The Art of Asking--Amanda Palmer

Typically the “business” of music entails purchasing music on the internet through itunes.  Amanda Palmer suggests a new business style; free music for everyone.  Well, her music is almost free.  She expects fans to donate to her band in return for good music.  To Amanda Palmer, music is all about relationships.  She loves the relationship she has with her fans and the relationship her fans have with her.  They bring her food to eat, she sleeps on their couches, and she even stripped naked and let her fans draw all over her body.  She first discovered her love of this personal relationship when she was a street “performer” after she graduated college.  She would paint herself white, dress up as a bride, and stand completely still waiting for people to give her money.  After she was graciously given the money she would give the on-looker a flower and prolonged eye contact in which she says she developed a relationship with the other person. 

            Amanda Palmer redefines the relationship between the artist and the fan.  Typically fans adore the artists for their looks, amazing talents, and their ability to produce good music.  The artist appreciates the fan for their support.  Amanda Palmer loves her fans and connects with them.  She makes sure after every concert that she has autographing sessions and takes pictures with the fans and hugs the fans.  She loves to crowd surf and “couch surf” with the fans.  Amanda Palmer gives credit to technology for this.  Twitter and social media have made it easier for her to truly connect with her fans.  She asks for help via twitter.  She asks for food, a place to sleep, a neti pot, and ultimately money using technology.

            Amanda Palmer and her band do not have a record company and their music is free.  They are able to do this through fan based funding.  Amanda’s platform is “don’t make people pay for music, let them.”  This is all based on the idea that the fans care and want to help, and clearly her fans do.  But will this work for the entire music industry.  I really don’t think it would.  I think artists would be taken advantage of by people who aren’t diehard fans of their music which is a majority of people.  I think that the fans have to be truly in love with that artist to help fund them.  Certainly many people are in love with Amanda Palmer, which is exactly what she stands for.  She wants to have this loving relationship with her fans.   But most people don’t follow just one artist faithfully.  I think you can look on anyone’s ipod these days and you will find a vast variety of artists.  Overall, this business model for music is idealistic at most and will only work for artists with fans that are “head over heels” in love.

            At the TED conference, Amanda Palmer demonstrated her ability to connect with the audience.  She was an engaging speaker.  She dressed casually, used humor, moved around the stage, and specifically addressed members in the audience.  In the beginning of her speech she talked about her days as the eight foot bride and told the story about giving away a flower in return for money.  At the end of her speech she flew a flower out into the audience sending the message that she connected with them just as she connected with the people who dropped money into her hat on the street.