Music lovers struggle with fandom in the wake of abuse allegations against Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Ryan Adams and others
The music industry now faces its #MeToo reckoning in the wake of the scandals uncovered in Hollywood with fans caught in the middle.
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WHEN Michael Jackson died of a drug overdose in 2009, his finances were a mess.
His death provoked a massive $1 billion turnaround over a decade as fans converted their grief into streams, album sales and movie tickets.
In the celebration of the self-anointed King of Pop’s musical legacy, the dark clouds of the child abuse allegations which had loomed over Jackson since the early 1990s were cast aside.
But as the music industry now faces its reckoning in the wake of the Hollywood-led #MeToo movement, Jackson’s estate may take another hit the Leaving Neverland documentary sweeps the globe.
Many fans and critics who have seen the Leaving Neverland documentary, which centres on the alleged abuse suffered by Wade Robson and James Safechuck, have put Jackson’s music in the bin forever.
The entertainer’s estate and family have refuted the horrific claims of the two men, now in their 30s, and have launched legal action against HBO claiming the network has violated a “non-disparagement agreement” it signed back in 1992.
How the doco affects the Jackson fandom would be of great concern to those in charge of administering the estate — and the music industry at large — as music fans are forced to grapple with the dilemma of continuing to enjoy the music of an artist accused or convicted of sexual abuse, misconduct or manipulation.
While the careers of Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and other Hollywood heavyweights have been forever tarnished and perhaps permanently put on ice, music artists and executives appear to be landing in a widening grey area with fans and the wider entertainment industry.
Those behind the #MuteRKelly campaign that demanded the industry, police and the R & B singer’s fans hold him accountable for decades of alleged sexual assaults, grooming of teenage girls and kidnapping, experienced only a small victory when he was arrested by Chicago police last week on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
The arrest was partly provoked by the six-part documentary series Surviving R. Kelly which also prompted his record label Sony to finally drop the singer from their roster.
But some fans clearly didn’t care one of their favourite artists was being accused of systemic abuse against young girls and women.
On-demand audio streams for R. Kelly’s music jumped 76 per cent increase and video streams 85 per cent after the first instalment of the damning doco aired in the US.
Jada Pinkett-Smith expressed the bewilderment of many for the sales spike — which ultimately makes coin for Kelly — when she took to Instagram to ask why.
“How is it that R Kelly’s music sales have spiked (substantially) since the release of the docuseries Surviving R Kelly? I need some help in understanding. What am I missing???”
“I really don’t want to believe that it’s because black girls don’t matter enough.”
The Noisey website tried to find out why fans would head to Spotify or YouTube after the series to play Kelly’s songs.
It seemed most were prompted by the doco to search for their own answers in his lyrics, and what they found made some vow not to actively play his music again.
“His music glorifies a predation of young women. Now that I know the specifics of the allegations (which he denies), I can’t listen to the music. I can’t make choices for others, but I would hope they follow the same line of logic,” Sara Repanich, 27 told Noisey.
But others said they remained fans even after watching the doco and his subsequent arrest.
“People are gonna be listening to those records forever. The attention paid to his music isn’t going anywhere,” J Stephens told the site.
Ryan Adams fans are also wrestling with the same grey area since the New York Times published the stories of several women in music, including his ex-wife Mandy Moore, which claimed he was emotionally abusive and sexually manipulative. Police are now investigating one of the claims he had sexually explicit communications with an under age fan.
His new record Big Colors was shelved, resulting in many online and physical record stores having to refund fans who had pre-ordered the album.
And many ticketholders for his shows in the UK and Ireland in April who are uncomfortable remaining a fan of the American alt-rock artist are now furious they cannot get refunds.
If Adams doesn’t cancel the tour — and he would probably be wise to do so because some of those angry fans will turn up to voice their disapproval — no one is entitled to a refund. And with plenty of seats left, they are also unlikely to be able to resell their tickets.
For respected Melbourne DJ Alicia Moreau, the Adams allegations prompted her to examine where she draws the line between playing artists who have been accused of or convicted of abuse.
She admitted to a hard and fast No on R. Kelly tracks including the wildly popular dancefloor hit Ignition (Remix) or Chris Brown’s repertoire.
But with heritage artists like Jackson, ahead of watching the Leaving Neverland documentary next week, she admits it is “not black and white”.
After a social media post regarding this dilemma, she formed some interim guidelines for herself to consider when making the decision to play an artist during her gigs.
“For me personally, I feel comfortable with considering whether the artist had died and not receiving money, whether a (living) artist has really made amends and not just expressed remorse but shown it with actions,” she said.
“And you have to consider the victim’s point of view.”
For programmers at radio, television and streaming services, the question of to play or not play is also proving a tough one to navigate.
Foxtel’s Entertainment & Music channels group general manager Fraser Stark said Chris Brown, who was convicted of assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009 and currently faces allegations of rape in France, is banned from their countdowns on Channel V.
But the channel faces a grey area when it comes to broadcasting countdowns or playlists generated by third party partners such as Spotify and Shazam which may include his songs.
“This is hotly debated issue among us and there are passionate views on both sides,” Stark said.
“There’s probably something to be said about whether there has been a conviction or not and in the case of Michael Jackson, there are a lot of civil actions but he remains on our and other platforms.
“I think it is useful to put yourself in the position of the consumer. If the reputation of that person in the public realm is a distasteful one, then the presence of that person in the broadcasting context will be displeasing and should be questioned.
“There’s something about the heat of this conversation that is hotter around contemporary artists rather than retrospective ones because we put people down in the epoch from which they come and views that prevailed at those times, for better or worse, aren’t the same now.”
Leaving Neverland airs on Ten on Friday.
Originally published as Music lovers struggle with fandom in the wake of abuse allegations against Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Ryan Adams and others
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