How the Music Industry Effects Popular Music Culture

How the Music Industry Effects Popular Music Culture

Music is no doubt one of the most popular, as well as populated, forms of media today. I’m sure, without even asking, I can assume that everyone in this room actively listens to music. In fact, according to Nielsen’s Music 360 report from 2014, “93% of the U.S. population listens to music, spending more than 25 hours each week jamming out to their favorite tunes. In fact, 75% of Americans say they actively choose to listen to music, which is more than they claim to actively choose to watch TV,” which comes at around 73% (Everyone).  But what many may not know is that by simply listening to music, consumers are affecting the lives of artists in a big way. However, even more control is put upon artists and even consumers too by the likes of record labels, managers, big corporations, etc. Many may not realize it, as they carelessly continue to listen to their favorite radio station, but the industry is virtually responsible for what and who gets played on the radio, what becomes popular, and, essentially, what the average consumer will listen to and like.

Even more control is put upon the music artists and producers, however. In a business world where artists charge venues hundreds of thousands of dollars to book them while others must pay the venue themselves just to get a gig, money is obviously wildly unequal, and everyone is rushing to be the next star. Once again, this can be sourced back to the big corporations and labels. When nearly all the money is found at the top, artists rush to get signed by big labels and reach global status. Yet, when labels limit their releases to only specific genres or styles, it creates an over-saturation of similar-sounding and uninspired tracks.

In a forum through the popular site Reddit, a user asked “In your opinion, what is the biggest problem with EDM (electronic dance music) nowadays?” Various people responded, making comments such as “Too many people in it solely for fame.”, “Over saturation of tracks that often are indistinguishable from each other.” or “The lack of M in EDM.” One made the statement “[EDM] is just hard to be original. It’s basically making music so people can jump, get high, drunk, party and [stuff] like that” (In Your Opinion). This commenter makes an important observation. Many people and artists have criticized EDM’s recent movement as being too commercial and lacking any real character. As the commenter said, labels have curated a following of songs lacking originality and made essentially for the sole purpose of making someone jump up and down. Many music artists would not be so brave to talk about this issue as Porter Robinson.

In 2014, Porter Robinson shocked the pop culture scene when he came clean and spoke his true feelings on the current state of EDM. In 2010, before the age of 20, Porter Robinson had struck fame and in the following years he would go on to work with some of dance’s biggest artists such as Skrillex and Lady Gaga. His fame also brought him performances at some of dance’s biggest festivals such as Ultra and Tomorrowland (Nijjar). Yet, as his name grew bigger, he quickly realized he was not happy with the music he was making as well as the current EDM scene. Porter Robinson soon gained more attention from his open and transparent thoughts. In an interview with NME, he states:

[EDM] is quite functional. It exists to make people go crazy and to me, in a lot of ways, it’s entertainment, it’s not art. In terms of expression, I think there’s kind of a ceiling to what you can do when you’re trying to operate within this tiny little circle of stuff that can make people go crazy and jump up and down.

Porter Robinson makes the bold statement of “EDM is entertainment, it’s not art.” I believe Porter Robinson implies that many times, within the dance scene, artists are now making tracks without any real sentimental attachment or meaning, but rather only making songs for the sole purpose of having a good time, or “entertainment.” Porter Robinson wanted change. He wanted to show true emotion but realized there was a lack of control in the music he was making. He makes this distinction in another interview with Radio.com. The interviewer asks him “what are your thoughts on the current state of DJ’s and EDM?”, to which Porter Robinson replies, “I think that there are requirements when you’re making a big, mainstage smash song. There are rules. There are things you have to do and if it doesn’t succeed in making people jump up and down and go crazy then the song is not successful. It fails as an EDM sing.” These requirements and restrictions became so detrimental to Robinson that it even began to affect his health. While talking with The Fader, he explains:

