7 Successful Musicians On What Fame Means Now
BuzzFeed - Latest 2014-09-18
Summary:
Evidently, it’s about Instagram followers, but not JUST about Instagram followers.
Chris Ritter / BuzzFeed / ThinkStock
Music sales are hitting historic lows. So what does it mean, now, for a musician to become 'famous'? We talked to seven artists about how they measure and experience fame. Turns out social media is a pretty big deal, and that having a big personality is just as important as making great songs.
I have 20,000 followers on Instagram, but that ain't nothin' nowadays. [Ed.: Trainor now has almost 100,000 Instagram followers.] So I don't consider myself famous at all. But I mean, T-Pain called me? I was like, "You know who I am?" So that was a pretty big step up. I got to talk to John Legend too. That makes you feel a little cooler. And all this glam squad team stuff? These cars that pick you up and your name's on them? Definitely makes you feel like a baller.
I got a fan group now, called Megatrons. Me and my friends were struggling, thinking, like, "Should we call my fans Trainors, or Trainees?" I was like, "That sounds awful?" Then my friend looked at me and said, "Let's just do Megatrons." And I was like, "Yeah, badass." My mom hates it. You know, the other day, she said to me, "I can't keep up with all the famous people following you on Twitter."
The biggest [mark of success for a musician] is being able to sell out shows, to play venues and have people come to you to see you. Getting a song to top the charts. Maybe winning a Grammy.
For a 'famous' person, when they leave their personal space, people recognize them. They can't go anywhere by themselves. The way people treat you starts to change. People can become fake and less genuine. When you're a famous musician people are much more fanatical about you. They get really, really invested in you.
Paparazzi don't stalk me everywhere I go. For the most part, I feel like I can be relatively normal.