Matt Connarton Unleashed: The Pretenders

0:00 Speaker 1: There's always things, interesting things going on that we can

0:02 Speaker 1: talk about, and we always have something we I'd like

0:04 Speaker 1: to keep something kind of in my back pocket in

0:06 Speaker 1: case something like this happens with a guest, especially as

0:08 Speaker 1: we move into cold and flu season, these things will happen.

0:13 Speaker 1: There's a story involving the Pretenders rock Legends. The Pretenders, Uh,

0:19 Speaker 1: they've been around for decades and decades of course, and

0:23 Speaker 1: uh there's a little bit of controversy around the band now,

0:26 Speaker 1: and it's by the way, it seems like these days

0:29 Speaker 1: controversy in the music industry. It stems from well, either

0:33 Speaker 1: either AI related issues, which is what we talk about

0:35 Speaker 1: a lot, or issues in terms of the live touring business.

0:38 Speaker 1: We've done a couple of segments on the Oasis tour

0:41 Speaker 1: and some of the issues around that. And then of

0:43 Speaker 1: course there's the limp biscuit lawsuit for two hundred million

0:46 Speaker 1: dollars against UMG Universal Music Group, and I thought about

0:52 Speaker 1: maybe talking about that today and maybe, you know, maybe

0:55 Speaker 1: we will. If the guys from Dead By Winds they

0:57 Speaker 1: don't get here, you know, maybe we'll we'll go to

0:59 Speaker 1: that after we finished talking about this. But so the Pretenders,

1:03 Speaker 1: they they have done something controversial, but it has nothing

1:09 Speaker 1: to do with ticket prices or the availability of tickets

1:13 Speaker 1: and all that goes wrong there. This is what's going

1:16 Speaker 1: on with the Pretenders, and I think this is interesting,

1:18 Speaker 1: and this is from what website is this americansongwriter dot Com.

1:23 Speaker 1: And I don't know how far we'll get into this

1:25 Speaker 1: because the guys could arrive at any time, But the

1:27 Speaker 1: Pretenders are dividing fans over new live music policy. So

1:33 Speaker 1: here's what it says. With decades long career. With a

1:38 Speaker 1: decades long career under their belt, the Pretenders are no

1:41 Speaker 1: strangers to the dynamics of live performances. But in October

1:45 Speaker 1: twenty twenty four shakeup prompted by frontwoman Chrissy Hind has

1:49 Speaker 1: left many wondering if she's lost touch with the proper

1:52 Speaker 1: relationship between fans and musicians. Hind made her announcement ahead

1:56 Speaker 1: of The Pretender's October sixteen performance at USh Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland,

2:04 Speaker 1: and in true online fashion, the Internet seems wholly divided

2:06 Speaker 1: over whether Hine's comments were just or unfounded. By the way,

2:10 Speaker 1: I intentionally avoided pre reading this, so I'm learning about

2:14 Speaker 1: this with you. If you're not already aware of it,

2:16 Speaker 1: because I want to give you my unvarnished, shall we say,

2:20 Speaker 1: gut reaction to this, So it says here. The Pretender's

2:24 Speaker 1: embarked on an almost exclusively sold out tour of the

2:27 Speaker 1: UK in October. Stops include Oxford, Bristol, Portsmouth in London,

2:31 Speaker 1: among other large cities cities. But just before the band

2:35 Speaker 1: made their way to Scotland's capital to perform at Usher Hall,

2:41 Speaker 1: Chrissy Hind shared a message on social media that angered

2:44 Speaker 1: many fans, and here's what she said. Quote. First of all,

2:47 Speaker 1: thank you to everyone who's come to see our shows.

2:50 Speaker 1: We're in the home stretch of this year's tour and

2:52 Speaker 1: it's been a real pleasure. Fantastic cities and fantastic audiences.

2:57 Speaker 1: We've had a great time playing for you. One thing

2:59 Speaker 1: we feel a blit to explain when we go on tour,

3:02 Speaker 1: the whole point is for the band. The whole point

3:04 Speaker 1: of it for the band is that we are playing

3:06 Speaker 1: to a different audience every night. That's why we go

3:09 Speaker 1: on tour. So if we're in Edinburgh like we are tonight,

3:12 Speaker 1: we look forward to seeing local faces. This is what

3:15 Speaker 1: makes it new for us. Every night. We appreciate those

3:18 Speaker 1: of you who follow us and buy tickets for multiple nights.

