Financial Times Europe - 09.11.2019 - 10.11.2019

14 ★ FTWeekend 9 November/10 November 2019

The sound of things to come

Pop Three trends to watch: the rise of teen producers, how fandom is changing, and what AI means for music. By| Ludovic Hunter-Tilney

Clockwise from top left:

Ariana Grande fans;

virtual pop star Hatsune

Miku; Lil’ Nas X; On Da

Beat studio; Billie Eilish

— Getty; Reuters; Anthony Larbi

“Popularsongfactories”wheresongs“are

manufactured,advertised,anddistributedin

muchthesamemannerasordinarycom-

modities”washowtheNewYorkTimes

describedTinPanAlleyin1910.History’s

judgmenthasprovedkinder:thesheetmusic

industryofTinPanAlleyisviewedasa

goldenageofAmericansongwriting.

Contemporaryanxietiesaboutmanufac-

turedmusichaveshiftedtoartificialintelli-

genceandmachinelearning.Powerfulcom-

putersystemsanalyseourlisteninghabits.

Otherswritemusic.Topessimists,itplacesus

inadoublebind.Wearebecomingmachines,

docilelyacceptingalgorithmicmusicrecom-

mendations.Meanwhile,themachinesare

turningintous,composingmusicasthough

tickingoffanotheritemontheirbucketlistof

conquerablehumanactivities.Butthisnight-

marishvision snotquitecorrect.i

“Artificialgeneralintelligence”istheterm

fortechnologythatcanthinkautonomously,

adigitalversionofourselves.“Dependingon

whoyoutalkto,itiseitherjustaroundthe

cornerorwon’thappeninourlifetime,”says

musictechnologistArthurCarabottofLos

Angeles-basedmusicsoftwarefirmOutput.

“That’sthevisionthatsciencefiction

presentstousandtheonethatsellswellin

themedia,ofanartificialintelligencelikeus.

Whereaswhatwehaveisahugeamountof

targetedartificial

intelligences,

gearedtowards

specifictasks.”

Thisyear,an

appcalledEndel

thatgathersdata

aboutitsusersand

createsbespoke

moodmusic

becamethefirstalgorithmtosignadealwith

majorrecordlabel,WarnerMusic.ButAI

compositionalsoftwareisimitative—pro-

grammedtorecogniseandgeneratemusical

structuresbyanalysingmillionsofpiecesof

music—theBjörnAgaintoourAbba.

Ratherthanreplacehumansongwriters,AI

ismorelikelytobecomeanaid:atoolfor

helpingfindachordprogression,say.Abig-

gerchangewillcomewiththeconvergence

betweenmachinesthatsurveywhatwelisten

toandmachinesthatwritemusic.AsAI

growsmoresophisticated,itwillgobeyond

melodyandharmonytograspfuzziercon-

ceptsofcharacterandtimbre.

TheJapanesevirtualpopstarHatsune

Mikuisaportent.Takingtheformofacar-

toon16-year-oldgirl,“she”isasingingvoice

synthesiserwithmorethan100,000songsin

hercatalogue(anyonecanwriteone),who

tourstheworldperforming3Dconcerts.It

maynotbelongbeforesuchtechnologyis

abletomimicthevoiceofafamoussinger—

ArethaFranklin,forinstance—andsetitto

newsongswiththefeeloftheartist’swork.

Insuchafuture,thecontroversialrulingby

aUSfederalcourtin2015thatthehit

“BlurredLines”infringedthecopyrightofa

MarvinGayesongmaybereassessed.The

rulinghasbeenwidelycondemnedasadan-

gerousexpansionofplagiarismtoincorpo-

ratenotionsofmusicalcharacter,thefeelof

thesongratherthanchordsorlyrics.Butit

willtakeonnewsignificanceinanageof

AI-mouldedsongsthatsoundfamiliarand

newatthesametime,simulacrabutnot

exactcopies.

Teenagershavebeenthedriving

forcebehindthegrowthofpopmusic

eversincethe“Sinatramania”that

FrankSinatrainspiredintheearly

1940s.Butthemakingofpophastra-

ditionallybeenundertakenby

adults.Evenwhentheperformers

havebeenteenagersoryounger

themselves,theirproducershave

invariablybeenolder.TheJackson5’s

firstalbum,forinstance,wasco-

producedbyasoulsingerinhismid-

thirties,BobbyTaylor.

