Free Movements: When Fans Got their Artists Back

Words by Matthew Spence:

Well, now return to “Tales From the Forms: History of  Liberating Stans” only on HistoryTV2.

Narrated by: Some guy whose party trick is doing a half-decent Morgan Freeman impression.

Fandom is like an unofficial committee down for some sort of cause and feeling the movement, but when shit goes down, you’re left with two options.

A. Know where the emergency exits are, because you’ll need them to escape all the shitstorm that’ll come your way.

B. Pack a spare harmonica (key of C) for your lonely cell blues cuz you’ll be high and dry trying to defend all the bullshit.

Kung Fu Morale posed the question in 2015, and starter pack philosophers never look back: “When the shit hits the fan, is you still a fan?” There are many frosted layers to that cake of a question, and over recent years, we’ve witnessed countless examples of fanbases exercising that question with all-body workouts. No matter how monumental or puny the situation may be, the fanbase of an artist displays a level of loyalty that Sora isn’t even capable of. It swirls together purity and delusion. Really emphasizing the power of art and how one’s output can really shape another’s life, mindset, and heart.

The other half, delusion, because at the end of the day, we don’t know these motherfuckers and what they do off camera and clocked out of work. They could be assholes.

Stockholm syndrome stans carry the delusions more than others, but we don’t discuss them; instead pray for them. Ye West fans are curled up in a ball right now, eerily repeating to themselves, “He made Graduation.”

Don’t get it twisted, vilification removed. This isn’t the case of castigating fans and painting their loyalty in dirty white; in fact, that’s just one part of the story. In the other chapter, we see a fine median display of loyalty in various forms. From bumrushing the concerts, copping as much merch, respecting their privacy (I say this a bit loosely), and on a good day calling out the artist they like for their wrongs so next time they can do right. However, one of the more pivotal examples that tests if you’re ride or die and ultimately increases Gildan Blank White t-shirt sales by 20%. “The Free Movements” in music culture.

The revolution will not be televised, but certainly spread through Redbubble products and IG posts.

Artists get caught slipping into some shit that can shake up not only their world, but also the fans along with them. Common law practices apply to musicians and their audience legally married without the paperwork, so when they fall, they’re going to fall together. “I’m with you because I’m boring too,” in essence. Whether it’s self-inflicted or a wrong place, wrong environment, artists can and have gotten themselves in sticky situations; oftentimes it’s all legal in business jail or contract unfortunate duos that usually lead to fans calling to action, whether in the streets or on the keyboards.

Lead into the famous “Free [insert name].” More common than others, the phrase “free this person, free that person” has more ties to hip-hop culture for a few reasons, but to keep it brief: Hip Hop Police, the music industry is just as bad as the mob, and cutting ties from the previous street life is a bit difficult for some. Real attracts real, so the loyalty and support is commendable, but that’s where funny looks and side eyes enter the conversation between people cuz often those people that get locked up in all these “yo free ____” those motherfuckers did that shit a good chunk of the time. Not every case, of course, but a fair amount [Free Chill Though].

All in all, each movement has a lesson we can jot down notes from of their chess moves on spreading the noise, not just to fans but to the culture. Whether online or dragging their feet on the pavement, it’s like seeing a real-life manifestation of “Create a Fan” with their attributes stacked up to 100. Holding the mirror to some of us to reflect, “Are we really bout it?”

Free movements can bring out the righteousness (slightly or overtly) in fans to the point that picket signs will be sent to fans for anyone who signs up for an artist’s email list.

Walking down the hall of fame, we can learn a thing or two about fan loyalty and sup—- [checks phone]

— and looks like my food is here, so, I’ll let the Ghost of 2010s Past takeover.

-Free Earl (Sweatshirt) Movement

Live. Love. Laugh is the mantra for Uncle Earl in the mid-2020s, but 15 years ago, he was Missing. In. Action. Odd Future were taking youth culture and hip-hop culture for a joyride in the early 2010s (Simpsons Hit and Run style), and a 16-year-old  Earl Sweatshirt was the hype kid everyone was anticipating after his debut mixtape, the self-titled “Earl,” but then suddenly he went ghost. Infamously concerned about her son moving too fast, his noticeable drug use, losing groundedness due to his friends and environment, his mom sent him to a boarding school for at-risk teens in Samoa in 2010, sparking the Free Earl movement within the group and eventually within the fans. T-shirts, hoodies, and constant free Earl chants up until his return in 2012—now, in hindsight, this was the best thing that happened to Earl, seeing how this would not only shape his growth as an artist but also as a person.

-Free Sky Ferreira movement

Don’t panic; it’s natural for reality to turn on its black and white filter when Tumblr enters the chat. On the Mount Rushmore of Tumblr Leading Ladies and being Baby Driver’s mom, Sky Ferreira has earned a devoted cult following all from her musical footprint and digital footprint during the pivotal generation-defining moment/era, the early 2010s. Tumblr, Vevo, and old Instagram. Shit was a time, swag. However, after pushing forward the needle with her generation by creating one of the greatest songs of all time in 2012, and the cult classic “Night Time, My Time” debut album in 2013, her label, Capitol Records, used their talent of making life a living hell for an artist and held Sky back.

Being held and labeled limbo, left out to push and press her own records, and forced to move as an independent artist who was signed to a major. Sky was being tossed around by her label as an afterthought.  Having to prove her worth. Worse to worst, they refuse to cooperate with her on dropping her follow-up sophomore album that’s been teased since 2015, “Masochism,” prompting the “Free Sky Movement” and over a decade of frustrations and mental turmoil that it caused Sky.

Hoping for Capitol Records to release Sky from the label and let her be an independent artist. From the slogan to the dedicated fan site to a committed fan going the extra mile. In 2023, a fan paid for a digital billboard in Times Square campaigning for “Free Sky Ferreira,” and in the same year, had a plane fly over Capitol Records (what’s it called?) showcasing a banner that spells out “Free Sky Ferreira.” It’s safe to say Capitol done started something that Tumblr girlies were going to finish. Ultimately, they kind of did, because in 2023, the good news is Sky was officially off of Capitol Records. The bad news is the way they let her go was mighty bitch-made on their part.

-Free Pussy Riot

Oppression has more air mileage than every airline combined because it travels everywhere and stays everywhere, and the oppressed are always looking for ways to rise against it. Some march the streets, and others try to change it from the inside. Over in Russia, the feminist and anti-fascist collective Pussy Riot stormed the streets and crashed the public with their music and live performances. The collective rocked ski masks and remained sticking to only a need-to-know basis: what they’re about and that they’re about it. Right up on dangerous and protected grounds to film live performances for their videos all over significant and protected places in Russia, their most viral and noble act was going into the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior and performed a song.

Who were the targets on the track, you may ask? Vladimir Putin, the Orthodox Church, and Patriach Krill, but security shut that shit down pretty quickly. However, this will be the last straw of sorts, as this act would be the one to get them booked by the cops two weeks later. Three of the four members were sent to prison in 2012, while the fourth member was able to escape. 2 years and charged with “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”: Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, and Kat Samutsevich. However, Kat was eventually acquitted; the latter two would serve their time in a Russian labor camp. Hysteria awakened, and the word spread about Pussy Riot. Ears were perked at their movement, and an uproar of “FUCK YEAHs” could be heard in synchronicity like a World Cup crowd. Liting the punk fire in many that needed it to see it and hear it.