Everyone in the US has heard about the MTV VMAs, Twerking, or Miley Cyrus in the last 2 weeks, and the music industry couldn’t be happier. 

By overtly sexualizing the wholesome teenager daughter of a beloved country singer, they deliberately provoked a large–or at least vocal–portion of america.

I say deliberately because it is so clearly self-serving. Even before the show was over, the internet, radio, and television all exploded with mock outrage and discussions of decency and morality. The controversy has generated a mind-boggling amount of free marketing. If you were to pay market rate for the number of page impressions that Miley Cyrus has gotten, the number would  easily be in the 9 figures.

Just like overthrowing an elected government using military force is called a coup, no matter what the PR people say, deliberately provoking people by doing something they abhor is called trolling. 

Not even 4chan could pull off a successful troll of this magnitude. It’s awe inspiring. And trolling for economic gain…it’s unheard of.
 
What’s more is that it’s not just Miley.*

It’s Chris Brown’s unapologetic treatment of Rihanna.

It’s Kanye saying he’s Steve Jobs, interrupting Taylor Swift, or pretty much anything else he does

The music industry is wasting our time and our attention. It’s time to start treating them like the trolls that they are.  Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, stop feeding them.

*Of course, when I use these celebrities’ first names, I don’t mean they personally are the ones making these decisions in all cases.  I mean the marketing machines that power their celebrity in order to turn a profit from their paid content.