As the clock ticked down toward midnight on New Year’s Eve and yours truly was in charge of the music on the Bluetooth speaker for a party of around 60 people, this year’s celebration felt different. Despite playing various hits from the past year, nothing was really catching on. Pockets of people would know the chorus of one song, but then immediately have a blank look on their face when I’d play the next song, even if it was considered “bigger” and “more popular.”
Then it dawned on me: Current listening habits have all but eliminated the shared listening experience.
But why do modern hits feel smaller, even when the data and numbers say they’re bigger? After all, statistically more people are listening to music, and for longer periods of time, thanks to streaming platforms.
The answer has to do with how music is being consumed, backed by an algorithm that constantly force-feeds you more of the same. Call it the “Stay In Your Lane” music mindset, and it’s proving that a song’s reach does not necessarily translate into true popularity.
No Single Listening Experience
In the past, music hits were imposed. Today, they must be chosen.
For example, during MTV’s TRL era, an entire generation of music fans had to sit through other genres while waiting for their favorite music video to play. With that experience, however, came exposure to other genres, artists, and yes, even those annoying choruses that still resonate to this day.
If you were a fan of *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, you could still rap the lyrics to Eminem’s Without Me, or Nelly’s Hot In Herre.
Notorious B.I.G.’s Mo Money Mo Problems would be followed up by the Spice Girls’ Wannabe, and you’re damn right you knew the lyrics to both.
‘Stay In Your Lane’ Music Experience
Today’s experience is different because music consumption is so fragmented.
With platforms like TikTok, playlists, and algorithmic radio, a song can be very popular in certain circles without becoming a cultural standard that everyone sings together. This is much different than when radio, MTV, and fewer platforms meant listeners were exposed to a wide variety of sounds and genres.
That’s why a Taylor Swift fan can look clueless when they hear a Bad Bunny song, despite both artists being the biggest in the world.
Music fans of the same age can have barely any overlap in what they hear or are exposed to. Yes, popularity still exists, but it’s spread out instead of concentrated, and it’s designed that way for quick, algorithmic success by the platforms.
With music cycles becoming much shorter thanks to social media, songs can peak fast but be replaced even faster. This limits a song’s ability to become ingrained in the culture the way it once did.
That’s why it feels like there are fewer massive songs, even though, by the numbers alone, modern tracks are bigger than ever before.
Never Say Never
That’s not to say we won’t ever have another massive song where “everyone knows the words.” (During my New Year’s Eve DJ experience, for example, Chappell Roan’s Hot To Go! had nearly everyone doing the song’s dance.)
However, the number of songs able to burst into globally recognized superstardom will be far fewer and farther between in the future. The good news is that because music is so readily available now, listeners can hear and be exposed to any song, format, or genre they want.
They’ll just have to take the initiative to do so, because the current structure isn’t going to do it for them.
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‘Gunz’ has been a staple in the music, sports and news industry for over a decade. From his first on-air appearances on MTV and FUSE television as a teenager to broadcasting nationally with Don Imus, to most recently hosting the Vans Warped Tour on Amazon Music, he has become one of the industry’s most insightful and trusted voices. As host of idobi Radio’s ‘The Gunz Show’ (80K+ Weekly Listeners) for the last fifteen years, Gunz has built a reputation for Breaking Bands and Breaking News, including notable debut interviews from bands such as Twenty One Pilots, Cobra Starship, fun., and viral interviews with artists such as Machine Gun Kelly, All Time Low and The All American Rejects. Whether it’s hosting red carpets or exclusive sit-downs with media’s biggest names from Clive Davis to Dana White, Gunz answers not only “What” is happening, but more importantly – “Why?” for programmers, publicists, artists, entertainers and fans alike.