Last year, I literally had like four or five full-blown anxiety attacks onstage. When I was in Australia, that’s when it was at its worst. I was yelling at fans, “Dance music is terrible!” I fully...freaked out. I was playing these songs, and people were dancing, and they were watching me, and I remember feeling, ‘These people, their...week is this. They spent money on these tickets. They’re excited to see me, and they think I stand for all these things.’ I would play these songs I don’t like that much, and they’d do well, and then I was trying to play this Chrome Sparks record that I thought was so good, and it didn’t go off. I tried a few more times, playing other songs I thought were better and more to my taste, and I remember Aaron, my manager, and Dan, my tour manager, coming onstage like, “Dude, just get through the hour. It’s going to be okay. Remember, you’re doing this...so you can do what you love” (Cooper).

Many artists may not go through as serious mental struggles as Porter Robinson did, but, on the contrary, many will also not be willing to be so open and transparent with how they feel. Porter Robinson coming clean with his feelings towards the EDM and pop culture scene was a first of its time, but it helped mark a new era of creativity within a stagnant bubble of music, something which arguably can be one of the most important elements within any career or hobby.

    Although the mention of religion is something that generally is avoided within pop culture, when it comes to the issue of creativity and self-expression, a look into the Judeo-Christian worldview will show many similarities to the same points that Porter Robinson was speaking for.

Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Mainline Protestant, All these denominations have the same belief that music is a form of expression and a way to give praise to God (Theology; Saint Lawrence; Fr. Avram Brown). Like Porter Robinson was talking about when he describes a lack of originality and a want for creativity, in the Christian faith, we are called to model after God, and God being the creator of all things, which is creative in nature, we too are called to be creative as a way of glorifying God. In a secular world where often money and popularity are the ultimate goal, sometimes it is already assumed for the man without God to choose the path that leads to those material items. Yet, with God in the picture, suddenly desire goes beyond the materialistic item, but nothing will come without struggle. So, in the same way that there is a struggle within pop culture to find originality, there will also inevitably be a struggle when, as Christians, we are called to be creative as an expression of spirit and worship (Fr. Avram Brown)

    This call for expression through music has been practiced since early Christian history. As far back as Genesis 4:21, we see a mention of musical instruments. Throughout the Bible, there are various other mentions of using music as a form of worship. “I will sing of your love and justice; to you Lord, I will sing praise” (New King James Bible, Psalm 101.1). “The Trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang : ‘He is good; his love endures forever’” (New King James Bible, 2 Chronicles 5.13). Since God created the heavens and the earth, men and women, as children of God, have been called to give him praise and, as seen in these few verses, people have been using music as a way of self-expression and to worship God for thousands of years, and still today, music has transformed throughout time and now in almost every type of church service, Songs are sung throughout the service as a way to glorify God.

    Now, in modern times, music dominates the media platform, yet self-expression and creativity seem to be a fleeting memory. This idea is not put to thought by only Porter Robinson, however. Various other artists within the pop culture and EDM scene have expressed their concerns for the current state as well as future of this dance platform. Possibly most surprising to comment on this issue was Diplo. At 38 years old, Diplo has been within the EDM scene for nearly two decades and many argue he is one of the most influential figures within dance music, being responsible for pioneering it to the global success it has received. In 2016, Diplo was awarded “Dance Artist of the Year” by Billboard, and following his year-end success, Billboard interviewed Diplo in which he made a shocking statement:

The DJ world is the corniest...group of people. We’re not celebrities, we’re not famous for any good reason. We’re just … really lame. Besides people like Dillon Francis, who makes fun of the whole thing, or Calvin Harris, it’s a sinking ship. It’s a really lame culture. I’m sad that i’m part of it, but I play the game (Ringen).

