Views on Mainstream Music
Finally this question! Haha, cause I accidently saw this question wayy too much earlier than I should have and was waiting and thinking hard on this one.
Mainstream music? IMHO? The first thing is to actually define what is considered mainstream. Is it defined by artists who are popular? Or are they artists who record songs that they don't "believe" in? Ie: taking composed music pieces given to them by their company because the management thinks it'll sell or is right for their image? I don't think (IMO) that a mainstream character should be in any way interconnected or genre biased. Think of it, you'd consider all music artists to be indie-esque until the day they get a contract with some mega firm. So in that case, doesn't this make Justin Beiber indie at some point cause he was doing his own thing? So suddenly he's got haters cause he went all mainstream? Then why is Lana Del Ray still considered indie-ish if she's also landed herself a huge contract?
I think what we should worry about isn't mainstream music, but rather the 'mainstream' mentality in general. This mentality kind of happens in earlier stages of our lives, okay, maybe they still do if an individual hasn't questioned the present and lives comfortably in his current situation/life. I think that although we may have developed from mainstream to non-mainstream thinking in regards of the music scene (thank you internet exposure), we are still caught up with mainstream-ness with a lot of other aspects of life. Like how I'm over 9gag and memes when everyone is thinking its the bomb. Or how my friends are posting quotes on their timeline when im keeping them organized and stashed on Pinterest, which they know nuts about. Or how some diy tips on facebook no longer intrigues me any longer cause I've seen better, the key is that knowledge = power. The more you know of your options (music), the less likely we are to focus on a certain genre or "archetype".
If you remember the movie "", think of the two shrimps who were swimming. They were basically just like all other shrimps, swimming in their colony to get to a better place. Only when they were able to break out of their pack did they realize that there is much more to life that what they've been taught of all their lives. Only if each individual breaks out from their norm or their current position that makes them uncomfortable can they see two (or three!) sides of things. Its not like the two shrimps felt totally at ease breaking away, but they did it anyway, and guess what? They saw sea life from a whole new perspective. Being different is awkward and uncomfortable but being able to get pass that point of discomfort results in greater outcome and you'll feel more relieved because you're discovering yourself and making choices for what best fits you or makes you happy.
Just like you can't say you hate coffee without first tasting it, you can't say you like or hate indie a.k.a non-mainstream music if you haven't heard it. And just because you hate coffee doesn't mean you won't like macchiato or cappuccino. You have to find the one that suits your style, just as listening to one (or a few sets of indie musicians isn't going to benefit you. Like how Angus and Julia, Lykke Li and Lana DR is so huge but i don't find them THAT fascinating. So it definately takes time, and I don't think anyone should push it finding their comfort zone cause sometimes even I think that I've just about discovered all the musical talents i'll ever need, but then you need to relax and let things fall into place cause I definately found better artists in comparison to what i did say, 12 months ago.
The fact is no matter where we live, in what time, mainstream", in this case music, is not something we can hide from. The fact is, mainstream music is much more readily available. Television, online, newspaper, magazines, you name it, they've got coverage. You'll realize that no matter in what circumstance, we're exposed first to mainstream media, then indie. It NEVER works the other way. I've never ever met anyway who's told me "oh i listen to indie music. Mainstream music? Pop? What's that?" Never. That is why society in general has a higher so-called tendency to be into mainstream. But i think in fact that if we were first exposed to indie, we'd go like ehhhm,-what-iz-mainstream?o.o
I think the fact that people are so against mainstream media its because its overclouding or overshadowing things. Like monopoly. But these days I think its good to have a bit of everything,the point is not to restrict thyself to thinking that oh, this so-and-so is good, i think i'll just stick with them. As far as brand loyalty goes, its not about being loyal to an artist or what. I think loyalty works fine, you'll probably want to stick with that same artist for long term cause you like their style or the choice of music etc, but don't let that get in the way of you finding newer interest in other great artists you could be missing out on. You don't have to be loyal to one brand, be loyal to 10, 20, 3328 brands if you want to. But don't let that keep you from growing and discovering. Finding a good artist is not like.. your final destination.
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