Motionless In White members Vinny Mauro and Chris Motionless have sparked discussion online after sharing their thoughts on the growing trend of fans filming entire concerts and quickly uploading the footage to social media and YouTube.
The conversation began when Mauro, the band’s drummer, took to X on July 15 to comment on how common it has become for concertgoers to experience live shows through their phone screens.
“the culture we have created where you film the entire set of a band with your cellphone and immediately upload it to youtube is comical to me. not hating, just kinda funny seeing 1/3 of the crowd living the show through their phone screen”
While some fans interpreted the comment as criticism of phone usage at concerts, Chris Motionless expanded on the discussion by suggesting that the motivation behind much of the recording isn’t necessarily about preserving memories.
“In regard to the ‘immediately upload to YouTube’ part, It’s not about living in the moment, it’s about snatching the early views from being the first person to post something that’s new. Whatever gets the likes and subscribes up.”
The comments quickly generated debate among fans, with many weighing in on whether filming concerts helps preserve special moments or detracts from the live experience.
The discussion arrives as Motionless In White recently launched their summer headlining tour, with fan-filmed footage of several live debuts and new stage moments appearing online almost immediately after performances concluded.
The issue of concert filming has become increasingly divisive throughout the rock and metal community in recent years. Some artists have embraced fan recordings as a way to spread awareness of their shows, while others have taken steps to limit or eliminate phone use during performances.
Tool and several related projects have long maintained strict no-filming policies at their concerts, while Ghost have gone even further by utilizing Yondr pouches to lock away audience smartphones during performances. Earlier this year, Iron Maiden also employed similar restrictions during a live concert filming, though the band more commonly encourages fans to keep phone usage to a minimum during shows.
Whether fans view concert recording as a way to document memories or a race to gain views and subscribers, the conversation remains one of the more polarizing topics in modern live music culture.
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