Watching the news this morning while traveling in Toronto, there was a short report about a big buzz happening on Twitter. Some older man working at a transit ticket booth in the middle of the night was fast asleep in his chair. Someone passing by took a snapshot on their phone and posted to Twitter. Viral media ensued.

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This photo is funny and when I saw it, I laughed. The point here is that you simply can’t get away with anything these days. I’m not just talking about celebrities. I mean everyone: drunken photos of your kid’s teacher on Facebook, the road rage that gets posted to YouTube, United airlines breaking a guy’s guitar.

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Social media has changed the game entirely for everyone, but especially entertainers. The era of the asshole ended with YouTube and flip-cams. You no longer have the luxury as a performer of being inappropriate. Just ask Michael Richards. Being in a bad mood publicly, whining about your life, complaining about a heckler, insulting a sound tech, making excuses why you’re late, treating women like crap, trashing a dressing room, etc., are all things that make you look like an asshole. When they are posted to YouTube (and they will be) and fed to all social media channels by a bartender, event manager, audience member or whoever, it does massive damage to your brand and business. Remember Christian Bale and his rant? Don’t you see that guy just a little differently now?

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Nobody is saying you can’t be in a bad mood or irritated, but you need to have an authenticity and a respect for the people around you as an entertainer. They are your life-blood. Make mistakes, but be honest, real and, most importantly, authentic in your reactions to those mistakes.

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There is no longer any room for error with regards to the respect you deliver to everyone you come into contact with as an entertainer.

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Good managers, agents, record label execs, corporate planners, publicists, and other industry professionals all have busy lives and want to enjoy their work. Nobody wants to work with an asshole. Life is too short and fortunately for us, it is now much easier to find out if you’re a prick.

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- Justin Sudds – Gigsmacked.com

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