Everyone has a favorite artist. Someone they've stuck with for years. Bought every album, poster, t-shirt possible. Been to every show in town. Been to shows across the country, even. They make you feel special, important, loved. They connect via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat. They invite you on stage because they want you to feel included. They are perfect in every way.

Until eventually, you start realizing that the new album was a little bit more expensive than the last. The $20 t-shirt is now $50. The concerts are broken down between $200 VIP seats and $65 nosebleeds. Things get more and more out of reach and unrealistic, and the band doesn't seem to care.

Recently, my favorite band made a big announcement about a big announcement. All over social media, they posted a huge banner saying we'll want to pay attention to this fantastic news coming up. A lot of fans were really excited. Could it be a new album? Do you think they're going to tour again? Maybe even just the release of a new song - that would be enough for us! I began bragging to my friends about them. This band loves us more than any other band loves their fans. They are going to make this announcement and it's going to change our lives!

It did. This announcement made me realize that in the end, it's just a business. The announcement was that the band is hosting a very special, very expensive event in Malibu. Which, wow, great for everyone in that area, it's going to be a blast if you can shovel out the dough for it! But to major fans on the opposite end of the country and on the opposite end of the world, it was very disappointing to find that this huge announcement was only targeted to a specific audience.

I know people who have gone across the country for their favorite artists. I have. But when those are the only types of shows they do, big arenas in fancy cities, it breaks your heart when for so long they've thrived on the little people. I hate the term sell-out because I never wanted to think my favorite bands would ever be capable of selling out, but that's what is happening. They are turning their backs on some die-hard fans for bigger events and more technologically dependent shows with crazy effects. But that's not what Suzie Q in Anywhere, Ohio wants. They want the band. They want the music.

When it stops being personal and starts being about the money, there's not much incentive to tell people about this amazing artist because they just won't get that same experience you had in years prior.

I've seen this in many artists in the last few of years. I know it happens a lot. I can imagine it would be really easy to get swept up in this "the bigger the better" world. My favorite band is known for pushing limits in performances. However, when they start isolating fans and picking out favorites, they're going to lose business more than they're going to gain. Fans can tell friends to listen to a song, but you can't bring them to a show when it's a thousand miles away. They lose that network, that community, that family that would bring more people to them with open arms. It's actually their loss, not ours.