«POP ART IS FOR EVERYONE»

Mass culture is doing better than fine. In fact, all those sites like Amazon that supposedly cater to niche interests? They may do just the opposite. According to researchers at the Wharton School of Business, “If you liked X you may also like Y” programs like Amazon’s actually decrease the diversity of sales and harm the niche market. We’re buying the same downloads and books more than ever before.In other words, when Amazon or YouTube or iTunes or Pandora tells us “You may like …,” they mean all of us, and they’re usually right. And what’s wrong with that? We should revel in our common ground. Pop culture is poppier and better than ever. Drake’s “Best I Ever Had,” the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling,” and Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA” are great. They could certainly go toe-to-toe with the Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up Little Susie.” There’s a reason it’s called “pop”—it’s chronically likable, and we could actually be getting better at making it.Big music companies may be in trouble, but big music is thriving. This fall, the dream-team concert with Kanye West and Lady Gaga stands to sell a gazillion tickets and to be both a great spectacle and real art. In its first week, 636,000 people downloaded “Right Round” by Flo Rida.

New York magazine
Sept 3 2009