Now,theadultgriponyouth

cultureisbeingpriedaway.Techno-

logicaldisruptionstotraditional

waysofrecordinganddistributing

musichaveallowedyoungpeopleto

bypasstheinvolvementofoldergen-

erations.Theproducer,thepersonat

thecontrolsinthestudio—orthe

laptopinthebedroom—isgetting

moreyouthful.

“Attheyoungerendofthescale,

we’vegot14-to16-

year-oldscomingina

lot,”saysAnthony

Larbi,co-founderof

OnDaBeatrecording

studio.“They’rewrit-

ingthemusicandco-

producingwitheach

other.Theyrecord

andengineertheses-

sionsaswell.”

Basedforthepasttwoyearsina

westLondonindustrialestate,OnDa

Beatisaportofcallforup-and-com-

ingrappersandproducerswantingto

makeprofessionalqualityrecord-

ings.Oftentheirsongsaremadeat

homeusinglaptops,soundcardsand

musicproductionsoftwaresuchas

FLStudioandAbleton,whichare

easytobuy(orillegallydownload).If

itdoeswell,thesongwillbere-

recordedusingbetterequipmentat

thestudiototakeittothenextlevel.

Whereoncestudioskillswould

requireyearsoftraining,nowthey

canbepickedupquickly.“Someof

themhaveexperiencebutthemajor-

ityhavetobewalkedthrough,”Larbi

saysoftheteenageproducerswho

usehisstudio.“Howtopowerthings

up,whatdifferentpiecesofhardware

areused,whatplug-intouse.The

majorityofthemdon’tknow,they

havetobeshown.ButI’venoticed

theypickitupreallyquickly.”

Asatechnology-ledartformthat

developedoutsidethemusic

industry,hip-hophasalwayshad

youngproducers.RappioneerDJ

KoolHercwasateenagerwhenhe

unveiledhisbreakbeatstyleatthe

recorddecksduringa“backtoschool

jam”inhisBronxapartmentblockin

1973:afoundationalmomentinhip-

hop.Dancemusicisanothergenre

withatraditionofteenageDJs

andproducers.

Thesedays,Herchasnumerous

descendantsaroundtheworld,all

pluggedintoanewmusicindustry

infrastructurethatraphashelped

form.AmongtheproducersatOnDa

BeatisMikabeatsfromNewham,

eastLondonwhobeganmaking

beatsat15.Now20,heproduced

“Haters”bywestLondonrapperLil

Dotz,whichhasbeenviewed3.3m

timesonYouTube,and“HoodsHot-

test”bytheManchesterrapper

Meekz,whichhas5.5mviews.Oneof

thebiggestsongsof

2019wasproducedby

ateenager:YoungKio

was16whenhepro-

videdthebeattoLil

NasX’scountry-rap

crossoversingle“Old

TownRoad”.

Lil’NasXboughtthe

beatfor$30from

thewebsiteBeatStars,

andthesongwentontospenda

record-breaking19weeksatthetop

oftheUSchartsearlierthisyear

(whenitwentviral,YoungKioand

Lil’NasXnegotiatedanewcontract).

Thetrendisspreadingoutsiderap.

BillieEilish’srisetostardombeganin

herbrotherFinneas’sbedroomin

LA,whereheproducedhersongs

usingcommonlyavailablemusic-

processingtoolswhentheywereboth

teenagers.Thatwaswhereherdebut

albumWhenWeAllFallAsleep,Where

DoWeGo? asmade.Herwhisperyw

vocalattheforefrontofthemix,at

onceintrovertedandforthright,is

notjusttheperfectteenageregister,

italsoheraldsaneweraofun-

adulteratedproduction.

Thedaysofadultsupervisionare

notentirelyover,however.“Wehave

tocommunicatewiththeirparents

quiteoften,”Larbisaysoftheyoung

producersatOnDaBeatstudio,“just

toletthemknowwhattheirchildren

areupto.”

Pop m usichasalwayshaditstribes,

groupedaroundgenreaswellas

individualacts.Distinctions

betweenstylesstillmatter—try

wearingaJustinBieberT-shirttoa

heavymetalgigifyouwanttotest

thetruthofthat—buttherivalries

havegenerallygrownweaker.Itis

possibletobeafanofbothrockand

R&Bthesedays.Butwhilegeneric

differenceshavesoftened,attach-

menttoindividualnamesisgrowing

morepowerful.

Contrarytothetruismthatmusic

matterslesstoyoungpeoplethanit

usedto,incertainwaysitisreaching

furtherintotheireverydaylives

thaneverbefore.Theexperienceof

beingafan—andtherelationship

betweenfanandperformer—has

beentransformedbytheinternet.

