Can a case be made for record producers?
Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 2:28 am
I don't know much about the music industry, so I may be getting ahead of myself, but here's a thought. Do record labels stand in relation to music listeners in a similar representative fashion as elected representatives in a Republic?
If so, then the victory of social media over record labels (at least to a degree?) is an allegory to the victories of populism and "general will of the people" democracies over Republics.
My understanding of the idea of a Republic is a representative is supposed to be more of a character call by voters, not someone who is fired up to achieve every last whim of his or her supporters. You vote for someone who is like a parent, not a hired gun. In a similar way, a record producer, for whatever evil they've wrought, is somewhat of a negotiator between raw public taste and musical accomplishment.
When Binger makes many of the points he does, the message I get, and I could be wrong and I am open to correction, is that the general will of the people is the ultimate authority on governance. And if that is true, then is that also true for music?
Rick Beatos is a former producer and music landscape YouTuber who I watch sometimes. He is no longer a producer and has no skin in the game to my knowledge, and he has not made the point I'm making, to my knowledge. He has a series where he reviews the top 10 songs on all the big social media outlets, and the result is that 80% of it is garbage. It's mostly very basic dance beats with a lot of voice auto-tune, and basic hooks.
If judging by what the people have spoken for, averaged across the entire planet with social media access, then all the works of Steely Dan added together amount to nothing in comparison to the song "Baby Shark". There is nothing Steely Dan could ever likely do to produce music at this level, judging by the criteria of populism.
There are good things about the new arrangements, the level of musicianship and access to learning, and also niche markets that many talented musicians might secure that otherwise never would have existed like this. I don't want to take the comparison to far, mainly that the average taste or understanding of ideas that people have across a large population will leave a big question mark in terms of coherency and quality.
If so, then the victory of social media over record labels (at least to a degree?) is an allegory to the victories of populism and "general will of the people" democracies over Republics.
My understanding of the idea of a Republic is a representative is supposed to be more of a character call by voters, not someone who is fired up to achieve every last whim of his or her supporters. You vote for someone who is like a parent, not a hired gun. In a similar way, a record producer, for whatever evil they've wrought, is somewhat of a negotiator between raw public taste and musical accomplishment.
When Binger makes many of the points he does, the message I get, and I could be wrong and I am open to correction, is that the general will of the people is the ultimate authority on governance. And if that is true, then is that also true for music?
Rick Beatos is a former producer and music landscape YouTuber who I watch sometimes. He is no longer a producer and has no skin in the game to my knowledge, and he has not made the point I'm making, to my knowledge. He has a series where he reviews the top 10 songs on all the big social media outlets, and the result is that 80% of it is garbage. It's mostly very basic dance beats with a lot of voice auto-tune, and basic hooks.
If judging by what the people have spoken for, averaged across the entire planet with social media access, then all the works of Steely Dan added together amount to nothing in comparison to the song "Baby Shark". There is nothing Steely Dan could ever likely do to produce music at this level, judging by the criteria of populism.
There are good things about the new arrangements, the level of musicianship and access to learning, and also niche markets that many talented musicians might secure that otherwise never would have existed like this. I don't want to take the comparison to far, mainly that the average taste or understanding of ideas that people have across a large population will leave a big question mark in terms of coherency and quality.