3:21 Speaker 1: So please don't be offended if we request you to

3:23 Speaker 1: move out of the front row. All we are asking

3:26 Speaker 1: is that you give the local fans a chance. This

3:29 Speaker 1: is what keeps it new for us, especially after being

3:33 Speaker 1: on tour for so many months. Unquote Okay again, I

3:38 Speaker 1: did not preread this. I didn't know this is what

3:40 Speaker 1: this was about. My gut reaction. And by the way,

3:46 Speaker 1: I'll open the phone line too if you have a

3:48 Speaker 1: reaction to this six oh three two five oh six

3:50 Speaker 1: oh seven, if you'd like to chime in, or of

3:52 Speaker 1: course you can chime in the chat room, but the

3:54 Speaker 1: studio line is open. Six oh three two five six

3:56 Speaker 1: oh seven. My gut react action of this is what

4:01 Speaker 1: are you doing? Why would you This is weird to

4:03 Speaker 1: me for a couple of reasons. Number one, why would

4:07 Speaker 1: you go out of your way to alienate your your

4:09 Speaker 1: fans that way, your die hard fans, Because obviously, if

4:14 Speaker 1: anybody is actually going and following the band around buying

4:19 Speaker 1: tickets to multiple shows, you're only doing that unless you're

4:22 Speaker 1: a scalper. You're only doing that if you're a die

4:25 Speaker 1: hard fan. So why would you want to alienate your

4:29 Speaker 1: most dedicated fans like that. That's bizarre and I think

4:36 Speaker 1: really self sabotaging. It's really strange. Another thing that I

4:40 Speaker 1: find very odd about this is are you trying to

4:43 Speaker 1: tell me that when you're on stage and you look

4:47 Speaker 1: out at the crowd. First of all, I mean, you

4:49 Speaker 1: know the pretenders they're I mean they've they've got to

4:51 Speaker 1: be in their seventies at least, right, Well, I shouldn't

4:53 Speaker 1: say at least. I'm sure they're not in their eighties,

4:55 Speaker 1: but but they have to be in their seventies, if

4:58 Speaker 1: not late sixties. I mean, are they actually able, like

5:02 Speaker 1: is Chrissy Hind Maybe she wears contact lenses in a

5:06 Speaker 1: correct or vision to twenty twenty. I have no idea,

5:08 Speaker 1: but I'm just saying, is she able to actually look

5:12 Speaker 1: out at the crowd and see as she's performing, look

5:16 Speaker 1: at the faces, look at the people she sees in

5:18 Speaker 1: the front row, and look at them, see their faces

5:23 Speaker 1: clearly enough to identify, Hey, these are all the same

5:26 Speaker 1: people I saw at the previous show. And even if

5:32 Speaker 1: she can do that, I find it really hard to believe. Look,

5:36 Speaker 1: I know they're a legendary band. But is this really

5:41 Speaker 1: a problem, Like is it actually all the same people

5:46 Speaker 1: in the front row of every show? I just find

5:49 Speaker 1: that hard to believe. Yes, there are people who will,

5:53 Speaker 1: if they really love a band, if they're a die hard,

5:55 Speaker 1: if they're a super fan, they'll buy tickets and try

5:59 Speaker 1: to go to as many different shows as they can.

