6 ms·

This would be great. The idea of “best ranked music” results in mediocre, bland music that’s mostly ranked based on the social connections of the artist. Musica

by swiley 6y ago

This would be great. The idea of “best ranked music” results in mediocre, bland music that’s mostly ranked based on the social connections of the artist. Musical culture and genres are extremely diverse and trying to rank individual pieces of music makes discovery harder. I doubt they’ll actually do this of course. Their monetization model relies on ranking.

29athrowaway 6y ago
Based on the songs being aggresively pushed by record labels, it seems that the ultimate goals of mainstream music industry are: - To glorify violence, substance abuse, disrespect of women, domination behavior, anti-intellectualism. - To reinforce racial stereotypes, including fear of minorities. - To make people superficial. Songs are an effective way to deliver a message to be repeated over and over and over again until people break and assimilate the message.
- staplers 6y ago
  The themes you mentioned are being pushed by more than just the corporate music industry.
  - 082349872349872 6y ago
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkES4anCYOw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkES4anCYOw > "It's all hip hop's fault, you see. Not the three companies who decide what you hear and see." nice timing at 1:47, or decent 'shop skillz?
- troughway 6y ago
  Upvoted because HNs groupthink downvoting is a festering pile of shit. However, you’re describing basic human condition. Music like this has existed long before the labels were here. This music, appalling though it may be, is at the end of the day what the populace wants to hear. It’s the equivalent of allowing people to play violent FPS games so they have an outlet. Let the people break if it’s in their nature to do so.
- Sebb767 6y ago
  I don't think you can say this in general. There are a lot of uplifting chart songs. On the point of substance abuse, yes, that's a topic. But in reality, young people just tend to talk about this and it's really hard to say what's cause and effect. And I really can't see your points about superficiality, racial stereotypes etc. That niche surely exists, but it's far too hot for the big labels. Lastly, on anti-intellectualism: Yes, those songs tend to not be too intellectually challenging, but I don't think that's bad. People tend to listen to those when partying or just relaxing ; it's okay to simply chill out sometimes. Most people don't want to read technical literature for coming down either and that's fine.
- gruez 6y ago
  >it seems that the ultimate goals of mainstream music industry are: [...] Songs are an effective way to deliver a message to be repeated over and over and over again until people break and assimilate the message. It sounds like you're saying that the music industry is engaged in a conspiracy to change people's behavior. Is this a correct characterization? If so, is there any evidence for this conspiracy, or some plausible motivations? I'm not sure how the powers that be would benefit from people being more violent abuse drugs, or disrespect women, for instance.
  - 29athrowaway 6y ago
    Many conspiracies can be just explained through emergent behavior. For example, there could be demand for that music, and the labels are just creating content to respond to that demand... without any ethical considerations about what they're promoting, that is. But to be honest, a conspiracy of some kind could be an explanation, who knows. For some people, there are substantial tangible, material benefits to dumbing down society. For example, the "gangster rapper" stereotype is pushed aggresively by the music industry. The popularity of "gangster rap" results in "gangster" aesthetics becoming fashionable, even among law abiding people who are not gangsters. However, when people see a person that resembles the "gangster" stereotype (purely based on their attire) pushed by the entertainment industry, they will be more likely to call 911, eventually resulting in an innocent person being killed for no valid reason. Is this a racist conspiracy? who knows. Likewise, oversexualization results in people having unplanned kids, causing them to ultimately become poor, and more susceptible to predatory loans, low wages, political manipulation and all the machinery that exists only to abuse the poor. Similar to anti-intellectualism. And then, glorification of violence, competition, non-compliance, etc... this just makes people very divisive, and in order to dominate a large population you want them to be as divided as possible, and constantly distracted with immaterial disputes while you lobby the government. So, yeah... it could be a conspiracy. It is very profitable to make people vulnerable and susceptible to manipulation and abuse. Especially political manipulation, which is already prominent in American journalism. It kind of resembles the psychological warfare techniques used by the Soviets (i.e.: ideological subversion). https://youtu.be/IQPsKvG6WMI?t=60 https://youtu.be/IQPsKvG6WMI?t=60
- colinmhayes 6y ago
  The ultimate goal of the main stream music industry is to make money. Those are just what they've found to be the most effective ways to do it.
dwd 6y ago
The labels will have some method to game the system - whether they own banks of devices playing the song/album they are pushing, or through a 3rd party service. There will be services in Asia that offer to do Spotify plays, and it's likely to be cheaper than TV/Radio advertising or buying physical copies to get an initial high ranking.
hrktb 6y ago
Blandness is a feature for my family. We have wildly different tastes, and it’s hard to come with a consensus on what to listen in the car. The top 40/50 has a high chance of being “fine” for everybody. That’s what I would put in the background if I had to make random people wait in a room for an hour. There are “discovery” playlist outside of the ranked ones, so I wouldn’t be surprised if my use is not so far from their intended purpose.
- Dumblydorr 6y ago
  This concept allowed Nickelback to make it into arenas and stadia. Their music is the dry toast of rock, no one loves it but it is the lowest common denominator for "rock".

