Making peace with missing out
May 12, 2016 11:59 AM Subscribe
For music fans, 2016 has quickly become the year of the insta-release. Are you overwhelmed? Excited? Numb and jaded? Checked out entirely? Have you tweeted out your hastily-formed opinion about the latest Big Event album before everyone moves on? Beyoncé, Radiohead and FOMO: How sustainable is the era of the “insta-release?” From March: The Music Critic in the Age of the Insta-Release
And another one Stone Roses announce new single
posted by quarsan at 12:14 PM on May 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by quarsan at 12:14 PM on May 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Man, the poor Stone Roses. I loved them in '89, but then came the paint throwing and the lawsuit ... and the moment just passed. It's kind of heartbreaking that they can't let it go.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:16 PM on May 12, 2016
posted by ryanshepard at 12:16 PM on May 12, 2016
"Anatomy of a beyoncé: While we appreciate the excitement surrounding any global superstar except U2’s new album release, it’s important at this stage to establish what, exactly, made Beyoncé’s release so exciting."
A fun Popjustice piece on insta-releases from 2014.
posted by roger ackroyd at 12:16 PM on May 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
A fun Popjustice piece on insta-releases from 2014.
posted by roger ackroyd at 12:16 PM on May 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
The release-as-event thing is overrated. A good album is a good album whenever you come across it. Releases are just hype to generate sales.
posted by grumpybear69 at 12:28 PM on May 12, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 12:28 PM on May 12, 2016 [6 favorites]
I love how the Beyoncé release brought my circle of friends together more than any other recent pop culture event I can think of. The people who had access to the film threw hastily assembled viewing parties so everyone else could watch it, or if we were at somebody's house and discovered one of the group hadn't seen it yet, everybody was cool to sit down and watch it again so one person could see it for the first time. A special feeling that I hadn't felt for a while.
posted by redsparkler at 12:37 PM on May 12, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by redsparkler at 12:37 PM on May 12, 2016 [7 favorites]
I think the insta-release exists in 2016 because its nearly impossible to sustain intrigue about something that doesn't exist yet. It's a necessity more than anything.
This is completely true, and it even applies to concerts. Make an event page/promote/open ticket sales several months in advance even if a lot of people would want to go to the show? Trickly piddly response, meh turnout.
Make an even 2 weeks in advance? Sold out, everyone is talking about it(including if it's "FUCK i didn't get tickets!"), etc.
You have to be hugely famous, on the level of artists who have been doing insta releases to sustain interest. And even then, they themselves are taking advantage of concentrated attention/discussion/being a "trending topic" by cramming it all together.
"Free ice cream right now!" is just more compelling than "free ice cream next week". It's the same logic as flash sales, which even ~cool indie~ net only brands are doing now.
posted by emptythought at 1:10 PM on May 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
This is completely true, and it even applies to concerts. Make an event page/promote/open ticket sales several months in advance even if a lot of people would want to go to the show? Trickly piddly response, meh turnout.
Make an even 2 weeks in advance? Sold out, everyone is talking about it(including if it's "FUCK i didn't get tickets!"), etc.
You have to be hugely famous, on the level of artists who have been doing insta releases to sustain interest. And even then, they themselves are taking advantage of concentrated attention/discussion/being a "trending topic" by cramming it all together.
"Free ice cream right now!" is just more compelling than "free ice cream next week". It's the same logic as flash sales, which even ~cool indie~ net only brands are doing now.
posted by emptythought at 1:10 PM on May 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'm kind of enjoying the sense of surprise when big names (that I care about) put out new material without hyping it up. Maybe it would have upset me in the day and age where I was a teenager saving my pennies for CDs (and I was considered a big music collector by my friends for having a whole 30 CDs), but in the day and age where listening to new music means typing in "y .. o .. u .. t .." or changing up a Pandora seed a little, I'm not sure where knowing that I'm going to be doing it three months from now vs. waking up and finding it already sitting there courtesy of the recommendation engine after a ninja release is really a big deal.
