"Maybe This is Too Cool" - After years of layoffs and pay/resource freezes, Amazon execs treat themselves to a private Foo Fighters concert worth millions - eviltoast
  • Wogi@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    79
    arrow-down
    22
    ·
    7 months ago

    That’s actually their manager’s business. Literally what they hire them for. And honestly, if you’re going to fault them for performing a private venue for an Amazon event, you should also fault every artist that’s ever performed in like, Vegas. Casinos have been bleeding people to death long before Amazon hit the scene.

    I’m not going to fault a performer for literally doing their job and taking a fat payday. I’d probably do the same in their shoes, anybody who insists otherwise isn’t being honest with themselves.

    It’s not like the rider said “play show at Amazon, these guys just laid a lot of people off and are screaming about budget cuts so they want you to play for the rest. Here’s 4 million dollars.”

    It probably said “corporate event for 6-10k people. Here’s a check for 4 million dollars”

    • TheFriar@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      35
      arrow-down
      19
      ·
      edit-2
      7 months ago

      So you’re arguing that selling out any supposed values you might have is fine as long as the check is big enough.

      Foo Fighters are a huge band. They aren’t at the whims of some all powerful manager. And Amazon’s crimes are not new, they’re not obscure information. They’re incredibly well known, frequently discussed, and go hand in hand with the mention of Amazon. They knew what they were doing, who they were doing it for.

      Now, if you want to discuss the power that record labels and their business relationships hold and their contracts with the bands they produce, that’s a possible explanation for this. But we’re talking about aging millionaire white guys. Chances are, they had veto power, knew what they were doing and probably could’ve accepted a monetary fine from the record company for defying a contract obligation if that’s why they were being forced to do it. And, honestly, probably would’ve leaked that information, gotten a ton of great press, maybe gotten into a public dispute with the record label if they chose to speak out about it, and then cashed in on that.

      But, like you said, they did it for a fat paycheck. They didn’t stick up for the well-documented abused workers of Amazon while cashing in on it — “virtue signaling,” as people say. They decided to do this. For money. From Amazon executives.

      And that’s…not better.

      The fact that this comes at the end of typical corporate purse string tightening at the expense of workers is really just the steaming shit nugget on top of this diarrhea sundae.

      • Wogi@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        35
        arrow-down
        14
        ·
        7 months ago

        I’m arguing that you’re villainising the wrong people.

        • TheFriar@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          23
          arrow-down
          14
          ·
          7 months ago

          And that was me telling you your assumption of who’s at fault was way off the mark.

          They’re rockstars. They knew what they were doing and made the choice themselves.