Spotlight: Can You Disassociate An Artist From The Opinions They Express?

I’m not trying to cause controversy or start an argument with this article, I’m genuinely interested in how people feel about this.

It’s been a question growing in my mind for some time now with our world seemingly becoming increasingly polarised and people heading towards taking even more extreme positions with compromise and willingness to consider other viewpoints seemingly becoming increasingly scarce.

There are some obvious examples of where people have created music which has been groundbreaking, hugely successful or critically lauded then stating opinions or acting in ways that can be abhorrent to many of their fans.

So, can you still enjoy the music while not agreeing with the artist?

Take Michael Jackson for instance, he was one of the biggest artists of the 80’s while now having a reputation, due to alleged incidents and behaviours, that would mean many people would never have listened to him in the first place had they suspected who he may have been (and I’m aware much of it remains speculation and he was never convicted of anything), yet his music is still consumed, still listened to and still streamed.

Roger Waters is another case in point, some of his comments in the last few years may have resonated badly with many of Pink Floyds fans who may not share his admiration for certain world leaders, does that mean they can no longer enjoy Dark Side Of The Moon? I saw him play Amsterdam a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, but can I ignore what he says when listening to his music?

The reason I’m asking this now is because there have been artists I’ve championed and really enjoyed who have been making some increasingly strident comments on issues such as the Israeli/Palestinian comment or Trans rights which I’m struggling to be comfortable with, to the point some of them now have merchandise that can only be described at intolerant and incendiary. I’m increasingly asking myself can I keep enjoying their music when I have diametrically opposite views to the statements they are making? Can I enjoy a song knowing they are openly advocating violence against those with different views?

I therefore want to understand what others think about this, can you make music independent of who you are and what you are? Can I listen to you as an artist without taking into consideration views I’ve seen you express on Twitter or some other social media?

So, what’s everyone’s thoughts? I’m genuinely curious. Can we have an adult conversation about this without degenerating into conflict? Or has the world changed too much, are we heading towards only engaging with, and listening to those, who think what we think or are, at the very least, roughly aligned?

Words - Iain McClay