posted by Candleman at 1:15 PM on May 12, 2016
posted by Candleman at 1:15 PM on May 12, 2016
The most recent Needledrop podcast with guest speaker Evan Puschak (of Nerdwriter fame) is about exactly that (but not exclusively, it's a nicely digressive conversation) and makes for a neat listen, if you're interested [SLYT].
posted by bigendian at 1:21 PM on May 12, 2016
posted by bigendian at 1:21 PM on May 12, 2016
I think the insta-release exists in 2016 because its nearly impossible to sustain intrigue about something that doesn't exist yet
Doesn't it also ambush the critics out there? The longer you give the internet time to ruminate about an upcoming release, the higher the expectations and then the farther the fall when it doesn't meet those high expectations.
Sudden releases are more of a way of saying "just STFU and listen to it first".
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:33 PM on May 12, 2016
Doesn't it also ambush the critics out there? The longer you give the internet time to ruminate about an upcoming release, the higher the expectations and then the farther the fall when it doesn't meet those high expectations.
Sudden releases are more of a way of saying "just STFU and listen to it first".
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:33 PM on May 12, 2016
Holding up releases because the label must put something out in the third week of February during a full moon also has the inconvenience of a leak popping up somewhere along the production line and disrupt the release cycle by having people listen to it with no legitimate option to listen or buy now. Once everyone says "yeah, it's good", just upload the songs to Spotify/Apple Music/Tidal, and announce the physical versions are now available to pre-order at the band store or your local record store.
Man, the poor Stone Roses. I loved them in '89, but then came the paint throwing and the lawsuit ... and the moment just passed. It's kind of heartbreaking that they can't let it go.
*monkey noises*
posted by lmfsilva at 1:46 PM on May 12, 2016
Man, the poor Stone Roses. I loved them in '89, but then came the paint throwing and the lawsuit ... and the moment just passed. It's kind of heartbreaking that they can't let it go.
*monkey noises*
posted by lmfsilva at 1:46 PM on May 12, 2016
More cynically, I think it's a strategy to bank on our anxiety. It's not just creating a hashtaggable moment of tightly focused conversation / water cooler talk - it's also exploiting our feeling inside of ourselves that we HAVE to stay on top of the conversation, have to be conversant in the newest pop culture event. And (if you run in certain circles) that you have an interesting take on it worth hearing. There's a mad scramble of listening and opinionating. When that happens every. Single. Week, which it's on target to do this year (Beyonce! Drake! James Blake! Radiohead! In the past three weeks alone!) it gets really wearying. I don't think it's sustainable.
It also cuts out the critics because they're just more takes in a crowd of takes. And thoughtful criticism just ends up being seen as a posed "backlash to the hype". Everything is a reaction to the hype, not an actual response. And there's no attention or market for a carefully considered longform piece a couple months later. Music is exciting and more rich and complex than ever but I worry that the music and writing about music are being devalued more than ever. Like I had totally forgotten Kendrick even had a new album, because I wasn't part of that initial rush to judgment and takes, and it all petered out very quickly after.
posted by naju at 1:49 PM on May 12, 2016 [7 favorites]
It also cuts out the critics because they're just more takes in a crowd of takes. And thoughtful criticism just ends up being seen as a posed "backlash to the hype". Everything is a reaction to the hype, not an actual response. And there's no attention or market for a carefully considered longform piece a couple months later. Music is exciting and more rich and complex than ever but I worry that the music and writing about music are being devalued more than ever. Like I had totally forgotten Kendrick even had a new album, because I wasn't part of that initial rush to judgment and takes, and it all petered out very quickly after.
posted by naju at 1:49 PM on May 12, 2016 [7 favorites]
The [Brief Wondrous] Life Of Pablo
posted by grumpybear69 at 2:03 PM on May 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 2:03 PM on May 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
Oh what a coincidence, I’d just stumbled on this earlier, poor Alexis Petridis tweeting "I reviewed the Radiohead album in a mad sweaty panic" - and the exchange of tweets that follows is quite revealing:
"Congrats on lightning fingers, but how many listens was this based on? I could never reach a verdict on day one."
"Mate, this is how it is now. Way of the world etc. Of course, it’s not my choice, or my ideal."
