What do the content creators owe to the fans?

[IllumInaTIma]

So, I'm a GameGrumps fan and lately fan community, at least on Reddit, was somewhat... not happy. As always it all started with discussions about Jon leaving Grumps and Arin not saying a word about it etc. However, it raises a question. Was Arin supposed to tell fans about it? Was he supposed to tell anything? This is the problem I have with that subreddit, fans feel that Grumps owe them something. Arin owes an explanation. Jon owes an explanation. Suzy owes an explanation. Why do they keep silent?! Are they hiding something?! I personally believe that no, they don't owe fans shit. We're not their friends, no matter how much we think we are. Fans are free to complain, of course, but the problem is that majority of complains are completely irrelevant to the current situation.
TLDR: Basically how much do you think content creators owe to their fans?

 

[Queen Michael]

I buy comic books every week. In my opinion, comic book creators owe me $2.99 worth of entertainment per comic book. $3.99 for the more expensive ones.

 

[zen5887]

It's a tricky one and I'm not sure if there is one right answer.

Like, if an artist makes a painting in a forest and nobody is around to see it, is it still art?

On the one hand, the content creators can only do their thing if there are people to consume it. If people stopped paying attention to GameGrumps then would there still be a GameGrumps? Would they keep making content?

On the other hand, when I make music whether or not people like it isn't the top priority. I put stuff out there that I am proud of. If people like that then that's awesome, but I don't think I'd change what I'm doing any time soon.

And it's different still when it isn't the content that's being questions, like your example I think. I think in your case, you're right. GameGrumps doesn't owe anybody an explanation for this situation.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Honestly nothing.

As long as this content can be received free of charge, the content creators don't owe fans much of anything. I guess fan loyalty stands for something, but that doesn't give them ownership over the content or the creators' private issues.

 

[Eamar]

If there's money involved, they owe fans a working product of acceptable quality for the price. It should also be what was advertised, and if significant changes are going to be made or features are going to be dropped, those changes should be freely acknowledged and, ideally, explained.

Beyond that, they don't owe fans anything, however if they want to keep making sales/getting views/whatever, they'd be wise not to actively piss them off, say by actually insulting them or putting out blatantly inferior content without an explanation.

I guess if a creator develops a loyal, tight-knit, supportive community of followers they may feel like they owe them more, but that's really up to them.

 

[Keoul]

They owe what is promised that's it.
If they say they're gunna do something and not follow through then it makes sense for fans to get angry about it. Knowing about stuff behind the scenes isn't really necessary.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

When you say "It's not even in any way like traditional game endings, where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got A,B or C", then I expect just that from the creative director (yes I am still salty about that).

If you make promises you can't keep then don't throw the whole "you're just entitled" phrase at us after buying your game and being disappointed by being lied to.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

They owe a bit, especially if the fans support is what keeps them going. (Ad revenue, donations, purchasing products, etc.) But the given example is a situation of people being nosy and pushing for more then they deserve.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I think the only thing owed, if you even want to call it that, is a level of consistency. If you manage to acquire a large number of fans, or even a smaller but very dedicated number, chances are they are there for what you brought to the table in the first place. Content creators should strive to maintain a consistent level of quality and style or they should be expecting their long time fans to be upset (which isn't necessarily the end of the world).

In the case the OP brings forward, when you have a situation like that I do think it is important to at least reference it. You don't have to do overboard and create entire pieces of content dedicated to explaining the changes, but at least acknowledge that a change has occurred. Acknowledge the concerns of the fanbase and explain how the change will or won't impact the content.

 

[Flutterguy]

Modern age is too convenient and many people have become cry-babies.

If your pizza comes 40 minutes late feel free to call up and complain. If the bathrooms at the local venue flood and you miss your favorite band well that sucks too. Bitching about it for the next week and complaining online is doing no one a service, especially yourself.

 

[Erttheking]

Modern age is too convenient and many people have become cry-babies.

If your pizza comes 40 minutes late feel free to call up and complain. If the bathrooms at the local venue flood and you miss your favorite band well that sucks too. Bitching about it for the next week and complaining online is doing no one a service, especially yourself.

I do hope you realize the irony here about complaining about complaining.

OT: They don't "owe" people anything. However, it really would be in their best interest to give a damn about what people want.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Ultimately, fans come after the content.

