After the longest break I’ve ever taken from anything ever, I am newly wed, freshly honeymooned, and back to tell you about all things music and data. Today’s piece is one that I have had kicking around for a while.
If you enjoy this newsletter, check out my book Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves. It’s a data-driven history of popular music that I wrote as I spent years listening to every number one hit in history.
Pop Stars are Disappearing
By Chris Dalla Riva
Earlier this year, my sister put on some music when we were hanging out. I was really vibing with one of the songs, so I asked her who the artist was. “I,” she paused, “I don’t know.” I don’t expect my sister to have encyclopedic knowledge, but this was a song she specifically saved on Apple Music. “What do you mean you don’t know?” I asked. “You’re the one that put it on.”
She quickly explained. She heard the song in the background of a TikTok. She clicked the song, and then pressed the button within the app to save the song on Apple Music. From that point forward, she only heard it when she was shuffling her saved songs. In other words, she wasn’t lying. She both enjoyed the song and had no idea who performed it.
Though this situation struck me as strange, I came to realize that my sister wasn’t really at fault. Many people engage with music like this. Anonymous pop stars are lurking among us.