDs. I thought I had been pretty clear on that for this entire thread that I would not be rewarding them with money or time on services that give them money.
You did make that clear. But you haven’t stated why, other than Amazon Money = Bad.
There aren’t enough good musicians getting paid what they should be on this planet. And most of the ones who are making shit tons of money in music, don’t deserve it.
You, at one point in time, thought the Foo Fighters deserved to be making big money in the music industry, otherwise you wouldn’t have listened to them.
So now that the Foo Fighters have made it big enough that Billionaires want private concerts from them, your response is to abandon them.
You still have no idea whether they needed the money or plan to do something positive with it, you just know they took it from Amazon and you don’t like it.
That’s some fair weather fandom right there.
The Foo Fighters have enough money that there kids kids won’t have to work again.
The why is because I don’t support Amazon and in turn people that do support Amazon.
I don’t agree that too many artists are making money that don’t deserve it. If people are buying there music, whether I think their music is vapid or not doesn’t matter. If you are a pop star and have millions of fans then they’ve earned it imo.
As a software developer I could earn double my current wage working for a gambling company, but I don’t support that and so I think any artist I support should have the same kind of morals.
You keep saying that about gambling, like it equates to the Foo Fighters taking money from Amazon, but it doesn’t.
The foo fighters didn’t accept a sponsorship from Amazon, you’re not going to see smile logos on their instruments or expect their road crew to wear those blue uniforms.
They took a high paying gig.
Furthermore, until you can produce a balance sheet, your statement about the Foo Fighters wealth is conjecture.
You do not know where that band stands financially after losing a founding member’s death & on the heels of a pandemic.
You don’t know how much money the band lost having to cancel their tour after Taylor passed. You have no idea whether their insurance premiums went up.
There are whole slew of logistical factors that could’ve made it an easier decision on the band to take the gig, but you won’t consider any other possibility, will you? You’ve jumped right to the conclusion that your heroes turned greedy & took some money you don’t like, & you’re certain enough of that stance that after one article, you’re willing to abandon them.
The majority of all musicians operate at deficit & are not rolling around in the black. Where’s your proof the Foo Fighters are?
I don’t know either, but I at least have the presence of mind not to publicly shit on them until more information comes out.
Furthermore Furthermore, name a band who you follow that is not touched by Amazon? A band that’s not on Amazon Music, that has no physical media or merch for sale via Amazon. A band that doesn’t perform at any Amazon sponsored venues or Amazon sponsored concert series.
And if you’re not willing to do that, just tell me who should have received that money, if not the Foo Fighters?
You want to take a stand, fine, but don’t pretend your little personal boycott is anything other than a self serving pat on the back.
Where’s the line for you then?
Would you support the Foo Fighters playing a concert at anti LGBTQ+ rallies?
Would you support the Foo Fighters playing a concert Neo-Nazis?
Would you support the Foo Fighters playing a concert for the IDF?
Where you’re being irresponsible is not giving them the benefit of the doubt, or even a moment’s patience, when it comes to why they took a private gig with Amazon.
And again with the neo-nazi shit? Amazon, as awful as it fucking is, is still a decent part of the Music industry’s delivery system…
Hmmm I wonder if the Foo Fighters could phase out a relationship with Amazon as a distributor, now that they have millions of Amazon’s dollars?
If the band was willing to turn around do something good with that money, like help Palestinian refugees, yes, probably? I mean what a better fuck you to the IDF than helping Palestine with Israeli money?
Fact again… you don’t know what the band plans on doing with the Amazon money. What if they announce on Monday they plan to use the Amazon money to support unionization in Amazon facilities?
Likelihood they will is low, I know. But your response to all this isn’t to even hope something positive comes of it, it’s just to bitch how awful this is… while not yet knowing what this actually is.
So again, name a band untouched by Amazon. Or hell, name a band you love that is new, playing small venues & hoping to hop on a summer tour.
Now, kill their drummer & force them to end the remainder of their Spring tour early. After dates had been booked & sold.
Come Fall, when that band has to pay their rent… would you turn on them for taking Amazon money?
Your standard is that the Foo Fighters are wealthy enough to not need Bezos Bucks. But again, you don’t know what the band’s actual operating budget is.
And if they do happen to be operating at a deficit, which they likely are given their recent circumstances…
The band members themselves should give up their personal wealth, rather than take a paycheck from Amazon.
Would you pay your employer to keep its doors open, rather take Amazon money?
So somehow if it’s a private performance it’s suddenly morally permissible? I don’t follow.
Didn’t say it was morally permissible. Just said it’s more nuanced than the current response of social shaming & individual boycotts.
