Artists should handle criticism wisely

GREETINGS, fellow artists. I hope you are all doing well. I know most of you are worried because of the wet spell that is upon us.

Rains are never good for showbiz, but we should appreciate the whole picture that we all need these rains for a hunger-free year as a country.

Yes, people will not come to shows in expected numbers and outdoor events will be totally affected but that is just another side of the coin.

Let us thank the Lord for the rains as the country looks forward to a bumper harvest, so that we will all be happy at the end of it all.

As artists, we have the whole year to present our products to the people, but - remember - most farmers depend on the rain season for their crops. They will be joining us in a few next months after they sell their produce.

I know very few of us (artists) are farmers, but let the rains fall (we hope they will not be too much to be good). Good rains are good for us all.

Well, enough about the rains, lest this turns out to be a weather narrative.

Let us get to the business of the day. In my first mail last week, I wrote about guitarist Baba Harare’s departure from Jah Prayzah and noted that many artists that are now stars went through the same route.

It is good that Baba Harare will be launching his album on January 26 and many artists will grace that event. We will see how he fares when the album finally comes.

I deliberately avoided addressing this letter to any individual artist this week because I felt there is an area that needs discussion.

It is about how artists respond to criticism. As an artist, Elder Zex knows it is disheartening for someone to underrate a product that you have worked passionately for.

As artists, we sometimes feel let down when critics say unfavourable things about our behaviour, productions, characters and everything else that we value in our territories.

Such developments often led to bad relations between artists and critics, especially journalists. When artists are criticised, they always feel it is unfair treatment.

What most artists do not realise is that these critics often raise important points about our works. Artists should be able to differentiate between constructive criticism and unfair comment.

Most critics are professional and would not go to an extent having personal attack of artists.

Of course they are some critics that stoop low and let their personal relations with artists dictate the language of their articles. That is shameless unprofessionalism.

But such instances are few. Professional critics raise facts about any issues they discuss and as artists we should be able to understand a critic’s points or suggestions before claiming personal attack.

Unfortunately, most artists feel any comment they deem negative is a personal attack.

Artists that consider constructive criticism in a good way will always learn and it works to their advantage.

Everyone makes mistakes, but people that are not prepared to correct their mistakes will not grow. When a critic highlights your point of weakness, try to turn it into a strength. Do not get weaker by claiming that you have been unfairly attacked. Let the facts do the talking.

It is sad that there are some artists that have gone to the extent of physically attacking journalists citing unfair articles.

Wise artists get ideas from criticism. Where there is unfair criticism, let your facts show the world that you are correct. Never take criticism personally.

Till next week, keep checking your mail.