Quote:
Originally posted by Torturo
Million Reasons: #103 United States (+16)
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I wanna preface my words with a promise that it isn't a "**** pop music!!1!" post. Nonetheless;
Surely this demonstrates how artificial and fickle the Top 40 really is. For a song to hit #1 on iTunes off the back of a bunch of non-stans really enjoying it and going out and buying it, and to be here just weeks later reveals the nature of the game. Payola, which I thought was once a dirty word, is evidently used ubiquitously nowadays. It feels as if charts are now seldom connected - in that, radio isn't always happy to spin off the back of streaming or sale success (and vice versa). This makes them far less reliant on true market forces, and more so on payola. For an artist to hit #1 they seem to have to go all out on every single platform - purchase Hot Tracks iTunes exposure, purchase and incentivise radio plays, pay to be placed on streaming platform playlists and in many cases pay for promo and performance spots by the looks of things. I mean, chart manipulation (though that's probably too strong a word - but, nonetheless, is really what it is) has been going on since (and even before) modern pop music was ushered in in the 70s. At that time, there was still a need for a group of heavyweights and individual tastemakers that ultimately determined if a song was truly going to be a hit or not - though many still achieved chart and mainstream success organically. Today, processes like that seem far less commonplace.
I don't blame Gaga for not wanting to play (or pay
) the game anymore. She's done it over and over again, and achieved great success from it. But now, I'm sure she's come to realise just how feigned the market truly is. Consider her point of view - would there really be that much pleasure in pulling all these tricks to ensure
'Million Reasons' reaches a couple more trailer parks and joins the musical lexicon of the...unrefined and unsophisticated GP? All her industry friends and people she respects would know too that it's contrived - she's probably just as happy to see the song go to #1 on iTunes once naturally, and to enjoy the praise garnered from a few performances here and there.
Such an easy listen 
Grigio Girls slays me every time I hear it
Im just bored by her looks/music and performances.......