Why have so few main new pop stars emerged these days? The music-buying public has ideas.
For the Aug. 2 Billboard story, “Pop Stars Aren’t Popping Like They Used To — Do Labels Have a Plan?”, reporter Elias Leight spoke with label executives and managers to attempt to perceive the dearth of latest superstars, with Olivia Rodrigo and Ice Spice cited as uncommon examples of latest artists to have damaged via over the previous couple of years. Causes given for the decline ranged from the observe of signing extra artists at labels, to the lessening advertising and marketing energy of radio, to elevated competitors for time and a focus from video video games and social media — with some sources concluding that expectations for mass market enchantment needs to be lowered in right this moment’s extra fragmented media panorama.
Due partly to an Aug. 8 tweet by widely-followed pop culture account Pop Base, nevertheless, on-line chatter across the story exploded, with customers on X (previously often known as Twitter) and Reddit providing their very own opinions on the relative absence of latest stars with the mass enchantment of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Harry Types and Girl Gaga. Listed here are a couple of of probably the most outstanding and attention-grabbing takes.
It’s All TikTok’s Fault
The commonest purpose given for the shortage of latest pop stars was TikTok, which was blamed for all however killing conventional artist growth.
“They should cease signing folks based mostly off of a pair viral tiktok movies, churning out quick meals music and work with actual artists with longevity,” wrote @internetmaeve on X. “like Olivia didn’t blow up in a single day she was a disney child?? s– takes time.”
The ephemeral nature of the short-form video platform — a major change from a radio-dominated enterprise, when songs in rotation on Prime 40 stations have been inescapable — was cited as an element by Reddit consumer @anneoftheisland, weighing in on the r/popheads channel the place the article was shared: “TikTok isn’t set as much as enhance artists, it’s set as much as enhance particular person songs…Within the radio period, if successful broke out, labels had vital sway to get that artist’s second and third songs in entrance of you … they couldn’t pressure you to love these songs, however they may pressure you to hearken to them. However that’s so much tougher to do within the streaming/TikTok period. In the event you hear a track you want on TikTok, there’s a big likelihood you received’t hear that artist’s second/third singles except you search them out your self.”
On the identical Reddit thread, @Fascinating-Ad9838 mentioned that artists who break via on TikTok merely don’t have the cross-generational affect as in earlier eras, thereby limiting their affect. “The overall viewers don’t know who these artists are anymore,” they wrote. “If my grandparents know who you’re, you then undoubtedly made it.”
Report Labels Are Too Danger-Averse
One other frequent theme, which ties in with considerations about TikTok, is the grievance that labels are more and more risk-averse, preferring to signal artists with preexisting fanbases fairly than placing the time, power and cash into growing them from the bottom up.
“Thoughts you there are artists on…labels proper now in all probability begging to have full label assist and funding for his or her tasks,” mentioned X consumer @waylojan. “The issue is that they’re wanting elsewhere as an alternative of bolstering the expertise they’ve.”
“The business needs fast and quick and isn’t giving, for my part, some individuals who might actually do that the fitting likelihood,” added Reddit consumer @moxieroxsox on the r/popheads thread. “It took Rihanna 3 albums earlier than she skyrocketed. Taylor Swift wasn’t taken significantly till what? Converse Now? Purple? Ariana did Broadway and TV earlier than she began music and he or she has the voice of a literal angel. Beyoncé spent years tailoring her sound, to not point out all of the years she spent growing her skills in Future’s Little one.”
Report Labels Are Doing This On Function
Provocatively, a Reddit consumer (who has a fairly provocative deal with we received’t identify right here for causes of decorum) positioned the pop star drought as one thing engineered by labels to keep away from paying the form of cash they gave superstars like Janet Jackson and Madonna within the previous days.
“When you might have stars which have lots of momentum behind their profession, they usually have lots of status, they usually have a big and stable fanbase, they get to demand extra from labels,” they wrote. “If in case you have stars with a lot shorter careers…and shorter reigns in public curiosity, you don’t have any individual who can stroll right into a negotiation, and demand extra on their facet of the cope with the label.”
Our Consideration Is Too Fragmented
Viewers fragmentation, precipitated partly by the rise of social media influencers, was additionally a theme come across by a number of commenters.
“It’s in all probability arduous when everybody might be well-known now on TikTok,” mentioned X consumer @kariwarburgon. “It’s like that one quote from The Incredibles ‘As soon as everyone seems to be tremendous nobody is.’”
With so many platforms to launch and devour music now, Reddit consumer itsyagurlb says public consideration has merely develop into extra diffuse — making it tougher for artists to attain stratospheric ranges of fame.
“As another person right here has talked about, we now not have ‘smash’ hits from main pop stars which might be inescapable, and so even with the rise of streaming, it’s a lot simpler for folks to tune out of right this moment’s ‘hit’ track,” they wrote. “We devour music in a different way now which additionally impacts how pervasive a track might be due to how individualized our streaming selections might be. Even within the age of iTunes, hits have been extra impactful as a result of should you needed to listen to the recent new track, you may pay for it. Now? I can hearken to a minute of the track on spotify with none actual funding and transfer on if I dont vibe with it, and there’s been no ‘sale.’”
Added Reddit consumer @BronzeErupt, citing one of the crucial highly effective promotional automobiles of the late ’90s and early ’00s: “There’s no trendy equal of TRL the place a track might be intentionally performed and abruptly everybody is aware of about it.”
Music Is Boring/Unhealthy Now
Predictably, some social media customers slammed the state of recent well-liked music. “I wish to blame TikTok for this, however honestly I believe the basis of the issue is how boring, boring and unoriginal modern-pop music feels like,” mentioned Reddit consumer TuffyTenToes. “They aren’t popping off as a result of there may be nothing to be popping off for. Maybe I’m doomposting however it really appears like pop music is in an all time low, creatively talking.”
“Too many individuals mistake tik tok earworms for musical expertise,” added @LSX3399 on Reddit. “No albums anymore, no ideas, no dangers. Over-saturation of mid.”
It’s Taylor Swift’s Fault
Is the true downside…Taylor Swift? In keeping with Reddit consumer @LifeOfAWimpyKid, the uber-popstar of the twenty first century is solely taking on an excessive amount of house within the dialog for different artists to interrupt via.
“I really feel like Taylor Swift has singlehandedly saturated the pop market to the purpose the place your entire business has develop into boring as s— and never enjoyable for different artists to take part in,” they wrote. “Taylor just isn’t with out advantage, however now it’s simply Taylor, Taylor, Taylor on a regular basis. Her followers are very vocal and lively too and dominate the dialog, and all the opposite opinions simply get drowned out. This was hardly the case a decade in the past, if you had a number of acts coexisting on the high, comparable to Rihanna, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Ke$ha, Girl Gaga, David Guetta, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Calvin Harris, and Eminem.”
This Is Really a Good Factor
Breaking from the pack, X consumer @fromage_enjoyer couched the battle to mint new pop stars as a optimistic growth, marking a shift from the times when radio and MTV decided what folks listened to: “The present era is profitable. We aren’t caught with no matter large labels wish to shove down our throats because of the web. That has them scared since they lose earnings, however for the artists and shoppers it’s nice,” they mentioned, earlier than hastening so as to add: “Streaming pay outs must be talked about nevertheless.”