9 ms·

Just about the very last thing I would do to a musician whom I admire would be to debase them like that.

pedalpete 6y ago
I feel like this is the point that gets missed. For these people that are famous for a skill or craft, Cameo turns them into an Organ Grinder Monkey. Obviously if the celeb is doing it, nobody is forcing them, but the whole thing just feels so cheap and degrading. Who ever would have thought you'd say "I'll pay you $500 to wish me a happy birthday"
- gdilla 6y ago
  They choose to be on Cameo to do it. So who cares? They make it worth their time. LeBron might do it for say $50,000 and say that all of it goes to charity. That sounds good to me.
- hammock 6y ago
  All of these celebrities regularly take appearance fees to show up at nightclubs, bar mitzvahs, birthday parties, etc. It's extremely common. You don't hear about most of them because they're private events.
- slg 6y ago
  Why do you consider this any more degrading than any other form of patronage? Why is paying a musician to wish someone happy birthday somehow more shameful than demanding they sing and dance for me when I show up to their concert? In both cases, the artist gets the funds to keep making their art and the audience gets to continue enjoying that art.
  - vorpalhex 6y ago
    "I'm paying you $500 to engage in your art form as you see fit, in exchange I'd like to hang out and enjoy you play." "I'm paying you $500 to sing Happy Birthday to a 12 year old child who has the musical appreciation of a deaf dog." It's the difference between being asked to design and implement a system, and hammering nails into planks. One respects agency, one doesn't.
    - slg 6y ago
      There are a lot of concerts that are demeaning to the artist too. I am reminded of this clip from a documentary on Katy Perry[1]. Her marriage was falling apart while she was on tour until eventually her husband asked for a divorce over a text message. She was left in tears backstage and had to force herself into a dress with pinwheels on her breasts and fake a smile for the thousands of tweens and teenagers in the audience. I have also been to a concert in which a band felt compelled to play their biggest hit to both open and close a show because that 3 minute song was the only reason a majority of the audience came to the show. I can't imagine either of those was a great situation for the artists. Meanwhile Cameos can be incredibly meaningful for the people who receive them. They provide an intimate human connection to people they might otherwise have no chance of ever seeing in person. They also give the person fulfilling the Cameo complete control. They can be filled wherever or on whatever schedule they want. I would bet a lot of entertainers on Cameo are perfectly happy with the setup. I don't think it is right to assume a feeling of morally superiority over the people who participate on either side of this service. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oB21JklYnQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oB21JklYnQ
      - nitrogen 6y ago
        They provide an intimate human connection But that's just it... It's not intimate. It just tricks us into feeling that way, but there is zero reciprocity.
        slg 6y ago
        Reciprocity is not a requirement for intimacy. These people are talking directly and exclusively to you. That is intimate.
        tomc1985 6y ago
        Is it? So any two people speaking directly and exclusively to each other are 'intimate'? I'm with the others in that Cameo seems like a fine platform for debasing and exploiting b-listers and past-their-primes. It's the 2020 version of game show or infomercial cameos. There will always be a market's worth of people with enough vanity to think that the kind of service Cameo provides is morally sound. They are probably the same folks that keep the National Enquirer and Daily Mail afloat. Let's not kid ourselves with fancy imagery about how good it makes someone feel or how beautiful it is that it satiates someone's desires. "I'm just building what people want" is the classic amoralist's cop-out.
- smt88 6y ago
  > but the whole thing just feels so cheap and degrading What do you propose as an alternative? These are mostly people who aren't getting work anymore. What dignified career do you imagine for them, when there are a million younger, cheaper entertainers to take their place? It would be great if they all had college degrees and the ability to be hired in a stable white-collar job, but that's rarely an option after a life in entertainment.
- majormajor 6y ago
  Orrrrrr they realize it's just another way to entertain people and make them happy. If they didn't want to entertain, they probably wouldn't have chosen that career in the first place, now there are "micro-gigs" they can take too to get an extra level of personal-ness.
- zip1234 6y ago
  I think it is a good service and might actually feel good for the celebrity even outside of the money aspect. I used it to have a minor celebrity from my wife's favorite show wish her a happy birthday. She loved it. I would be interested to hear how a celebrity feels about doing that kind of stuff but I would think it feels good to make someone's day better.
- mattm 6y ago
  Many celebrities have an "appearance fee" meaning they'll meet for a certain number of hours for whatever you pay for (within reason). So, for example, if you're rich enough you could get in touch with their agent and book your favourite celebrity for a lunch or dinner. This just takes it to a scale that wouldn't be possible before.
- Rapzid 6y ago
  500 dollars for a 1 minute happy birthday? That's a cool 7.8m per year doing it "one hour" each day during the week. Just in case anyone wondered why these celebs would "debase themselves" thus.
reedwolf 6y ago
Yes, thank you. I hope to never see anyone I respect on that site.
bb2018 6y ago
B and C list celebs have been doing autograph signings and meet and greet for decades. Performers travel to cities in the middle of nowhere and stay there for hours before shuttling off to another location. I think it is a bit silly to single out quick video messages, that they sign up for and can set their own price for, as debasement.

