Lately, the music industry has felt extremely monotonous. There are over one hundred million songs on Spotify yet, I always listen to the same songs. These songs are great, but there are hundreds of other songs that deserve a listen as well. The over saturation of the music industry doesn’t lie in the idea that there are too many artists, but instead that there is too much of the same music from the same artists.
The internet has allowed us to create connections, and distribute and make music. We no longer need to sit around and hope our favorite songs are played on the radio. Now we can just go on Spotify, create a playlist with the songs we like, and listen to it endlessly. Even with this option, it still feels difficult to hear other music.
Take the radio for example, it’s based on what’s on the charts, but the same songs are always on the charts. Spotify isn’t that great either. I have created exactly one playlist on Spotify with a total of 43 hours of music yet it seems like I only ever hear the same 5 songs. I’m constantly adding new songs from other artists, but they still get lost in the mix.
It’s possible that Spotify may be more likely to play more of the popular songs on the charts, but the smaller artists deserve a chance too. For the Liked Playlists there’s an option to only listen to the Indie Pop songs only. Similarly, there should be an option to listen to lesser known artists from any genre. So many undiscovered artists with unique sounds deserve some of the spotlight.
The music industry has changed so much in the past 50 years with the distribution of music made faster and more accessible with the internet. The issue lies in being able to actually make space for smaller artists. In the past, I know I have made the silly mistake of closing my ears to smaller artists. It’s time we all, including me, open our ears, and seek music beyond the Billboard Hot 100.
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