It just makes reviews useless really. It may not have started as a strategy but it’s turning into one.
It also cuts out the critics because they're just more takes in a crowd of takes. And thoughtful criticism just ends up being seen as a posed "backlash to the hype". Everything is a reaction to the hype, not an actual response. And there's no attention or market for a carefully considered longform piece a couple months later. Music is exciting and more rich and complex than ever but I worry that the music and writing about music are being devalued more than ever.
Yep. You said it better than the article!
posted by bitteschoen at 3:52 PM on May 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
"Congrats on lightning fingers, but how many listens was this based on? I could never reach a verdict on day one."
"Mate, this is how it is now. Way of the world etc. Of course, it’s not my choice, or my ideal."
It just makes reviews useless really. It may not have started as a strategy but it’s turning into one.
It also cuts out the critics because they're just more takes in a crowd of takes. And thoughtful criticism just ends up being seen as a posed "backlash to the hype". Everything is a reaction to the hype, not an actual response. And there's no attention or market for a carefully considered longform piece a couple months later. Music is exciting and more rich and complex than ever but I worry that the music and writing about music are being devalued more than ever.
Yep. You said it better than the article!
posted by bitteschoen at 3:52 PM on May 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Finding out which albums have staying power after the buzz fades is one of the toughest things for a music fan today. Carving out time for such discernment is perhaps even more of a challenge.
Ironic that we are all now much closer to the position that record company deciders, radio DJs, critics et al used to be in ... faced with how to get through the pile of submissions and decide what to invest in, what to air. Sure, we let the obvious stuff through, but then ... do we somehow find the time to listen closely ... to what? ... for that new spark, new sound, that will ignite the next wave?
Under pressure, we may be forced to listen to 10 or 20 seconds and decide, do I listen for 20 more seconds? Not so hard for the genres we have lots of experience with, we can curate for ourselves. Maybe today I can't hear it ... maybe tomorrow I will.
An opportunity to know more, and an opportunity to recognize our limitations.
posted by Twang at 4:42 PM on May 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
Ironic that we are all now much closer to the position that record company deciders, radio DJs, critics et al used to be in ... faced with how to get through the pile of submissions and decide what to invest in, what to air. Sure, we let the obvious stuff through, but then ... do we somehow find the time to listen closely ... to what? ... for that new spark, new sound, that will ignite the next wave?
Under pressure, we may be forced to listen to 10 or 20 seconds and decide, do I listen for 20 more seconds? Not so hard for the genres we have lots of experience with, we can curate for ourselves. Maybe today I can't hear it ... maybe tomorrow I will.
An opportunity to know more, and an opportunity to recognize our limitations.
posted by Twang at 4:42 PM on May 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
I think the insta-release exists in 2016 because its nearly impossible to sustain intrigue about something that doesn't exist yet
An intriguing proposition, which I shall take as sure confirmation of the existence of the video game Half Life Three.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:21 PM on May 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
An intriguing proposition, which I shall take as sure confirmation of the existence of the video game Half Life Three.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:21 PM on May 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Breaking: Chance the Rapper! Better listen and get your hot take in.
posted by naju at 10:15 PM on May 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by naju at 10:15 PM on May 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
Are you overwhelmed? Excited? Numb and jaded? Checked out entirely?
Maybe the solution is that you dont have to know and experience everything the instant it is available. It will still be there tomorrow! You have a whole lifetime to discover and enjoy music.
posted by LizBoBiz at 10:28 AM on May 13, 2016
Maybe the solution is that you dont have to know and experience everything the instant it is available. It will still be there tomorrow! You have a whole lifetime to discover and enjoy music.
posted by LizBoBiz at 10:28 AM on May 13, 2016
Breaking: Chance the Rapper! Better listen and get your hot take in.
But seriously, I'm not signing up for Apple Music today because of this article and discussion.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:33 PM on May 13, 2016
But seriously, I'm not signing up for Apple Music today because of this article and discussion.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:33 PM on May 13, 2016
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posted by lownote at 12:11 PM on May 12, 2016 [2 favorites]