The Reddit AMA has become an invaluable promotional tool for the music industry. After all, it provides a win-win situation for fans and artists alike. The latter get to plug their latest project and fans basically get a piece of one-on-one time with their favourite musos.
Of course, there are certain elements that make for a great Ask Me Anything session. The two key ingredients are passionate fans with interesting and well thought-out questions and an artist who isn’t afraid to be candid and willing to give in-depth answers.
Case in point is Kevin Parker, leader of Perth psychedelic outfit Tame Impala. Back in May, we wrote about Parker’s AMA session, during which he not only provided insight into his inspirations and creative process, but also revealed a major bombshell.
In response to a fan asking about how he feels about illegal downloads, Parker revealed that he’d made no money from Tame Impala’s overseas record sales. It was the first flashpoint in what turned out to be a major case of music industry litigation.
However, at the other end of the spectrum are British metalcore outfit Bring Me The Horizon, who recently participated in what may be one of, if not the worst, musician Reddit AMA ever and quite possibly one of the worst Reddit AMA sessions ever.
The acclaimed group, who were recently added to the lineup for Soundwave 2016 off the back of their latest album, That’s the Spirit, were given some very considered and thoughtful questions by their devoted fan base, but weren’t so interested in providing satisfying answers.
For example, after one fan asked the group what “the best thing” and “the worst” thing about their band is, they replied, “The best thing is we’ve got massive dicks. And the worst part is we’ve got massive dicks. Our massive dicks are a blessing.”
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This would be a fine answer if you were a 13-year-old boy and not a group of professional musicians responding to a legitimate question from one of your fans. Of course, we have to give them points for that one, because it was at least a multisyllabic answer.
When asked what’s it like to “look at a crowd of people squished together all looking at you”, the band replied simply, “cool”. When asked what advice they’d give to “someone who wants to start a band”, they responded, “Don’t be shit.”
Their fans certainly weren’t impressed with the band’s underwhelming answers and general disinterest. “Worst AMA ever and I love BMTH,” one fan wrote. “Total garbage. These replies are a let down,” wrote another. One user even commented: “Wow that was the most disappointing AMA ever.”
Check out some of the “highlights” below.
