Modern lifestyle has made music a requirement, a break from the hustle, a place of solace. Songs to start your day, music for studying, songs to work out to, music to sleep, with multiple genres and millions of playlists music has become convenient and alterable. It has been modified to our needs and wants.
With wide reaching music streaming platforms and extraordinary range of an individual in terms of music, the music industry no more caters to the needs of its regional and traditional listeners but instead potentially invites new listeners from all over the world to the genre with every release.
As a field with so much influence, the music community has opened itself to offering various types of music to its listeners. A single is often released in so many different version so that its listeners have the option of finding what suits their taste more. We live in a time where songs have become playlists to set the mood and where music taste define your personality more than anything else.
Songs are not just parts of movies anymore but sometimes are the ones that make the movie. Consumers of music have evolved along with the evolution of music through the years.
Songs are no more blindly consumed for what they are. Most of the times they are analysed lyrically and musically with the increasing quality and modified taste of the listeners. What the lyrics mean and stand for are as equally important as the people behind it nowadays.
It is when these ideas are considered that we realise the broad-minded approach that comes with listening to music. Sometimes while listening to music, we don’t care much about the artist’s background, their nationality, their gender etc.
If we like the music, we like the artist. Its as simple as that. If the songs are captivating enough, the language also doesn’t become a barrier anymore. This openness might also be instigated by the fact that music is not the song alone anymore.
It has become a whole package to satisfy the different creative interests of its consumers. Fashion, dance, music video and so many more factors have become an essential part of music consumption. The indulgence in so many fields attracts people from the different sectors to involve themselves in the common factor, music.
A very vibrant example of the rapid globalisation of music is the spread of Korean music or K-pop worldwide. Millions have people have become fans over the past few years and have thrown away their prejudice towards music of another language.
They have opened themselves to a whole new set of genres that was previously ignored because of the language difference. Resisting new music because of language has become irrelevant and ignorant with the availability of instant translations of lyrics and the quick deductions of the meaning behind them.
Another interesting factor of K-pop is that not only left a huge impression in the global music industry but also in the entertainment, food, fashion, skincare industries. With K-pop came K dramas which lured more people into the Korean lifestyle by showcasing in them the best of the country, their skills and culture.
With the exquisite food in the dramas came the craving to try the mouth-watering delicacies and desire to have the flawless fashion sense and makeup of the artists which lead to growth in the imports of Korean goods with a growing demand. The influence of the industry is potent, and this cannot be ignored even by the xenophobic barriers in the industry.
Music plays a huge part in the society and has latent influence in our behaviour and personality as well.
We often fail to understand the importance and extent of comfort that music brings with it and how its offers itself to all for the same regardless of languages and time and what not. Music transcends all the hurdles we put in front of it. It is what it is regardless of what the listener makes of it.
