Losing the connection

Amanda Palmer learned to connect with her audience, something many musicians never learned to do. She knows what it is to be a real artist; she sleeps on her fans couches and lives without a lot of money. She realizes that people will help when they are asked, not forced to do so. Record labels do not realize the impact music has on people is worth more than the album sales, but Amanda Palmer does. By living off of her fans’ couches she is able to make a direct connection with them, as they already have with her through her music. She becomes a real person to them, which makes them all the more willing to help when she asks for something. Amanda and her band expect an equal trade, something that used to be practiced but has long been forgotten because of greed. She and her band give their music away for free, and in return expect help. Their audience is willing to help because they can see the band and lead singer as real people that actually need help. The art of asking is something nobody really knows how to do. We have grown up in a very independent country and feel vulnerable when we ask for things. Past societies knew how to ask because they were often a part of equal trade. If America could learn the art of asking, we might not be in such an awful state. But America is too afraid to be seen as weak or vulnerable and it does not make direct connections with its citizens anymore. We are going downhill because we are more concerned about status rather then the wellbeing of our own people. If we could all learn to ask, we would be way better off in the long run.