Genre is not needed, haven’t we got further then that!

Genre is not needed, haven’t we got further than that!

The line is from a new artist that was in the pre-selection of the Idol 2015 in Sweden. And now she is doing a comeback with a new totally unknown local record label. And this what she said in the local newspaper.

I guess you can say that genre is not needed but not like this. Spotify found out pretty quick that people didn’t care about genre, instead, mood was something they rather looking for. And yes sad playlists are still very popular.

Then the girl above has no understanding of what the genre is for. She thinks the genre will lock her up in a box and that you can never get out of the box. That is so far from the truth you can come. No one will stop you from doing whatever music you like many artists has a career doing a different project with different styles.  A good example is Sting.

Then of course your fans might expect something. I remember when I got a ballroom dance star in Sweden and she wanted to record some rock albums. Sure, her old audience didn’t like her new stuff and some reviewers didn’t get what she was doing. Still, overall it worked pretty fine. She just has to be honest and really explain I wanted to do this for this period of time.

In this kind of light, trying to fight genre is just plain stupid so when you get the question from a journalist what kind of style you are doing, answering everything is just contra-productive. The same as counterproductive to invent a small own genre like not exists like dishwasher metal.

What you need is kind of a broad description of what it is. As a booker, I really need to know what I’m booking. And with over 3000 artists applying I can’t really go and listen to everyone. And if my stages are dived in sort of genre one pop stage, one for harder metal music, one sing and songwriter, etc. I’m not interested to go through 200 artists that play jazz if I need a metal band. You don’t really need a long exact on-point description.

A to point description can also be misleading. A metal band can play a softer song like Sounds of silence with Disturbed. But still Disturbed is not a pop band. The major part of their repertoire is metal or rock.

Yes, we need genres. Not though that many believe that we go in on Spotify and just write pop and get the perfect song. It’s about when you cannot listen to a song and need a short description here it is handy. Still keep it in the broad not going to deep to try describing your last single with a new genre.

Also don’t try to fit into a genre of you, not that genre. No Nickelback is not a Metal band. Yes, Ramones can be both Punk and a Rock band.

The unprofessional genres.

Why is it that certain genres are unprofessional? I mean I can get if a certain person is that, but here we talk about a whole genre. and everybody knows it, but no one wants to talk around it?

Ok, certain movements also producers certain behavior. The hippie movement produced a certain style and thinking. And yes the behavior on a metal concert will look different then a night at Royal Albert Hall.

And when people get into certain of these movements they behave in the way you start to think that Isis, the Talibans is a kind of nice understanding people. It seems they are so sucked up in the style that it would be easier to stone their mothers then change the views.

The funny part is they all complain that no one listens to them. But they keep on doing it hard to reach the main audience. At the same time they want to be underground cool they want to fill an arena with fans.

When you give this obvious reason for lack of success you are treated like standing up in the bible belt and say that Satan seems a but cozy from time to time. And passing stricter gun laws is a good thing and expect them to agree.

I get fucking annoyed. In so many cases I would just love to say, fuck your principles, cut your hair, become more accessible and stop screwing around being annoying arts fartsy. No, I won't work with you until you be more professional.

Success is something you earn not what a government gives you.

Genre shitmusic. We are not a genre, we play what we like!

Well, when people say that I put in them in the undefined shit genre. There you have the artists that are just artsy fartsy and think it's a good reason to be in their own genre.

In fact, when you listen to these band they usually fit in a specific genre better than a band that says they fit pop. They are afraid that the genre would lock them up. Instead, it's this thought of freedom that locks them up in the genre shitmusic

You are free to play a folk song on a metal concert. One of Sweden’s most famous punk bands did that and was very successful. Still, you are mainly metal so the genre would be that anyway.

If you change the style on every song you play you are in the vaudeville genre, so you are still in a genre.

You will be placed in a box whatever you like it or not. No point of fighting it. It's a way for people to describe what you sound like, it's not stopping you to play what you want to play.

So pick one of the main genres is probably gonna get you more freedom then saying that you don't fit in any genre.

Most artists that still claim to be so special that no genre applies to them usually sound the same so many that work in the industry knows what I mean by the shitgenre.

Here they play every song as different as possible. The strange part is that that make them sound like the others who do the same. In fact, they are so many that it is a genre to say you're not fitting a genre.

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