There seems to be an implicit competition among people who describe themselves as music lovers to find the most underground artists.
In many of their eyes, the fewer monthly listeners an artist has, the better their music must be. Their goal in listening is merely to showcase a song people would not recognize but sounded good to flaunt their music taste.
I used to think I was a pretty die-hard music fan. That belief changed when it came time for me to recommend a song. I searched my playlist library on Spotify and realized how many of the songs on the playlists were some of the most popular songs by admired artists. All of my favorites typically have hundreds of millions of streams.
I began feeling somewhat insecure about the music I listened to and strived to find lesser-known artists. I searched playlists typically titled “underground indie music” and forced myself to listen to songs I needed to convince myself I liked. I downloaded Airbuds, an application allowing your friends to see what music you are listening to, and listened to underground music while doing schoolwork.
Even though I barely resonated with the songs, I felt I had to prove to someone that I knew underground music. But then I began to ask myself, why am I trying to prove this in the first place?
After torturing myself and listening to songs I did not like, I realized there was nothing wrong with liking popular songs by well-liked artists. The songs are popular for a reason and the artists’ fame shows they are talented. There is nothing wrong with an artist’s most streamed song being your favorite song of theirs.
Music taste is not a competition. It is personal preference and about what music you like, not what impresses others. Underground does not always equal good music. Popular does not always equal bad music. There is no reason to feel ashamed for liking Top 40 singles and no one should judge others for liking them.
People established the idea that being called basic is a bad thing. Because basic has a negative connotation, when someone is referred to as basic for listening to popular music, they typically are made to feel ashamed and bad about themselves. However, basic does not mean bad. Basic simply means popular. And there is nothing wrong with listening to what is popular.
However, this does not dismiss small artists’ talent. They deserve recognition for their work. Though, when that recognition is shallow and given merely to prove you are a “real” music fan, is it truly worth it? Giving an artist superficial appreciation is unfair to the artist and does not benefit you.
Music lovers should be more happy when an artist they enjoy begins to gain recognition and popularity. The more attention they receive, the bigger platform they are given to produce and release their work which means the more frequently they will release music.
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