The Supporting Act
If you’ve seen the film Twenty Feet from Stardom, winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2013, you’ve probably felt the thrill of discovery.
What sort of discovery? The film told the backstory of the ‘invisibles’ of the music industry — the creators, makers and unsung heroes behind the headline act. We got to meet them, discover their contributions, and recognise a rarity in the world of show business: individuals happy to play second fiddle.
Stumbling upon the genuine, the authentic, the humble or modest is not a commonplace occurrence today.
Children are given media and social media training at elementary schools. They’re taught to enhance their presentation skills.
The outward is what’s important, and because we’ve placed so much value on outgoing traits, we’re becoming a society that only rewards the extrovert.
In her book Quiet, the author Susan Cain argues we are being forced towards extroversion, constantly cajoled and persuaded to work in teams, to work in communal, open plan spaces, even on tasks which would be performed best in solitude, or at least in quiet space.
Musicians, skilled artists and manufacturers look to ‘partner’ today with collaborators or other artists in order to garner or ‘rub-off’ on some of the stardom available through team work.
We call it collaboration, but our hunch is that it’s really piggy backing. It’s a billion dollar industry.
The reasoning is simple. Why go it alone if you can do it together? Why risk individual failure? Why invest in a single company if you can invest in a fund? Spread your risk.
The line-up to partner with Daft Punk is insane, in part because it’s a near sure-fire way of getting a №1 hit.
It feels as though it’s often wrong, too risky or weak to stand or go it alone. Managers certainly don’t want the lonely route, because it’s too hard. It’s the long game. Besides, what kind of fool prefers to wait? We are desperately looking for the recipe, matrix or algorithm that will reduce risk and increase income.
People are prepared to ‘support’ in the short term, but the long term objective has got to be front of stage, to be visible, taking the credit. To be the star.
Extrovert x Social Media x collaboration = Fast money
Introvert — social media — collaboration = Slow money
To be introverted and to crave solitude or to simply be satisfied ‘supporting; is not the way to the top, it certainly won’t help you to go viral, however I am sure I’m not the only one who secretly longs for an office with a door and an overly protective assistant guarding my time. (Or am I?)
Eat humble pie and be happy.
I often talk of WeTransfer being humble. We’re a company that has enjoyed and benefited from fulfilling the role of the supporting act. As a team, we love nothing more than nurturing and enabling other artists or creatives.
This year we gave away over one billion impressions to up-and-coming talent. Supporting acts are supposed to keep quiet, but we’re allowed to boast when the number crests 999,999,999.
Like a good supporting act, little gets me more excited than helping shine a light on someone as gifted as artist Barnaby Barford, an artist who uses sculpture, drawing and film to question the priorities of our society and the tenor of our times.
Who wouldn’t want to to support a creative rain maker?
Why Barnaby? Sure, I happen to love his work, but let’s look closer. Artists are often introverts. They’re not always talented at self promotion. Instead, their energy is poured into creating with a goal in mind, an objective to highlight an issue, a problem, a cause or a statement.
I feel privileged in aiding this process. If an artist is seen to be too promotional they will also quickly lose the ‘artist’ label as the art audience is exceptionally critical.
Then there are those who have stepped into the spotlight.
Recently we finished a project with FKA Twigs, a woman who started her career as a supporting act, a backing dancer for Kylie Minogue and Jessie J. I believe this start gave her the confidence and ability to build and act as a team, a stand alone team, independent from others. Controlling but in control.
Twigs is ten years younger than me, but she’s an exceptional individual, with wisdom beyond her years.
She seems to me to be more ambivert than introvert.
She’s comfortable with herself, confident with her abilities and I have huge respect for her ability to resist the temptations of collaborations, to shut herself off, to appear and talk when she is ready, and only when she is ready, and to remain beholden to no-one but her fans.
One of the main reasons that we are able to partner with people like FKA Twigs, Judith Hill, Gilles Peterson and Sir Ken Robinson is because of our ability to play the supporting role, by showing humility, being comfortable playing second fiddle and happy just twenty feet from stardom.
As times change and financial pressures mount I sincerely hope we can remain in the shadows, supporting from a distance, taking credit where credits due, but never being seen to have sold out.
