Dear Fans

Dear "fans" of every band on the planet,

Social media has distorted the way you see the Signed/Touring Musician...and I am sorry for that.

Many will argue to the contrary, but I have never backed down from a well deserved debate and I ask those with valid points free from emotions and opinions to inject their side. I am a woman of my word and stand ready to be corrected.

Back in the 1980's, when I became a fan of music, I remember the excitement I had when I saved up enough of my babysitting money to travel to town and pick up the most recent issue of Metal Edge and Circus magazine.

Back then, that was all we had to connect with our favorite musicians. It's because of this, there was a respect/mystery about them that made their music that much better. I would sit in my bedroom and listen to lyrics trying to find their meaning. I read each cassette jacket from front to back learning each song (accurately),enjoyed the credits and familiarized myself with the engineers, producers and mixers. I sought out other projects if I liked what I heard.
Back then there weren't computers. You had to learn your instrument and train your voice...and it was good...so good.

Fast forward almost 30 years.
We have become the information society. Some of it is incredible and positively life enriching, some of it borders on criminal, some of it is downright dangerous.
At any given moment a message can be sent to any artist and some believe their questions should be answered immediately. This ensues the issue... Easy access to musicians and their families without respect.

Now, please don't think I don't appreciate the fans of my husbands band. I have developed some amazing friendships with some who make sure to send me photographs and videos of my husbands shows, some of them have my personal phone number and we chat now and then. These fans are NOT the problem...in fact they are what keeps an injured music industry rolling. I am thankful for them. They buy the albums, they go to the shows, they buy the merchandise and some of them go all out and start independent fan sites, street teams and bring the tour bus supplies. You guys are appreciated on a level that I cannot express in words. Thank you.

The people I want to address are those that I know have "traded" MP3's, who blow up my inbox with very personal questions and are the first to make assumptions and spread rumors when they don't have a direct association with anyone in the band. There is a reason for a funneling of information. Learn to respect it.

I understand the mentality all too well, and I have to say that I am disappointed in the machine that is being built.

The moment this became clear to me was two years ago while I was recovering from cancer.
I had to take on a job I hated in order to keep our lights on in our house. The individual I was working for pulled out a HUGE external hard drive with 1 terabyte of illegally downloaded music. I felt my face get red.

I asked him calmly, "Where did you get this?"

His response was from a friend who got it from a friend who got it from a friend who was a IT person with the Air Force who had been trading and ripping music for years. I plugged it in to see every album my husband wrote and every other band I personally knew. I wanted to throw up. At best guess there were over 100,000 songs on that external hard drive. So what I was looking at was 4 people that had in their possession over $100,000 of illegal music EACH. Almost half a million in potential sales LOST!

After throwing up in anger and realizing my husbands last royalty check was only $210.00 for the quarter (3 months worth) I understood what this society is all about.
Instant gratification, entitlement, and popularity.

In 5 minutes I learned that this hard drive was copied 4 times...but how many times was it copied before then and after that? How did one IT guy think it was acceptable to share stolen music with so many people? You work for the military, shame on you, I know who you are...and you should be scared.

First and foremost, I am not at liberty to discuss the business that my husband built. I am not a source of gossip to allow yourselves some sort of leverage in a conversation of "Who is the coolest for knowing someone famous". And most importantly, I am not your source to forward your demo to the producers I know. So stop it.

I guarantee you that if you were allowed a magical window to peer into our lives for the past 13 years and saw what the music industry truly is...you would have run away screaming for your life. The reality is, the dream you thought the signed musician lives, died about 15 years ago...and no one is brave enough to dispose of it. It's just being sprayed daily with Febreeze and painted ridiculously to cover the rot. And shame on Labels, Management and Agents for playing their part in the facadacy.

I ask that parents have real conversations with their children and tell them NO. Kids these days think they deserve everything...FOR FREE and find every excuse when any kind of blame is placed upon them.

I actually caught my friends 12 year old sharing music!! When confronted, he replied to me, "Everyone else does it!"
If it was my kid, he would have gotten a smack across the face and his phone smashed.

I see the sea of loyal fans dying off and one by one being replaced by zombie robot kids with zero accountability and tired parents who don't have time to discipline. Its a sad world.

So parents, how about you slow down the pace of your life that you struggle in order to buy your kids the new "cool" thing on TV and stop rewarding their whining by giving them over-priced tickets to Justin Bieber/Lady Gaga/LMFAO/Taylor Swift concerts.

It's YOUR damned money...not theirs.

Now, before I get crucified for calling out the previously listed musicians, let me make it crystal clear. All of these artists have their following, I respect that and understand that not everyone is going to enjoy the sounds of Karnivool, Eye Empire and Lamb of God like we do in this family. What I am expressing is that over the past 6 years I have heard from fans that they can't afford to go to rock concerts any more due to their spending 300+ dollars to send their ungrateful kids to see their teenie bopper concerts. 

It has been a long debated topic that has been discussed on every tour bus I've sat on. "Rock Music is dying because parents spend their money on their kids' concerts and have surrendered their abilities to attend their own"

So word of advice to all parents and middle aged folks like myself:

Do yourself a favor and go get yourself tickets to Anthrax this spring and tell your kids to start mowing lawns and walking dogs if they want things...LIKE OUR PARENTS MADE US DO!

Respect the channel of social media and allow musicians, athletes, and celebrities their down time.

Delete the music you stole and go buy it like we had to back in the 80's and 90's.

If you "can't afford it" maybe you need to see where your money is going and realize that the musicians you stole it from don't have money either.

There is a respect that needs to be reinstated back into music. Some are already doing it...we are just waiting for the rest of you to get on board.

Do the right thing. Respect it before it's gone forever.

Sincerely With Much Love, Respect, and Support,

Jillian Rock