When creators, particularly artists, take longer than usual to produce their next work, people become enraged. On Jan. 2, George R.R. Martin announced that, despite previous indications, the highly anticipated sixth book in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” epic would not be published in 2016. Fan outrage was enormous, despite Martin’s long, apologetic explanation accompanying the announcement. Adele’s 4-year hiatus between albums was unacceptable, the Lumineers’ new single release was met with comments of “Finally!” after a 5-year break, and with every passing year the popular exasperation with Frank Ocean only grows. Despite how fans might feel, however, this outrage is inappropriate. We need to learn how to reject the mindset of entitlement and exercise patience toward our favorite creators.
Why so much vitriol over an extra couple of months – or even years – between installments? Services like Spotify and Netflix make it even easier to indulge on whole seasons or albums at a time and has brought binge-watching into the mainstream; in fact, people are watching TV in larger quantities than ever, according to an American Time Use Survey from the Bureau of Labor.
After marathoning your favorite TV show or book series, there’s inevitably a waiting period for the next installment. But, when the well runs dry, no worries – we have a pretty predictable schedule of when to expect the next release. We’re used to not having to wait long periods of time between new releases of content: Marvel has a semiannual movie release schedule planned out until 2020; most Top 40 artists release their albums one to two years apart. People have become accustomed to this schedule, so when artists deviate from the unspoken “plan”, audiences bristle under being forced to wait, and the few holdouts become the object of audience outrage.
But this mindset reflects an improper sense of entitlement. Artists are not our employees, and they don’t owe us new content. Ideally, their purpose in creating isn’t to satiate public demand but to create something of beauty and quality. Demanding that our desires be met degrades the relationship between creator and fan, inhibits their ability to create quality art, and fails to extend the respect that creators deserve.
Nothing that requires even a marginal amount of artistic ability can operate on a strict schedule. Sometimes the muse strikes; sometimes it doesn’t. Creators are not machines that can produce on command, and this becomes especially important when creators have to push back the date initially given to the public.
The question becomes: Would you rather have regularly-released new music, books, or movies that are mediocre? Or would you rather have high quality art that may not fit the yearly schedule? If the answer is the latter, audiences would do well to have a little patience rather than anger. Exercising patience when waiting for new releases will not only allows the artist to create freely without having to worry about immediately meeting public demand but also make you more receptive to the next album or book when it does come out.
We need to stop subconsciously viewing musicians, authors, directors, and other artists only as producers for the entertainment we love. They’re people, who have real-life complications and schedules and struggle to put pen to paper too. So let’s have a little patience, and trust that whatever is taking so long is worth the wait.
