6 ms·
K-pop is probably the most commercial genre that ever existed, song written by some specialist in a studio like all the other ones targeting a very specific aud
by Copenjin 1y ago
K-pop is probably the most commercial genre that ever existed, song written by some specialist in a studio like all the other ones targeting a very specific audience. This time there is no band with dances or whatever being used to promote the songs, that's the only difference.
I would have found it more interesting if the song topping the charts was from a VTuber or something completely computer-generated, not much like this.
- voidUpdate 1y agoI mean, I think the dances used to promote the song are just part of the film, like any other music video that isn't just the band playing the song (my mind immediately fell to The White Stripes: Fell In Love With a Girl but there must be tonnes of examples). I think that a song by a vtuber is unlikely to top the charts right now because they're still not quite mainstream enough for that. I think the current perception of them is similar to how anime was perceived in the past ("Look at all those weebs simping over their fictional girlfriends"), but it is heading towards mainstream. HoloEN did a lot to popularise it in the western world, and I don't think it's unlikely that a song by a vtuber could gain more widespread popularity in the near future. They have the talent for it, it's just not quite escaped the "streamer" bubble
- flohofwoe 1y ago> K-pop is probably the most commercial genre that ever existed Italo Disco would like to have a word I think ;) Arte TV aired a really good documentary about the Italo Disco phenomenon recently, unfortunately it doesn't seem to be officially available on the internet yet - but they basically had it all, factory-line produced music with singers and "stage artists" being entirely different people, but among all that trash also sometimes really good stuff. And they used synthesizers as "shameless" as nobody else, today they would go full AI slop I think.
- pjc50 1y agoSee also: Stock, Aitken & Waterman, responsible for launching artists like Kylie and Rick Astley. (separately) Milli Vanilli was unfortunately a disaster for those involved.
- TheOtherHobbes 1y agoHit factories have been a thing since the 19th century. Before SAW there was the Brill Building in the US, which was a descendant of the hit factories around Tin Pan Alley. Electronic production and distribution made the job easier in some ways - harder and more competitive in others - but the music factory system is not a new phenomenon.
- Copenjin 1y ago> but they basically had it all, factory-line produced music with singers and "stage artists" being entirely different people Wait, wait, I know the history of that genre, it was on a very small scale... compared to modern k-pop I would still consider that normal independent music production :)
- flohofwoe 1y agoItalo Disco (and generally Italo Pop) was at least big in Germany for a few years (and probably some other European countries).
- hhh 1y agoActually it's a state / military backed venture.
- dsab 1y agoMilitary backed?
- sho_hn 1y agoThe government is subsidizing kpop companies somewhat via funding for arts and entertainment (as essentially all governments in a position to invest in soft power do, of course). I'm not aware of any military backing, though. Kpop stars occasionally perform at army concerts - South Korea is a country with mandatory service for all young men, so as you can imagine these are popular -, and while I assume these are paying gigs it's also infrequent enough that I doubt you can call it backing.
- IAmBroom 1y agoYes, the much-vaunted BlackPink gap that has NATO and China rushing to catch up to...
- Copenjin 1y agoThey cannot lose, resistance is futile
- wodenokoto 1y agoIt’s not that long ago that League of Legends virtual Kpop band KD/A was charting world wide.
- mathiaspoint 1y agoI've always hated pop music because something like this was the logical end of it. I'm glad to see it frankly.