I promised I wouldn't
write any more on this. But I'm going to because this really is
something I'm passionate about because I'm a music lover first and a
writer second.
On November 18th,
the clock ran out on the Kickstarter No More Touts campaign. Many saw
it as a failure. But, to many more, myself included, it wasn't the
end but the beginning. Just moments after the campaign ended, the Foo
Fighters came out with the name of their American tour: Beat The
Bots. Going back to the old school, they had people queue at venues
across the States to buy concert tickets. And it worked. Thousands
upon thousands of tickets were snapped up by fans in an attempt to
beat the computer programs that hoover up tickets.
Some people see music
as a privilege and a luxury, something that should be restricted to
those with money. It's one of the perceptions that symphony
orchestras, ballets, and other musical events that are considered
“high class” have been battling against for years. It may not be
written into any constitution or human rights act, but music is a
human right.
Why do I say that? Put
your hand on your chest. Feel that? That's your heart beating.
Music lives within all of us right from the moment we're conceived.
It's not a privilege, nor is it a luxury. It's something that you
live with right from the very first seconds of life. Music has the
ability to heal, something that the Chinese have understood for many
years. Their character for “Music” is incorporated into the one that means “Medicine”. The Chinese character for music also has a
second meaning: delight and happiness. Music is being used the world
over to help unlock the minds of dementia patients. Every human being
has a “balance note”, a harmonic that they respond to and that
helps to keep the body and mind healthy. When they feel happy, they
listen to a lot of music with this frequency (which may explain why
you listen to a song on repeat). When they feel sad, or ill, they'll
search through their music until they find that frequency to help
rebalance themselves. Many people, myself included, use music to help
us get through tough times. Again, many of us can trace passages in
our life through certain songs. Music is everywhere within ourselves
and nature. Even the universe sings to us.
Yet,
with all the evidence that's mounting, it's still believed that we
should pay vast amounts of money for what was originally a reasonably
priced concert ticket. Do I believe that music should be free? No, I
just believe that it should be accessible to as many people as
possible. The Foo Fighters have already done this with their latest
album by releasing it on to You Tube, Spotify, and other easily
accessible platforms. Even if someone couldn't afford the album
they'd still be able to listen and get involved.
And
bands are listening to fans voices and the No More Touts campaign. As
well as the Foo Fighters, Slipknot have also looked into their tickets being on secondary sites. This isn't the end of a hard fought
battle. It's just the beginning. And who knows what's going to be
around the corner? Who knows what's going to happen tomorrow? Maybe,
one day, music will be available on prescription just like books are.
Do you have blind faith on something amazing still waiting to happen?
Because I do. This is a battle that the fans and bands will win.
You can follow the campaign using the hashtag #nomoretouts.
Want to get involved? You can by signing the petition to get the government look at the secondary ticket market:
Keep in touch at:
Find the No More Touts master post here:
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