The majority of listeners know the feeling of discovering new music. It comes when you reach a music slump, listening to the same music and artists over and over again. When finally, you listen to a song you have never heard before. The excitement bubbles up when you find the artist who created the masterpiece. Satisfaction follows after listening to the discography, which is up to par with the song that caught your eye in the first place. The downfall occurs when the small artist that was unique and loved, becomes popular. Leading them on the path towards mainstream.
Mainstream occurs when an artist’s music is constantly played on a large public scale. The music is popular, catchy, and can reach a large audience rather than a niche intimate crowd. Overall, the music leans away from the unique tone the artist once had, to a commercialized sound similar to other popular artists. These songs are often overplayed on social media, which can lead to an issue amongst fans and artists alike. Fans don’t want their favorite artist to become popular and artists want to gain a cult following.
In TikTok’s music world, songs go viral like clockwork. A song will be used in trends and edits, often leading people to find music they wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. However, thousands of comments can be seen expressing a distaste. Not because the music is bad, but because fans are complaining that their underground artist is being revealed to a larger crowd. Some may argue that it is selfish for fans to act in such a way. If they like the artist and want them to continue making music, shouldn’t they be happy when their artist gets recognition? Is the issue about their artist attaining fame or of the fan not feeling edgy enough? If an artist gains a large following, that individual may not feel as connected to the artist as they did before. On the other hand, fans may understand that with new fame comes new pressure. Artists may feel obliged to commercialize their music to maintain their popularity.
In many cases, artists can’t win both the public and their fans’ opinion. For instance, if an artist reaches stardom and feels comfortable enough to diversify their sound, they can receive mixed reactions. Their fans may believe they are changing their sound to find a ‘better’ audience and the general public may think this music is a new interest. It is every artist’s dream to get their music out there, but it can be hard to manage public opinions.
In the end, it’s okay for both parties to explore. Fans can be impressed by an artist’s discography at a given piece of time, while disliking others. It is not necessarily fair for fans to judge an artist based on unmade decisions such as the possibility of commercialized music in the future. There is no black and white when it comes to music nor is their expected unyielding loyalty. Music is meant to be shared, analyzed, and critiqued. The only way for the music industry to continue progressing is to allow artists to create and to continuously search for music that speaks to you.