The Pop Corporation

In the corporate world, there’s this terrible pair of words that people use – “proactive” versus “reactive”. There’s something in it though, because we all know that there’s two types of people in the world.

The first is someone who creates a parameter for a fun Spotify playlist. Maybe they come up with a scenario like ‘Having Fun At The BBQ’, and then, they work within a certain aesthetic of what their dream barbecue looks and smells like. In their head, it’s faintly glamorous, smoke filling the air and maybe a palm tree gently rustling in the background while witticism and small stubby beers flow. Around the half hour mark, the playlist picks up slightly and continues to gently turn up the heat, imagining that people will be getting a little drunker, and the party gets into full swing and out come the bangers.

In this playlist, they’ve tried to account for everyone’s tastes. Disco Steve will need some cocaine music, while Lonesome Cowboy Bill will need some good Southern States tunes to get him slapping his thigh. You mix up the playlist with songs old and new, familiar and obscure, and while deep down you know, the playlist won’t have anyone fawning over you for being such an artful music selector, you’re pleased and now have an overly long playlist that should last into the wee-small hours, and has enough ups-and-downs so people can jump in the queue and stick a Dua Lipa song on that they heard on the radio that morning.

And then there’s people that receive playlists and immediate say “I can’t believe you didn’t include [insert song here]”

While most people fall into a third category of ‘just having a nice time and not overthinking things’, the oil and water of the aforementioned is a long and storied one. You have the people who make, and the people nitpick. In worst cases, that’s the difference between a lazy music critic and a band. The musicians had to pull something out of thin air, write and record all the notes, mix it to the best of their abilities, find someone to release it, get it heard over the hubbub of the algorithm and hope to god they don’t annoy their friends by continually promoting their wares… and then a critic (either professional or social media drive-by commentator) just blows a massive raspberry and says “YAAH BOO! IT SUCKS!“

In 2024, music criticism is facing yet another crisis as big sites are merged or struggling for money, and looking at a market that rewards knee-jerk hot-takes. We’re all guilty of contributing to it, and Google’s need to beige-ify the internet, and Apple’s rapacious want to sanitise the content of all, we end up in a situation where someone releases something that plays to the ones-and-zeros, the music journalists try and write SEO friendly copy with enough heat in their take to warrant a response from ultra-fans, and somehow, no-one makes any money apart from the people currently cooling their server rooms down.

We’re aware that this article won’t rank on Google and certainly won’t appear on any newsfeeds. Maybe if we wrote something that can’t be substantiated about Taylor Swift, in a bid to grab some ire-traffic, and then find ourselves doxxed by Swifties, and then try and capitalise on that with imagined victimhood, we can see an increase in traffic, and 0.0002p in ad revenue, we’d find a workable system to stay ‘in business‘.

Maybe we call Nicki Minaj names, because we know her fans mobilise pretty quickly, and then quietly drop links with throwaway accounts on sub-Reddits relating to her, and hope everyone goes apeshit? All the while, we’re not talking about the cultural value or fun of pop music, dorking out about the artwork or video by someone, or trying to do joined up thinking about where current release sit within the pantheon of album releases.

That’s the rub, right there. Our ‘business model’ was set out from the off – we will not even try to make any money doing this, and if we do it long enough, some people might like it. Take no sponsorship. Run no advertisements. Do occasional mail-outs. Try and promote new bands who aren’t getting a look in elsewhere, or at least, try and be just another voice that joins in with other zine-esque websites that are trying to do the same thing.

And try not to get too sanctimonious in the process, because after all, who wants to listen to someone complain about the state of media, or whine about the kind of people whose sole contribution is to say “you should have put that on your playlist”, right?

The fact is, pop culture is well worth thinking about. It’s a crucially important thing, whether it’s high or low brow. And we think it’s worth writing about. We think that not everything has to pivot to video or a podcast, even if there are fun YouTube channels and pods out there. We still think there’s value in being able to put ideas into your head silently, because you might be on the toilet at work and the boss doesn’t need to hear that you’re shirking your responsibilities. Volume is optional.

More importantly, not everyone has the ability to set up a fancy YouTube nook to make vlogs about whether ‘Pet Sounds’ is the best Beach Boys LP or not. Not everyone wants to put their face to a TikTok video. Sometimes, words are the perfect vehicle. A quiet reflection that you can do with a cup of coffee, listening to the world murmur around you. Writing, by and large is the most accessible way of getting your ideas out there. In 2024 and beyond, it’s more important than ever to not simply react to things, but to contribute.

Chat shit. Get bangers.