9 Comments
Jul 6, 2022Liked by Alexander Hellene

The first audience selections happens when you choose your subject matter— certain people just won't read certain things at this very moment in time. But a lesson for all new creators is J.K. Rowling: unless you select an audience that won't cancel you and your authorship over a product, said audience will do exactly that the moment you say or do something naughty by mob standards.

Choose at least an audience that won't hate you, the same way you shouldn't give money to creators who hate you. This is the minimum requirement someone must demand today— J.K. Rowling is the richest and most influential woman in the world, and she has the means to resist the mob. Small fishes, not so much, so it's better to be safe since the beginning of your creative career.

Expand full comment
author

"The first audience selections happen when you choose your subject matter." Excellent point. Genre or premise is the first big selector. That will attract a certain reader or listener or viewer. After that, you do have to do some marketing ("fishing," in my analogy) to find them. And appealing to an audience so ready to turn on you is a really, really, profoundly and fundamentally stupid thing to do.

Expand full comment
Oct 25, 2023Liked by Alexander Hellene

Audience selection was already a thing in the 80s Metal scene. It was all about whimps and posers. They either had to leave the hall or were the subjects of death threats.

Expand full comment
author

Isn’t that a Manowar song? “If you’re not into metal, then you are not my friend!”

Expand full comment
Oct 25, 2023Liked by Alexander Hellene

It is the same song that also requests the wimps and posers to leave the hall: Metal Warriors.

Expand full comment
author

Hah! My memory ISN’T that awful after all!

Expand full comment
Oct 26, 2023Liked by Alexander Hellene

I always found it funny that Manowar ranted about posers, even though they themselves are the personification of the poser with their over the top warrior image and ridiculous stage acting.

Expand full comment
author

I don’t know man, that seems pretty on brand to me…aren’t there many different types of metal?

Expand full comment

There are many types of metal. I think that the original posers were the hair metal fans which maybe looked too gay for Manowar and other more masculine Metal bands (and their fans).

Expand full comment