Whether the content creator wants to keep those fans, and thus their good reputation and likely their job, that's up to them. That's where the pressure lies.

 

[Flutterguy]

I do hope you realize the irony here about complaining about complaining.

Of course. I just have too much free time and know far too many people who want to tell me everything that went wrong in the last two months.

 

[laggyteabag]

Without fault. I don't care if it is low quality or boring, but as long as it isn't broken, I am satisfied. I would rather waste time or money on something that I didn't like as opposed to wasting time or money on something that I couldn't like. That way I know that whoever made it at least tried to make something worth while, as opposed to releasing it without effort as a cash grab.

Hell, Battlefield is still a great example. It's launch was, for all intents and purposes, a disaster, but even now, almost a year after it's launch, and almost to the end of it's DLC support, the game still crashes on me very regularly, and even though the games runs better, finishing a game is a rare sight.

 

[War Penguin]

[user]Eamar[/user] and [user]Keoul[/user] both had excellent responses to this subject. If money is involved, then the content creators owe fans what is promised. False advertising is not cool. Plain and simple.

However, if the content creators don't ask for money, like GameGrumps, then they only owe the fans the content that they create [small](hence the name. duh )[/small]. I honestly feel like, if anything, fans owe them the right to privacy! It's obviously a touchy subject for all parties involved and they would have talked about it already if they were comfortable with it. But it's clear that they're not. The Grumps don't ask for anything in return for their content, but the fans should at least give them that.

In short, if money is involved, creators owe what is promised. If not, fans owe creators at least a little something in return [small](in this case, privacy)[/small].

 

[FPLOON]

If it's free, they don't own "anything" to their fans to a fault...
If it's not free, then they owe "everything" to their fans to a fault...

In terms of Game Grumps, I think if they just said that the changes were due to something personal that's both not a bad thing overall but also something fans shouldn't have to worry about, then I assume the news of the Jon leaving/Danny becoming the next "Grump" would have been received with a more positive outcome... Sure, the news would still be pretty vague, but not vague enough for fans to start jumping to [outlandish] conclusions as quickly as they did... Then again, I barely watched Game Grumps even when Jon was on it, so there's that...

Overall, the bigger the fanbase, the more you kinda have to keep them up-to-date on any [major] changes... That doesn't mean you have to go into personal details, but the fact that you're willing to give your fans the heads-up with "enough" info to keep them from ringing down your neck with either [negative] speculation or, worse, the spreading of false rumors just shows how much you do care about your fans in the long run.... On the other hands, fans have to, at least, respect the privacy of those who make what they like, but at the same time wonder about the consistency if things do change overall, especially if they're is money involved in some way, shape, or form...

Yeah... I think this is why I try to stay as neutral as possible, in terms of stuff like this...

 

[Something Amyss]

Nothing beyond whatever they promise in terms of a business arrangement. However, it's really bad to take that approach as it fosters animosity with the people whose money you want. It's essentially bad customer service, and that only really works out if you're the only game in town.

Of course, if you're leaving the game, it may not matter to you either.

But the point is, you don't owe anyone anything (unless you start making claims about your content), but that's not a good way to go about things.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

If the content creator promises nothing, then they owe fans nothing. George Lucas did not owe us a Blu ray version of the original films. Hasbro does not owe us more appearances of pony X (why yes, I do enjoy the show). Creators don't owe their fans anything. Now, if creators want to harbor good will and build bridges, they should try to find ways to please their fans, but never should they feel like they owe their fans, because that will eventually lead to feelings of resentment.

The exception in my book is when a creator promises something and then fails to deliver. A prime example: "It's not even in any way like the traditional game endings, where you can say how many endings their are, or whether you got ending A, B, or C."
That is when a creator owes their fans something, because they have made a promise. Failing to deliver on that promise, without at least an honest reason and a apology, is a good way to bring the wrath of your fans down on you. Hard.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

When we're talking a paid performance of some sort, then the fans are owed what they paid for.

When we're talking about free things, then I'd rather throw the word "owe" out the window. In that sort of situation, it's better to keep the word "relationship" in mind- a sort of mutual feedback loop where each side influences the other positively. When one side starts expecting- or worse, demanding- things of the other just because "I deserve that" then the relationship is going to go badly.