Its a bit sad that I feel the need to write an article like this, but this problem never seems to be addressed. If you've ever seen this particular comment on a message board, the one that starts with "______ brought me here!", then you know exactly what I'm talking about. This person heard a song used in other media such as video games, movies, ect, and they just wanted to tell the world about it. That being said, the problem does not start with this comment.
A few minutes after the comment is posted and already the mandatory 'put-down' replies will start to appear. These tend to come from the person who has listened to the artist long before the song made an appearance in other media. The replies are hostile and very defensive even though no one is outright attacking the artist in any way.
To some degree, I can understand the hostility. Once I hear a gem and fall completely in love with it, I tend to be a bit skeptical when a newcomer claims to love what I do. Do they really love this band? Or just this song in particular that has shown up on Rock Band. This is not the correct way to think about this at all. In fact, it is very prideful, and a bit self centered to act this way.
Toxic fan bases are very much a problem, not just in the music scene, but in fandoms across all media. Rather than turn newcomers away, people should extend an open hand. Act like a tour guide to help them see why you love this particular thing so much. It goes a long way to helping the fan base grow, and also helps human beings to communicate with one another. What could be better?
With that said, people should realize the benefits an artist will experience when they share their work with other media. It never made sense to me that the same people that would call out bands for being sell-outs, would also be the same people complaining that some artists don't get the recognition they deserve. This exposure would help the artist to make a living doing what they love: making music for us to enjoy.
I can say that a lot of the artists that I have come to love have been heard from media such as movies and video games. One particular example is the Fallout series. Fallout offers a colorful pallet of pre-1960's music, opening the player to an entirely new world of music. Needless to say, I wouldn't go as far as to say this type of exposure has saved these works from being forgotten, but I would say that it helped the current generation to diversify in their musical tastes.
It is also important to point out that the person who has just listened to a song on TV or in a movie has some work to do. If you really claim to like a song, make an effort to find out the name of the song and artist. It is very unfortunate when you hear someone in-person say that they have heard a particular song and can tell you where they heard it, but not who performs it. Having that knowledge is the bare minimum of what we can do to show some form of respect to the artist.