6:01 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, look, I'm a Kiss fan. Kiss

6:03 Speaker 1: is my favorite band of all time. I know plenty

6:05 Speaker 1: of I never did it, but I know plenty of

6:06 Speaker 1: Kiss fans who you know, when Kiss would go on tour,

6:10 Speaker 1: especially the Farewell tour because it was in theory the

6:13 Speaker 1: last time you'd see them, right at the end of

6:14 Speaker 1: the road tour, you know, people would, people who had

6:19 Speaker 1: the money because it's expensive, you know, people would buy

6:23 Speaker 1: tickets for multiple shows and kind of follow the band,

6:26 Speaker 1: you know. And of course there's bands that are legendary

6:31 Speaker 1: for having those kinds of fans that would do that

6:34 Speaker 1: kind of thing, Like The Grateful Dead is probably the

6:37 Speaker 1: epitome of that, right, the classic example of you know,

6:39 Speaker 1: you had all these dead heads who would who would

6:42 Speaker 1: actually sort of go on tour with the band, and

6:45 Speaker 1: that they would follow and the band would go on tour,

6:46 Speaker 1: these people would follow I don't know how anyone affords it,

6:50 Speaker 1: but how you know, would follow the band on tour

6:53 Speaker 1: and go to all the shows, and you know, it

6:56 Speaker 1: gets to a point where the band gets to know

7:00 Speaker 1: the fans, gets to know these super fans, knows them

7:03 Speaker 1: by name, develops relationships with them because they see them

7:05 Speaker 1: so much. You know, but do the pretenders as they're

7:11 Speaker 1: doing these shows? Is it literally the same people in

7:15 Speaker 1: the front row? I just find that hard to believe.

7:18 Speaker 1: Isn't that a little that seems like a stretch. Again,

7:20 Speaker 1: I'm not knocking the band in terms of, you know,

7:23 Speaker 1: their place in music history and their fan base I'm

7:26 Speaker 1: sure is even in twenty twenty four. Obviously these shows

7:29 Speaker 1: are selling out, so obviously their fan base is enormous.

7:33 Speaker 1: But I find it, I just find it hard to

7:36 Speaker 1: believe that Chrissy hind is actually looking at the front

7:40 Speaker 1: row and seeing the exact same set of people every night.

7:42 Speaker 1: And even if she is, why do you want to

7:45 Speaker 1: why do you want to do this to those people?

7:47 Speaker 1: Why do you want to talk to them that way?

7:48 Speaker 1: Why do you want to alienate them? You know? It's

7:54 Speaker 1: bizarre to me, And and what in her mind would

8:00 Speaker 1: make her think that this was a good idea to

8:03 Speaker 1: say this publicly and to I mean, you're chastising people. Really,

8:08 Speaker 1: it's very I mean not to sound cliche, but if

8:12 Speaker 1: this even still means anything in twenty twenty four, but

8:14 Speaker 1: it's very unrock and roll. I would say, you know,

8:20 Speaker 1: telling telling people, well, you know, if you buy a ticket,

8:23 Speaker 1: you know, I don't want I don't want to see

8:25 Speaker 1: you in the front row more than once. I mean,

8:27 Speaker 1: it's just I find this very bizarre. I find this

8:30 Speaker 1: whole thing very strange. Let's see. So here's the next

8:38 Speaker 1: part of the article. This ought to be good. Fans

8:41 Speaker 1: react to the band's request. Uh uh. Now, I again,

8:45 Speaker 1: I did not preread this. So I'm going to make

8:47 Speaker 1: a prediction, and I'm going to predict that the reaction

8:52 Speaker 1: was not positive. But let's see. Well again, if you're

8:56 Speaker 1: if you're just learning about this as I am, will

8:58 Speaker 1: learn together. But so it's not a spoiler, but I'm

9:02 Speaker 1: guessing that there was a bit of a negative pushback

9:05 Speaker 1: on this. Okay, it says Chrissy Ian's announcement divided fans

9:10 Speaker 1: across several social media platforms. While some praised the singer

9:14 Speaker 1: and guitarists for her thoughtfulness and willingness to prioritize local crowds.

9:19 Speaker 1: Others condemned the message, saying it was disrespectful to her

9:23 Speaker 1: most devoted fans. These fans, the dissentered argues, deserved top priority.

9:30 Speaker 1: By the way, let me stop there for a moment.

9:32 Speaker 1: I don't even think of it in those terms. I

9:34 Speaker 1: don't think of it in terms of who deserves Nobody

9:39 Speaker 1: deserves top priority. This is uh. You know, touring is

9:44 Speaker 1: a business operating in a free market. You know, whoever

9:47 Speaker 1: buys the tickets buys the tickets. Whoever's going to the

9:50 Speaker 1: show is going to the show. If you buy a

9:51 Speaker 1: front row ticket, you get your front row seat. That's it.

