Artists for the fans

So I've been watching FUSE a lot lately and 30 Seconds to Mars' new music video "Closer to the Edge" has been getting a ton of publicity on their "Top 20 Countdown". I've watched it numerous times and so far I haven't gotten tired of it.

I'm not in their fanclub (The Echelon), nor do I own their entire discography. In fact, I mostly just own their singles. This video made me think however. It's basically a mini-documentary of the band touring in various continents for their world tour and hitting cities from Europe to America to Asia, etc. It's about the band but the majority of it showcases the fans; waiting outside in line, crowd-walking, shouting the chorus to the camera, describing what music is to them in their lives...

It just made me wish more bands did things like this after watching it. I feel like 30stm care about their fans a lot and even more so, they care about the music they make more than the capital they're making from it. I listen to AFI a lot and I feel like they'd agree with these sentiments.

The video to me was so close to home, too. It feels like it was made by a fan and encapsulates that raw energy of live music, the excitement of loving a band so much that it hurts sometimes, and that high you get from being in front of a stage shouting lyrics out loud alongside complete strangers who love that piece of music for the same reasons you do.

The world needs more of this; artists for the fans.

Check the video below: