POPULAR MUSIC IS BAD: A LESSON IN INDIVIDUALISM

January 14, 2025

Everyone knows someone who constantly brags about how they don’t listen to “mainstream” music. This can go from being mildly annoying to wondering how this person manages to avoid things that are pervasive in every aspect of the culture.

Any time an underground artist jumps onto the TikTok music scene, long-time fans lose it. They proclaim that this artist is a sell-out, their music quality is at risk of severely decreasing, and my personal favourite: that anyone who started listening after their rise to popularity is a fake fan. 

How do we deal with this culture of not wanting artists to flourish, while at the same time allegedly being huge fans of said artists? We can’t wholeheartedly deny that artists gaining fame and signing to labels doesn’t have a trend of their music’s quality. This is something that we have seen time and time again. However, in avoiding music that is popular, is one not just digging themselves into the same hole as those who only listen to the popular records?

Let me explain. If you are so vehemently avoiding tracks that climb the charts, then you are allowing those charts to dictate what you listen to. You might think you are carving a unique taste for yourself, but if you go out of your way to circumvent the mainstream scene, then you are not organically crafting a collection of music. 

My advice would be to listen to whatever you want. This sounds very simple, I know, but many in this generation would rather be “perceived” as having an obscure and flavourful taste. The reality is, nobody really cares whether the music you listen to is in the Billboard Top 200 or not. As long as you like it, that’s what makes your taste special.