4 ms·

>consumers will arguable experience more value through an abundance of good songs.// It is people's shared experiences of a song that makes a song most valuabl

>consumers will arguable experience more value through an abundance of good songs.// It is people's shared experiences of a song that makes a song most valuable (it's not the only value, of course). Having more songs means less shared experiences, more is less. Imagine going to a club where the DJ can play any of a million songs but only one person knows that song; compared to them playing a setlist of floor-filling bangers ...

ethbr1 3y ago
The herd vs merit distinction is interesting, and I think they both have value. Maybe differently to different people, but non-zero. Imagine a handful of objectively "good" songs. Play them for a crowd where nobody knows them. Or, in a more humorous example, imagine the Beatles played tracks only from their second album, while touring for their first album. Would audiences be disappointed? I struggle to imagine an overly negative reaction. People love hearing songs they love, but they also fell in love with those songs for a reason. Well executed music is well-executed music.
- pbhjpbhj 3y ago
  Yes, agreed, music has a particular value to a person (I was going too say 'intrinsic' but it is personal) as well. But shared love of music, or shared experiences of music transcends this value IMO; and is largely orthogonal. "That song we danced to", "what we sang at the campfire", crab dance for LTT watchers, 'easy for ENZ' for CSGO players, a national anthem to a nationalist, ... the music matters a little but it's only really a rallying point for shared experiences.
OfSanguineFire 3y ago
"It is people's shared experiences of a song that makes a song most valuable" You are definitely right that abundance leads to a decline in shared experiences. I’m the only person I know who listens to the music that I do, but of course I treasure that music. But beyond my anecdotal experience, from sites like Last.fm it appears that listeners really began to fragment by the 2010s; with so much on offer now, people don’t necessarily listen to the same music as even their closest peers. DJs, too, have spoken about the decline of the well-known banger when they are being flooded with hundreds of new tracks every week. Moreover, computer mixing today means those tracks might get so cut up by DJs (e.g. taking a bass line from one track and a synth line from another) that they become well-nigh unrecognizable to even the savviest trainspotters.

ethbr1 3y ago

The herd vs merit distinction is interesting, and I think they both have value. Maybe differently to different people, but non-zero. Imagine a handful of objectively "good" songs. Play them for a crowd where nobody knows them. Or, in a more humorous example, imagine the Beatles played tracks only from their second album, while touring for their first album. Would audiences be disappointed? I struggle to imagine an overly negative reaction. People love hearing songs they love, but they also fell in love with those songs for a reason. Well executed music is well-executed music.

pbhjpbhj 3y ago
Yes, agreed, music has a particular value to a person (I was going too say 'intrinsic' but it is personal) as well. But shared love of music, or shared experiences of music transcends this value IMO; and is largely orthogonal. "That song we danced to", "what we sang at the campfire", crab dance for LTT watchers, 'easy for ENZ' for CSGO players, a national anthem to a nationalist, ... the music matters a little but it's only really a rallying point for shared experiences.

OfSanguineFire 3y ago

"It is people's shared experiences of a song that makes a song most valuable" You are definitely right that abundance leads to a decline in shared experiences. I’m the only person I know who listens to the music that I do, but of course I treasure that music. But beyond my anecdotal experience, from sites like Last.fm it appears that listeners really began to fragment by the 2010s; with so much on offer now, people don’t necessarily listen to the same music as even their closest peers. DJs, too, have spoken about the decline of the well-known banger when they are being flooded with hundreds of new tracks every week. Moreover, computer mixing today means those tracks might get so cut up by DJs (e.g. taking a bass line from one track and a synth line from another) that they become well-nigh unrecognizable to even the savviest trainspotters.