I feel like this is the point that gets missed. For these people that are famous for a skill or craft, Cameo turns them into an Organ Grinder Monkey. Obviously if the celeb is doing it, nobody is forcing them, but the whole thing just feels so cheap and degrading. Who ever would have thought you'd say "I'll pay you $500 to wish me a happy birthday"

gdilla 6y ago
They choose to be on Cameo to do it. So who cares? They make it worth their time. LeBron might do it for say $50,000 and say that all of it goes to charity. That sounds good to me.
hammock 6y ago
All of these celebrities regularly take appearance fees to show up at nightclubs, bar mitzvahs, birthday parties, etc. It's extremely common. You don't hear about most of them because they're private events.
slg 6y ago
Why do you consider this any more degrading than any other form of patronage? Why is paying a musician to wish someone happy birthday somehow more shameful than demanding they sing and dance for me when I show up to their concert? In both cases, the artist gets the funds to keep making their art and the audience gets to continue enjoying that art.
- vorpalhex 6y ago
  "I'm paying you $500 to engage in your art form as you see fit, in exchange I'd like to hang out and enjoy you play." "I'm paying you $500 to sing Happy Birthday to a 12 year old child who has the musical appreciation of a deaf dog." It's the difference between being asked to design and implement a system, and hammering nails into planks. One respects agency, one doesn't.
  - slg 6y ago
    There are a lot of concerts that are demeaning to the artist too. I am reminded of this clip from a documentary on Katy Perry[1]. Her marriage was falling apart while she was on tour until eventually her husband asked for a divorce over a text message. She was left in tears backstage and had to force herself into a dress with pinwheels on her breasts and fake a smile for the thousands of tweens and teenagers in the audience. I have also been to a concert in which a band felt compelled to play their biggest hit to both open and close a show because that 3 minute song was the only reason a majority of the audience came to the show. I can't imagine either of those was a great situation for the artists. Meanwhile Cameos can be incredibly meaningful for the people who receive them. They provide an intimate human connection to people they might otherwise have no chance of ever seeing in person. They also give the person fulfilling the Cameo complete control. They can be filled wherever or on whatever schedule they want. I would bet a lot of entertainers on Cameo are perfectly happy with the setup. I don't think it is right to assume a feeling of morally superiority over the people who participate on either side of this service. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oB21JklYnQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oB21JklYnQ
    - nitrogen 6y ago
      They provide an intimate human connection But that's just it... It's not intimate. It just tricks us into feeling that way, but there is zero reciprocity.
      - slg 6y ago
        Reciprocity is not a requirement for intimacy. These people are talking directly and exclusively to you. That is intimate.
        tomc1985 6y ago
        Is it? So any two people speaking directly and exclusively to each other are 'intimate'? I'm with the others in that Cameo seems like a fine platform for debasing and exploiting b-listers and past-their-primes. It's the 2020 version of game show or infomercial cameos. There will always be a market's worth of people with enough vanity to think that the kind of service Cameo provides is morally sound. They are probably the same folks that keep the National Enquirer and Daily Mail afloat. Let's not kid ourselves with fancy imagery about how good it makes someone feel or how beautiful it is that it satiates someone's desires. "I'm just building what people want" is the classic amoralist's cop-out.
smt88 6y ago
> but the whole thing just feels so cheap and degrading What do you propose as an alternative? These are mostly people who aren't getting work anymore. What dignified career do you imagine for them, when there are a million younger, cheaper entertainers to take their place? It would be great if they all had college degrees and the ability to be hired in a stable white-collar job, but that's rarely an option after a life in entertainment.
majormajor 6y ago
Orrrrrr they realize it's just another way to entertain people and make them happy. If they didn't want to entertain, they probably wouldn't have chosen that career in the first place, now there are "micro-gigs" they can take too to get an extra level of personal-ness.
zip1234 6y ago
I think it is a good service and might actually feel good for the celebrity even outside of the money aspect. I used it to have a minor celebrity from my wife's favorite show wish her a happy birthday. She loved it. I would be interested to hear how a celebrity feels about doing that kind of stuff but I would think it feels good to make someone's day better.
mattm 6y ago
Many celebrities have an "appearance fee" meaning they'll meet for a certain number of hours for whatever you pay for (within reason). So, for example, if you're rich enough you could get in touch with their agent and book your favourite celebrity for a lunch or dinner. This just takes it to a scale that wouldn't be possible before.
Rapzid 6y ago
500 dollars for a 1 minute happy birthday? That's a cool 7.8m per year doing it "one hour" each day during the week. Just in case anyone wondered why these celebs would "debase themselves" thus.

reedwolf 6y ago

Yes, thank you. I hope to never see anyone I respect on that site.

bb2018 6y ago

B and C list celebs have been doing autograph signings and meet and greet for decades. Performers travel to cities in the middle of nowhere and stay there for hours before shuttling off to another location. I think it is a bit silly to single out quick video messages, that they sign up for and can set their own price for, as debasement.