Diplo quickly gained backlash from this comment, with people mocking him for criticizing the culture that he essentially molded himself. But, among the hateful words, Diplo’s statement brought out the thoughts of other like-minded artists like Kill The Noise and Craze, both prominent figures in the dance scene. Both went to Twitter to say some supportive words for Diplo, saying “‘edm is wack except for my friends - Diplo’ to be honest I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that statement. That’s how I feel too,” and “Yes I agree EDM DJs are a sinking ship...and lame...He said it not me” (Magnetic). Diplo is not the only big name to have a few words to say about the dance scene, however. Dating back even farther than Diplo, Carl Cox has his own opinion of everything that is happening now. In an interview with Dancing Astronaut, Carl Cox said “I don’t think it’s underground vs overground,’ I just think it’s pop culture versus people who actually love the music. Some of these people have no clue why they are standing in front of these DJs in the first place.” While possibly a little harsh, Carl Cox brings some light to the issue later in the interview when he says:

The pop culture stuff - I don’t think it’s damaged anything. It’s opened people up to a whole new sound and eventually they will grow out of what’s commercial and pop and find the thing that keeps them coming back for years and years. As long as you have a heart and soul and a passion for what you are doing people will find you (Spada).

Carl Cox brings positivity to an issue that seemingly only received negative credit, and while what he says might be true, unfortunately it is often not the case as artists rush to get money. Once again, we can draw this issue back to the big labels and corporations.

    Another issue that many may be oblivious to is how little profit artists actually receive back from their sales. While big name artists are making tens of millions of dollars, mid-tier to low-tier artists earn little to nothing. In a post on Tumblr, music artist Nick Thayer broke down exactly how much money he makes. “People often think there’s a huge amount of money in this scene,” he says. “There is, but it is very concentrated and in the hands of very, VERY few people.” In 2012, Nick Thayer released a ten track EP named Like Boom. In total, the EP made around 13,000 sales. For simplicity’s sake, each sale is two dollars each, and for each sale, there is roughly a 50% split for the site that sells it. After this, there is another 50% split with the label. On top of these splits, there is yet another cut with any remixers or vocalists that are featured on the songs. After all the cuts, Nick Thayer’s profit from 13,000 sales comes down to less than 4,000 dollars, but the expenses don’t end here. As Nick Thayer explains, he must then pay for the management cut, professionally mastering each track, artwork that is useable across all platforms, publicity campaigns, and other small fees. After all the expenses are calculated, shockingly, Nick Thayer shows he ended up losing money after his release rather than earning (Thayer). He acknowledges that there are areas he could have cut costs down, but his evaluation is still a very real, yet sad reality that many up and coming artists face. As Nick Thayer said, money circulating around the music industry is very concentrated and only in the hands of the biggest stars. The industry is greedy, and artists know it. In an interview with Thump, music veteran Fatboy Slim makes a bold statement, “Make no mistake,” he says, “EDM will crash and burn. It’s based on a pyramid scheme of making money and as soon as it stops making money the whole house of cards will fall down” (Baines).

   In the music industry, it is extremely difficult to become successful and the people working in it don’t make it any easier. To truly acquire flourishing within this business, it requires cooperation on the artists end as well as the consumers. In an industry where there is constant bombardment to sound a specific way, it is the artist’s job to believe in their own work, not someone else’s. But artists cannot fuel their creativity without the support of the consumer. “Please support artists you like in any way you can think of,” says Nick Thayer. “Buy the whole EP when they release it instead of just one song. Share the links to their music on Facebook or Twitter or re-post them on Soundcloud. You would not believe the difference this can make” (Thayer). If possible, donations also make a huge difference in the lives of artists. Ultimately, we choose whether we want to make a difference or not, it will not happen over time. When it comes down to the EDM industry, I believe music artist Reid Speed sums it up in the best way possible:

when so much of ‘what sells’ in EDM today is just marketing at work, and when what is being sold is often not even made by the person who collects the paycheck for maybe not even really playing the show, we have a serious disconnect at play. Do YOU really want that? Do YOU really want to see more ghost-produced button pushers winning because they have the biggest marketing budget? Or would you prefer to see authentic artists reaping the benefits of their talents? The choice is ours (Calvano).

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