Where Did the Encore Come From? Mailbag
This month we dive into questions about perfect pitch, investing in songs, 1970s technology, and so much more
We’re back with another edition of Can’t Get Much Higher’s mailbag, the monthly newsletter where I answer reader questions. Here’s what we will be discussing this month.
What are your musical pet peeves?
Will AI takeover popular music?
When did encores start and how did they become what they are today?
Can you learn to have perfect pitch?
How do song funds intend to get a return on investing in decades-old catalogs?
Is there more money in songwriting or live music these days?
Which producer had the longest gap between hits?
Why does music from the 1970s still sound so fresh?
Has a song with only one chord ever topped the charts?
Should you have a question for next month, you can submit it using the button below. If your question is selected, you get a free premium subscription to this newsletter for a month. Premium subscribers get access to our archive, biweekly interviews, music industry link roundups, and priority when submitting questions.
Do you have any music performance or industry pet peeves? - Kieran
When you sent me your question, you mentioned how vague genre names like “singer-songwriter,” “indie,” and “alternative” irk you. I agree with you there. Those are annoying and often useless. Here are some other things that bother me.
Digital tickets suck and make entering a stadium-sized show a painful experience
The world of music publishing is stuck in the 19th century, making it hard for songwriters to not only get their fair share but to even find out how their music is performing
Digital audio workstations making it easy to snap a rhythm perfectly in time takes the life out of many songs. Tempo and rhythm don’t have to be so robotic.
Streaming services don’t add enough sorting and filtering functionality to their search tools. For example, it shouldn’t be that hard if I want to find every Motown release from the 1980s sorted chronologically. (For the record, I understand why this isn’t built. I work for a streaming service and see how people interact with search. Almost no one uses even the most basic functions we provide. Still, as an audiophile, I wish the industry did a bit more.)
Stan culture is bad for the music industry and maybe even society as a whole
Beats with generic trap hats tittering in the background are the worst kind of beats
What is your wife’s name? - Martin
I don’t have a wife, but I’m not on the market. Sorry, ladies!
Will AI-generated music take over music streaming platforms? - Wei
When people express this fear of AI-generated music, I believe they are thinking about music created with minimal human intervention. You type “alt-country song about trucks” into some program, and it spits back a hit song. I truly don’t believe that this will become that common. Why? It’s just not that much fun. I would much rather pick up my guitar or sing over a beat that someone sent me. There is joy in some of the struggle of making great music.
That doesn’t mean that people won’t use AI tools to help make music. Logic Pro, a popular digital recording software, has had AI-generated beats for years. In fact, I used one of those beats on my 2020 song “3AM Friends”, the most popular piece of music that I’ve ever released. I wouldn’t call that song “AI-generated,” though. I had a guitar riff and some lyrics. I used Logic’s AI-drummer tool to make a beat. I then modified that beat and played the riff over it. A song was born. As AI-related music tools improve, I think my experience will become much more common (i.e., human made music with a technological assist).
I’d love to know more about the history of the encore. When did it start? Why is it now standard for encores to not even be a surprise? - Monia
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