By Lake DiStefano
Arts & Entertainment Editor
When I think back on my history with music consumption, especially in my earlier years, I can only recall the entire experience being a haze of enjoyment. If you had asked me about my favorite artists then, I’m sure my answer would’ve been shallow. I couldn't have pointed you to anyone particularly niche, let alone the deep-cuts from the big acts at the time.
Looking back it makes sense. An album cost money, and if you weren’t willing to waste hours trying to find it online, going through the catalog of an established artist became a very costly endeavor. So I was content with the hits that played on the radio during the drive to school. I knew what I heard, and it was as simple as that.
Nowadays, with the advent of streaming services, I can easily listen to an artist's discography — with no adverse financial effect besides maybe paying to get rid of the ads. Sure, those radio-hits still exist, but these days, any real fan would know the unreleased demo that artist never played live before.
This is all to say that, in recent years, I’ve noticed a cultural shift happening when it comes to how we listen to and engage with music. The act of casual listening, and by proxy, being a fan of said artist, is fundamentally dead — or at least severely reduced from what it used to be.
The effects of this unlimited access to music have manifested in a few outwardly visible ways, such as fanbases being more defined and combative, as well as musical journalism no longer being about telling people what albums are worth spending money on. These changes aren’t inherently good or bad, but they have undeniably affected the way in which music is received and discussed by people.
Now, I find myself contending with this new world, where expressing enjoyment for a more popular song by an artist immediately registers as me being a lesser fan to some. While music fan bases were always organized, there are now cultures and habits associated with them, and it makes engaging with the artist far more taxing — especially if you are merely a curious outsider. You almost have to engage with this mob mentality, since any idea of casual listening is associated with your opinion having less weight and merit.
I will admit there is some truth to this idea. No longer can someone’s uninformed take on an artist’s singular hit deter people from listening to an album. These people are simply categorized as outsiders who simply don’t get the art, and modern artists have a much easier time succeeding because of this.
However, there is some purity that is lost in the idea that one can only engage with an artist if they fully commit to being devoted to them — lest the fans discover their perceived phoniness. You can’t just like a song anymore. Everything must be considered in context with everything that artist has ever done, or your opinion will hold no value.
This intensity has unfortunately deterred me from fully engaging with certain artists in the past, and that truly disheartens me. I want to express enjoyment for any art that resonates with me, even if I’m not fully abreast or onboard with the rest of the creator's work. I want to be able to like things without having to consider and contend with preconceived notions before sharing that fact.
I unfortunately don’t see this culture changing anytime soon, and while it isn’t enough to discourage all my discovery of new music, I find myself wishing there could be some happy middle ground between these two different periods of being a music listener.