Again, I’ll point that I’m not the one drawing lines in the sand here.
It is perfectly reasonable for you to be disgusted by this information. It’s also perfectly reasonable if you to acknowledge that this is not all of the information & that maybe going scorched earth is a bit hasty at this point.
I’m not saying the Foo Fighters aren’t dicks. If they line their pockets with this money & don’t do anything of value with it, then yeah, fuck em.
But I will remind you that this is the same band that waggled their dongs around in front of the Westboro Baptist Church.
I don’t even like this band & I’m willing to give ‘em a few minutes because of that moment alone.
Why do you care if an individual boycotts something they don’t want to support? What impact does that have on you?
You also made the distinction of private vs public performance so now I’m more confused. You said because it’s private it doesn’t matter but it also doesn’t make it morally permissible?
I give up talking to that person, as you say they seem to take issue with me boycotting something which matters nothing to them.
At this point I feel they’re just in it to be argumentative.
You’ve made your private boycott public here in this thread, and so has everyone else. Problem is, none of you can articulate why you think the Foo Fighters deserve this. At least not thoroughly.
That tells me one of two things. You’re either just angry and unwilling to think this situation through, so you’ve jumped on the hate wagon with ½ a story & every intention of bringing other people with you.
Either that, or you’re in this thread pushing an agenda & trying to whip up a misguided fervor for reasons that don’t involve the Foo Fighters.
Either way, I see this as you publicly lambasting another public entity & you can’t or won’t explain why. That just reeks of mob mentality.
Also, don’t be obtuse. You know full & well what I mean about a private performance versus a public performance.
Musicians perform publicly, with tickets on sale, and you know… the public is present.
Musicians also perform privately, for a single payer, with no public tickets available.
Are you really going to fault the Foo Fighters because they did a private show? Why do YOU care?
You don’t get a say in how that band makes its money. And if they aren’t doing awful shit with that money, then I don’t really think you have a leg to stand on here.
They didn’t cancel a public show to do this performance. They didn’t turn down a charity event to my knowledge.
No, they took a private a gig & the only thing you know is that you don’t like who the gig was for. Not why they took it, no, you’re too selfish to wait for that info… you’re just pissed that they took it & that makes you mad enough to spout off.
But you’re just spitting sparks because you really don’t care about the nuance of this situation or the band you claimed to be a fan of. You’re fair weather bandwagon rider & you just like saying angry shit on the internet.
You are simply pissed that the money came from Amazon. You can’t offer up a reasoning as to why the Foo Fighters don’t deserve that money, you can’t offer up a thought on who does deserve that money, & you refuse to acknowledge that the money used to belong to Amazon, while now it belongs to someone better. You just picked the one part you didn’t like & told yourself your job was done here.
I can articulate it you just aren’t interested in hearing it. You’re outraged at people’s outrage and are shouting us down saying we aren’t allowed to think or feel what we think and feel.
This is a public forum. We are discussing this topic because it’s relevant. What we express or don’t express isn’t threatening to you. It’s just discussion and opinion sharing. Nothing happening here impacts you. If you hate it, leave the thread man.
I mean look at these walls of text you’re dropping over an artist you yourself said you don’t even care about. This is kind of ridiculous.
Anyway I’m done. This has gone on far too long.
Not interested in hearing it? It’s all I’ve been asking for, that clarification.
You won’t clarify, but you’re the one who’s outraged. AMAZON BAD!!! Remember?
Go ahead, lay out a logical reason that explains why you would make such a drastic decision when you don’t have all the information.
YOH DON’T HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION. FULL STOP.
IF YOU CAN MAKE AN EDUCATED DECISION ON BOYCOTTING & ABANDONING YOUR BAND, WITHOUT ALL OF THE INFORMATION…
The please, by all means, poop out that magic answer. Share that magic shit with all of us.
Until you can, you’re being irresponsible.
And by the walls of text are because I’m sick of this shit. This blind outrage just clamoring for attention. It’s the same bullshit the right pulls.
YOU’RE PARTICIPATING IN CANCEL CULTURE WITHOUT REASON. YOU ARE THE PROBLEM.
Ahhhh this all makes sense now. You are on a crusade about cancel culture. You want to cancel cancel culture and this is just a proxy battle where you have avoided for several comments actually stating your purpose, but now you are so angry that you can’t resist blurting it out. We could’ve saved a lot of time here but that’s fine. I’m guessing the opacity was on purpose.
This was informative, I’m actually done now. Maybe lay off the CAPSLOCK next time. Later dude.
👍
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