#and insome ways I thinkit's the most important point

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Related to your earlier ask about LT2 and success, it’s very interesting to me that there seems to be a lot of fandom stress about Louis not getting the promo he deserves but I feel like it’s such a catch 22 because it seems like there would be an equal amount of stress if he reached anywhere near the current fame levels that Harry currently has, which are making access to shows significantly harder due to price and competition. I definitely tend to think that L has, for the most part, the career that he wants within his current limitations whatever they may be. He’s making the kind of music that resonates with him personally, touring successfully, and well positioned to do the same with another album.

On an unrelated note, and feel free to ignore any of this if it doesn’t interest you, what are your thoughts on fans buying pricey jumpers/jerseys or other gifts for Louis (or Harry-though that seems to happen less frequently)? Part of me thinks like people should do whatever they want with their money if it brings them joy but another part of me can’t help but think about the resources they (H or L) have to acquire whatever wardrobe they want and don’t need fans sending them expensive gifts. But that’s probably my own personal hang ups around money though, it’s just always seemed so strange to me.

Anyways, appreciate your thoughts but no bother if none of the above resonates with you enough for a response!

Thanks anon.

I think there are two elements of fan's desire for 'better' publicity for Louis. One is for a particular sort of content. Which I totally get - I would also love it if Louis did a live lounge or was on a relaxed chat show like Graham Norton or Jonathon Ross. I do think it's useful to own those desires, rather than project them onto Louis.

But I think probably more prevalent is people identifying with Louis and therefore wanting him to have certain sorts of validation. This makes sense emotionally, but the dynamic it creates is very messy. And it can feel like fans are demanding success from Louis, not for Louis. Plus, as you say, it does rather ignore the fan experience.

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As for your other question - it does seem very odd to me that people are giving Louis presents. There's a lot of weirdness in fandom though, and I do try and relax about the differences in how people fandom.

What is striking me at the moment is fan insistence that their love makes Harry or Louis' life better. Obviously that's what's going on in the As it Was project (which is particularly odd directly in the face of the artistic statement that is largely the opposite of that idea). But also I've seen it a lot in the comments about Louis' tour in South America and fan projects - or the banner today. As if the sort of love fans offer will make a difference to Harry or Louis' life.

Fans can offer a lot - most importantly a financial base to build a career from. And also an audience - which is a really important part of creating art. But we cannot offer anything emotionally, and any artist who tries to fulfill their emotional needs with fan appreciation, is ensuring that those emotional needs will never be fulfilled.

In a recent interview Darren Hayes put it pretty brutally: "I was another one of those entertainers with that had a God-shaped hole in them, and I thought that if I just became famous and people clapped for me, that it would fix me. And spoiler alert: it didn’t."

And I think fandom is much healthier for all invovled if fans and artists understand the limits of what fans can offer. And particular, for fans if we are clear that everything we're doing, we're doing for ourselves and not for them. And that includes buying shirts, or making banners, or going to shows, or writing ridiculously long tumblr posts about the nature of fandom.