There are many ways people have expressed their dislike for bands and artists over the years. Some burn records and posters, some throw crap at musicians onstage, and some take to the internet and write a usually less-than intelligent comment on a band’s Facebook page. But if the number of people about the size of a town collectively disliked an artist like, say, Ted Nugent, what’s a big way to express it? By paying him not to play, of course. The town of Longview, Texas has reportedly paid Nugent $16,000 in exchange for him not playing at the town’s Fourth of July festival.
Nugent was originally scheduled to headline the festival but the town reached an agreement to pay him half of the $32,000 performance fee so that he wouldn’t play. Of course, the reasons behind the town not wanting Nugent to play stems from his many controversial (some would say stupid) political statements such as calling President Barack Obama a “subhuman mongrel.” So, there you have it bands around the world; if you’ve been feeling less relevant since 1980, just make crazy political statements and get paid not to perform as a result.
[via]
