Just ignore the comments, they say.
This is easier said than done in an era where artists live on a knife edge due to the pressures of social media, where success breeds both adoration and aggression. The virtual applause can be deafening, but so can the vitriol and isolation.
Nowadays, it seems that true fans are outnumbered by bored agitators hell-bent on lowering their self-esteem. Music is a lifeline, but many are actively working to shorten it. When did demolition become the primary need of the masses on social media?
Electronic music producers now face ferocious beasts at every turn in a ruthless digital jungle where a chorus of Internet goblins constantly lurks, salivating for the opportunity to throw rotten tomatoes at them. Many young musicians are hesitant to share their talents online, where these cruel criticisms can destroy their artistic identity. Their words may seem like harmless scribbles, but they pierce vulnerable artists like poisoned arrows.
It's sad that the music industry's most promising artists fear unleashing their artistic voices because of anonymous provocateurs, avoiding permanent scars from subjective attacks on visions that are yet to materialize. By shielding their early efforts from the evil gaze of social media, prodigies with generational talents are allowing complete strangers to hinder their creative development.
Every photo, video, caption, or audio recording is a potential landmine in the age of content culture, but artists must walk the plank in the pursuit of professional growth. It's a demanding dichotomy that requires mental gymnastics of the kind that would make Simone Biles bite her chalk nails.
Imagine spending countless spirit-filled hours making a song that you believe is the best you've ever produced. The social media promotion playbook says you need to be (what scares you) “attractive” to set up DJ equipment, strobes, and other visual flourishes to create content before posting it online. A troll comments first, and since social media is a cesspool of blind conformity, the message becomes a provocative ban as users pile on to the trend and ridicule it en masse.
“Sometimes it seems like today's music doesn't matter as much to people as it used to,” says the electronic music producer. euphee. “There's not much we can do about it either.”
Some artists choose to create supportive communities online, while others channel hate into their art. The key? Recognizing self-confidence is not dictated by fleeting virtual validation and fickle feedback loops.
“I don't think anything can make me question my passion for producing and DJing. In my opinion, hate can't kill true passion,” says John Hauldren of Lightnessa burgeoning dance music trio that was recently named to EDM.com's Class of 2024. “The hate we receive has made me question the community we are a part of at times, but only temporarily… the negativity is always the loudest in the room and gets the most attention on certain apps, and once you “You realize that love outweighs hate 100 to 1, you remember what is most important to focus on.”
c/o 2+2 Management
In other parts of the network thorny thickets, Daniel Allen's social media serves as a master class in how to artfully combat hate. The emerging DJ and producer is currently experiencing a viral moment with the singer-songwriter. lirawith whom he released “I Just Need” in late 2023. The song is becoming a global dance hit, but its creators have not been immune to social media's relentless pace of rebuke and rejection.
Allan has seen his fair share of nasty comments. “It's rubbish that a shitty video like that showed up in my algorithm with the most generic house music ever acting like something revolutionary,” wrote one Instagram user. “Cool fake DJ moves,” another commented alongside a gaggle of clown emojis.
“If a comment comes in that I just can't ignore, most of the time I try to approach it kindly and explain my side,” Allan says. “Some people see my content as 'shameful,' but they have no idea what my background is or where I come from, let alone the context about the music industry in general and how important it is to keep showing up online. More times than No , this has really helped me clarify things and if not, that person must not be a fan of mine and that's fine with me. I want my fanbase to be an inclusive community where everyone can share ideas and be creative and communicate One with another”.
c/o Press
More often than not, the scourge of social media is even worse for women. Sexism directed at your competition is common on most platforms, exacerbating existing social prejudices. For example, women are verbally abused X every 30 seconds, according to the Database of sexist content on social networksa study published in 2023 by psychology researchers at the University of Arizona.
Emerging techno and house producer Azzeca He says he expected to receive online harassment when he began pursuing a career in electronic music, but that never changed his passion.
“We live in a strange world where people say horrible things online without regard to the person on the receiving end,” Azzecca explains. “I think you need to have a thick skin to pursue any kind of career that puts you in the public eye. Don't let anyone dim your light.”
“My only advice is the same advice my father gave me when I was a child: Hurt people hurt people,” she continues. “Don't take things you see online personally. Just be a decent person, work hard and be true to yourself.”
c/o Press
In case his name wasn't a telltale sign, Levity's approach is also rooted in benevolence. Empathy is at the core of the trio, Hauldren says, and they always try to turn animosity into constructive speech out of respect for any desperation hidden behind hateful comments.
“If someone is mean to you, being mean to you won't do anything for either of you,” he explains. “I think it's best to try to understand where they're coming from and be kind and respectful to that person in an effort to explain themselves and help them learn more about each other. There have been a couple of times where someone talks openly about their “No.” we like it, and that has made us both learn and understand each other better, and those people have become friends now. “Honestly, I wish things like that happened more often.”
When today's DJs discover that the algorithm has sent their posts to social media's poisonous underbelly, they must develop strategies to address the cruelty. It's impossible to completely disconnect from tormentors, so they devise daily routines to nourish their creative flow, such as prioritizing offline downtime with loved ones.
However, mental resilience is difficult to achieve when you are dealing with the limitations of your own adaptability.
“Many people don't realize that artists are just people, no different than anyone else, simply sharing what they create and receiving an overwhelming amount of hate can affect their mental health the same way it can affect anyone,” laments Hauldren. . “Social media has made it 100 times more toxic because it spreads so quickly and 90% of the things people say to you, they wouldn't say to your face in person.”
Allan believes it is important for artists to shed their protective armor and swallow the fear of exposing themselves on social media. Negativity isn't going anywhere, he says, so the best approach is to focus on the people with whom you forge supportive connections.
But therein lies the albatross that corrodes today's musicians. Posting on social media feels like walking a tightrope without a safety net for most young artists, and the fear of hateful comments keeps them frozen in place. It's even more disheartening considering that the hostility comes from the keyboards of the very provocateurs who must become ticket buyers and streamers to drive career growth.
“I feel like social media has always allowed for insecurity in artists, but at least it used to be somewhat manageable for shy and introverted people,” says Euphee, who has yet to post a picture of her face on social media. “With the new landscape of fast-paced, short-form content being prioritized more than ever, it's all high effort and low reward… while there's some truth to the idea that being yourself works, there are plenty of artists talented people who “know that they do not progress because what makes them themselves is not widely appreciated.”
These are just a handful of millions of artists navigating a passionate EDM community that was once a haven where warmth and dignity walked hand in hand, neon-polished fingers intertwined, but negativity increasingly rampant in line has infiltrated that tender sanctuary. Criticism from insensitive fans has always been par for the course for artists, but now it has gone too far and the consequences are wound.
The most effective plan is for artists to build on the greater good their songs provide, dismissing bitterness as temporary tumbleweeds that outweigh a fixed purpose. They should focus on those whom their gifts make happiest and form social islands of emboldening to resist the crushing waves of virtual hate.
“If you have 1,000 people who hate you, then you probably have 100,000 people who love you, which is what you should be focusing on,” Hauldren says. “Focus your attention on all the people you make happy with your music, not the few you annoy. There are seven billion people in this world, there are going be some who don't like you or what you are creating. So focus only on those who are happier because of you.”
thanks to our partners at edm.com
