overly manufactured music and its conspicuous relation to artificial feelings

The term “Industry Plant” is commonly thrown around and used as a describing word for artist who have quickly grown in popularity, rather than a slowburn growth. Social media tends to use the word for white (or white acting) artists and usually their work feels manufactured to appeal to the largest audience straight from a millennial focus group. People tend to cherish the idea that if the artist they listen to the most or own the most merchandise have less listeners and stem further out from what is popular at the time to further boast a coolness factor it may have. Of course, we as humans like to feel special in our individuality while still feeling a part of a special club. I believe that this is where the underground music scene really shines. The underground music scene, made up of boundary-pushing artists and tight knit communities, thrives in a marketplace of ideas that puts a spotlight on artists who innovate new music; however, once an artist becomes “popular” (relatively, of course), they are seen as uninteresting and no longer prestigious in the scene. A great example of this is the artist Jane Remover, who recently dropped her album Revengeseekerz, a beautifully compiled digi-core album that is marked for its experimental nature. Jane Remover, whose debut album released in 2021, marked her beginnings in the underground scene, and she quickly gained a fanbase following the release. However, her most recently released album had new fans flock to her community, removing the coolness factor of “knowing her before she was cool”. This circles back to my statement before because it represents how people seek to be different, and less synthetic than others in their music taste. One artist that is receiving a lot of attention for this specific reason is Addison Rae with her upcoming self-titled album, Addison. Before she was better known for her music (barely), she was popular on TikTok. Many individuals who are critical of her music often hold the idea that there is an artificial feeling of her music, and it does not truly feel like her. Because Addison held such a (for lack of a better word) preppy ideology, and her new music being scarcely comparable to artists such as Lana Del Rae, the two don’t exactly mix in peoples heads. Her music feels specifically crafted for the genre to generate profit, often sacrificing genuine artistry in most artists. The fabricated feeling received from music such as Addison Rae’s, is off-putting when it comes to the art perspective of music. Many believe there is no go basis to start from for Addison because she’s already made and maintained her vice, in laymen’s terms, it is too late.

“Mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.” John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

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