9:55 Speaker 1: There's no, it's not a matter of priority. It's a

10:01 Speaker 1: matter of first come, first serve. Now. I know that

10:05 Speaker 1: it's not a perfect system. And we've talked a lot

10:07 Speaker 1: on the show again with the Oasis debacle, with the

10:10 Speaker 1: tickets and the dynamic pricing, which is very controversial. I

10:13 Speaker 1: don't want to take that side street right now, but

10:16 Speaker 1: I get it. But look, it's not a matter of

10:21 Speaker 1: I mean, if you really, if you really want to

10:25 Speaker 1: quote unquote prioritize local crowds. Then maybe maybe if you can,

10:32 Speaker 1: maybe you devise something. This might be too convoluted and complex,

10:36 Speaker 1: but you could do it. Devise a system where when

10:40 Speaker 1: you buy a ticket, if you show residency. It sounds

10:44 Speaker 1: like I'm talking about voting, but we don't. We don't

10:46 Speaker 1: do politics. But if you show residency, maybe if you're

10:50 Speaker 1: buying a ticket to that local show, then you get

10:55 Speaker 1: a free meet and greet. Right, that's part of the

10:58 Speaker 1: you know, because that's a big thing now with these

11:01 Speaker 1: and I don't know if the Pretenders is doing anything

11:03 Speaker 1: like that, but you can, you know, on a lot

11:07 Speaker 1: of big tours, you can buy a meet and greet

11:08 Speaker 1: package and you get to meet the band and have

11:10 Speaker 1: them sign things and say a few words to you.

11:15 Speaker 1: I don't know, I mean, you could do something like that.

11:17 Speaker 1: You could do something special. If somebody proves their local residency,

11:20 Speaker 1: they get to meet you. I don't know, I mean,

11:22 Speaker 1: if you're really that serious about this, but this is

11:24 Speaker 1: just strange. This is just strange. Okay, So here's an example.

11:28 Speaker 1: Here's some examples of some of the reactions. One angry

11:32 Speaker 1: fan posted on Facebook quote talk about how to kick

11:35 Speaker 1: your biggest supporters in the teeth, and I suppose you

11:38 Speaker 1: don't want your photo taken either. Get off the stage

11:42 Speaker 1: if you can't appreciate the people who have kept you there.

11:46 Speaker 1: I just found this statement really insulting. Talk about taking

11:51 Speaker 1: your biggest supporters for granted. Sorry, we're bored of your quote. Sorry,

11:57 Speaker 1: we're bored of your faces unquote Yeah, I mean again,

12:04 Speaker 1: Chrissy hind is not clearly it is not her intention

12:08 Speaker 1: to kick pretenders fans in the teeth. But uh, she

12:13 Speaker 1: just doesn't want to have to see your teeth. You know,

12:15 Speaker 1: she doesn't want you close enough. She doesn't want to

12:17 Speaker 1: have to see your teeth on more than one night.

12:19 Speaker 1: I guess other self described uber fans stood by Heine's request. Okay,

12:25 Speaker 1: so there's an example of a supporter. One commenter said, quote,

12:30 Speaker 1: It's not always about you at this point in time.

12:34 Speaker 1: It's about the band who wants to keep things fresh

12:36 Speaker 1: at the end of a long tour for the benefit

12:39 Speaker 1: of all those who attend, and for local fans, ninety

12:43 Speaker 1: nine percent of whom this is their only and maybe

12:47 Speaker 1: last chance to see the band. You don't own the

12:49 Speaker 1: band and shouldn't own the front row experience, and well

12:52 Speaker 1: done Chrissy for having the guts to courteously point that

12:56 Speaker 1: out unquote, but the commenter says here, this commenter is saying, well,

13:03 Speaker 1: you know, ninety nine percent of these people this will

13:05 Speaker 1: be their only chance to see the band, So that

13:09 Speaker 1: kind of undercuts the point, doesn't it. Okay, dead by

13:14 Speaker 1: Wednesday is here,