Over the last few weeks I have been hearing many things about audioscrobbler and Last.fm so I thought I’d sign up to it and try it out myself…
Audioscrobbler is a huge online music database which records on an online database what tracks your listen to using your favourite media player and add statistics and so on to a personal profile just for you, which shows your listening habits…
Now having given in to the latest internet “fad”, it made me think about why the music industry does so well… It doesn’t take a genius to realize sometimes it is just the irresistible chorus, and the beat that makes you start to dance or tap your foot. Depending on the kind of listener you are that may be all there is to it…
However, you’ll find a lot of people out there listen to a certain track, or certain album more frequently, not only because of the way it sounds but because of what the words are trying to depict… For example, I know I do it, I will listen to certain songs because I can associate with the lyrics, in a way it brings me comfort, having the feelings I am currently feeling depicted creatively and it’s that, that people find comfort in.
“You’ll find a lot of people out there listen to a certain track, or certain album more frequently, not only because of the way it sounds but because of what the words are trying to depict.”
I’m sure many of us out there have found ourselves on a bad day putting on our favourite music track and just chillout for a bit, but have you ever given thought to why it’s that track you actually choose? Possibly on the surface its because it has a good rhythm and addictive lyrics, but what is it that makes you choose that song above all the rest? You’ll probably find it’s what the song depicts and even if its not directly through lyrics, but maybe the general “attitude” of the song.
Do artists/songwriters take this into mind when they write their songs? You could say that artists when they write their music just depict their feelings using their creativity, and that songwriters write songs that have the “selling” factor, after all that is what they are expected to do… But, just maybe, songwriters have realized that a lot of music listeners find comfort in the music that they listen to, and write about things that people can relate to or songs that are aimed to lift you on a bad day… And with that alone you can spell success…
Love, hurt, loneliness, pain, anger, grief… There are songs out there that depict all of these emotions in different ways, and it’s by those means that I believe the music industry succeeds, by creating a relationship between the artist and the listener during the song, a relationship that a user will want to come back to, once the relationship is founded, then future interest is bound to exist.
“Love, hurt, loneliness, pain, anger, grief… There are songs out there that depict all of these emotions in different ways, and it’s by those means that I believe the music industry succeeds.”
So when you next switch on your favourite song, if you haven’t already thought about it, think, why is it that particular song sticks out? Do you relate to it? Does it bring you comfort through its words? Or maybe you just like the way the attitude of the song is, the tempo that just makes you think of “happiness” or “anger” or “grief”… But I know one thing, I love music, and I love it because there is music out there to suit all my moods, and I do… I find comfort in music.
Post Tagged With: audioscrobbler, comfort, last.fm, life, life advice, music, songs.