by swiley 6y ago

29athrowaway 6y ago

Based on the songs being aggresively pushed by record labels, it seems that the ultimate goals of mainstream music industry are: - To glorify violence, substance abuse, disrespect of women, domination behavior, anti-intellectualism. - To reinforce racial stereotypes, including fear of minorities. - To make people superficial. Songs are an effective way to deliver a message to be repeated over and over and over again until people break and assimilate the message.

staplers 6y ago
The themes you mentioned are being pushed by more than just the corporate music industry.
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkES4anCYOw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkES4anCYOw > "It's all hip hop's fault, you see. Not the three companies who decide what you hear and see." nice timing at 1:47, or decent 'shop skillz?
troughway 6y ago
Upvoted because HNs groupthink downvoting is a festering pile of shit. However, you’re describing basic human condition. Music like this has existed long before the labels were here. This music, appalling though it may be, is at the end of the day what the populace wants to hear. It’s the equivalent of allowing people to play violent FPS games so they have an outlet. Let the people break if it’s in their nature to do so.
Sebb767 6y ago
I don't think you can say this in general. There are a lot of uplifting chart songs. On the point of substance abuse, yes, that's a topic. But in reality, young people just tend to talk about this and it's really hard to say what's cause and effect. And I really can't see your points about superficiality, racial stereotypes etc. That niche surely exists, but it's far too hot for the big labels. Lastly, on anti-intellectualism: Yes, those songs tend to not be too intellectually challenging, but I don't think that's bad. People tend to listen to those when partying or just relaxing ; it's okay to simply chill out sometimes. Most people don't want to read technical literature for coming down either and that's fine.
gruez 6y ago
>it seems that the ultimate goals of mainstream music industry are: [...] Songs are an effective way to deliver a message to be repeated over and over and over again until people break and assimilate the message. It sounds like you're saying that the music industry is engaged in a conspiracy to change people's behavior. Is this a correct characterization? If so, is there any evidence for this conspiracy, or some plausible motivations? I'm not sure how the powers that be would benefit from people being more violent abuse drugs, or disrespect women, for instance.
- 29athrowaway 6y ago
  Many conspiracies can be just explained through emergent behavior. For example, there could be demand for that music, and the labels are just creating content to respond to that demand... without any ethical considerations about what they're promoting, that is. But to be honest, a conspiracy of some kind could be an explanation, who knows. For some people, there are substantial tangible, material benefits to dumbing down society. For example, the "gangster rapper" stereotype is pushed aggresively by the music industry. The popularity of "gangster rap" results in "gangster" aesthetics becoming fashionable, even among law abiding people who are not gangsters. However, when people see a person that resembles the "gangster" stereotype (purely based on their attire) pushed by the entertainment industry, they will be more likely to call 911, eventually resulting in an innocent person being killed for no valid reason. Is this a racist conspiracy? who knows. Likewise, oversexualization results in people having unplanned kids, causing them to ultimately become poor, and more susceptible to predatory loans, low wages, political manipulation and all the machinery that exists only to abuse the poor. Similar to anti-intellectualism. And then, glorification of violence, competition, non-compliance, etc... this just makes people very divisive, and in order to dominate a large population you want them to be as divided as possible, and constantly distracted with immaterial disputes while you lobby the government. So, yeah... it could be a conspiracy. It is very profitable to make people vulnerable and susceptible to manipulation and abuse. Especially political manipulation, which is already prominent in American journalism. It kind of resembles the psychological warfare techniques used by the Soviets (i.e.: ideological subversion). https://youtu.be/IQPsKvG6WMI?t=60 https://youtu.be/IQPsKvG6WMI?t=60
colinmhayes 6y ago
The ultimate goal of the main stream music industry is to make money. Those are just what they've found to be the most effective ways to do it.

dwd 6y ago

The labels will have some method to game the system - whether they own banks of devices playing the song/album they are pushing, or through a 3rd party service. There will be services in Asia that offer to do Spotify plays, and it's likely to be cheaper than TV/Radio advertising or buying physical copies to get an initial high ranking.

hrktb 6y ago

Blandness is a feature for my family. We have wildly different tastes, and it’s hard to come with a consensus on what to listen in the car. The top 40/50 has a high chance of being “fine” for everybody. That’s what I would put in the background if I had to make random people wait in a room for an hour. There are “discovery” playlist outside of the ranked ones, so I wouldn’t be surprised if my use is not so far from their intended purpose.

Dumblydorr 6y ago
This concept allowed Nickelback to make it into arenas and stadia. Their music is the dry toast of rock, no one loves it but it is the lowest common denominator for "rock".