SocialplatformssuchasInsta-

gramhavediminishedthetiresome

requirementforstarstosubmitto

interviewswithnosyjournalists.

Nowtheycancommunicatedirectly

withtheirpublic.Theflipsideisthat

today’sstarisexpectedtobemore

availabletotheirfollowersthanin

theolddaysofmanagementsending

outfakesignedphotos.

Whereoncetherewere“fan

clubs”,nowthereis“fandom”—the

totalconditionofbeingafan.Camps

ofArianatorsandSwiftiesstakeout

thedigitalcommonsliketrans-

nationalpowers.Rivalriesarecom-

mon:aptly,thefollowersofK-pop

supremosBTSarenicknamedthe

“Army”.Oftenfemaleincomposi-

tion,mockedinthepastfortheir

fannishardour,thesefansarenowa

formidableforceinpop’slandscape,

aguarantorofculturalheftandrev-

enueatatimewhenrecordsales

havedriedup.

Ominouspossibilitiesfordata

captureareopeningup.Lastyearit

wasrevealedthatTaylorSwiftwas

usingfacialrecognitionsoftwareat

concerts,ostensiblytoidentify

stalkers.Butfandomisnotsome

kindoftechno-feudalruleinwhich

thefantakesthepartofserf,tithing

earningsinanoverpricedEd

Sheeranhoodie.Thetension

betweencommercialisationand

agencyattheheartofbeingamusic

fan—targetofruthlessmerchsales,

yetalsoparticipantincreativeactiv-

itieslikefanfiction—hasbeen

exacerbatedbytheinternet.

TikTok,theChineseappthaten-

ablespeopletomakeshortmusic

videos,lip-syncingtofavourite

songs,hasitsrootsinkaraoke.Its

popularityshowshowfandomcan

beanassertiveact,bycreating

memesorappropriatingfavourite

songsforpersonaluse.

Anewrivalryenterstheequation

here—notbetweensetsoffans,but

betweenfansandstars.Streaming

hasdisruptedtraditionalideas

aboutowningmusic,andnowTik-

Tokisbringinganotherdimension

tothequestionofwhoownssongs:

thefansorthestars?Popularup-

risingsandboycottsamongTVand

filmfansloomasawarningtopop’s

elitewiththeirmillionsoffollowers.

Theyprofitfromtheworldof

fandombutdonotruleit.

Let’s Eat

Grandma

Childhood

friends Rosa

Walton and

Jenny

Hollingworth

began writing

music at 13 and booking gigs a year

later. TheBritish duo initiallyresembled

characters from Grimms’ fairy tales,

their faces concealed by wavy Rapunzel

locks as they played pat-a-cake and

sang in sickly sweet ones.t Since then,

they’ve released two albums:I’m All

Earswon a Q Award in 2018 for its

playful, peculiar pop.

Sampa the Great

Sampa Tembo is a Zambia-born,

Botswana-raised, Australia-based

rapper and spoken word poet. Having

established a reputation as an assertive,

charismatic performer when opening for

Lauryn Hill — who inspired her music —

and Kendrick Lamar, Tembo released

her debut albumThe Returnin

September. A bustling mix of brash hip-

hop, soulful choral harmonies, swooning

brass and Afrobeat, the songs reflect

her diverse

origins, while

multilingual raps

address cultural

displacement

and the music

industry’s

repackaging of

black ingenuity.

SKAAR

SKAAR’s sound is as textured as it is

turbulent. The Norwegian six-piece

combine deft drumming and reverb-

soaked ambience with jagged hard-rock

guitar riffs andtheatrical vocals from

lead singer Karla Jaeger. Produced by

Tony Doogan (Mogwai, Belle &

Sebastian), the

band’s 2019 debut

album,Feed Me to

the Stars, focuses

theirprog-rock

architecture

through a pop lens.

Lauren Zhang

“Total phenomenon” is how Julian Lloyd

Webber described Lauren Zhang. Last

year, the 17-year-old, American-born

pianist won the BBC Young Musician

award with a rendition of Prokofiev’s

formidable Second Piano Concerto. Two

months later, she performed at the

Royal Albert Hall in

a prom celebrating

the competition’s

40th anniversary

alongside previous

winners Sheku

Kanneh-Mason and

Nicola Benedetti.

The Birmingham-based pianist has also

played with the Warsaw Sinfonia and

European Union Chamber Orchestra.

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish is not so much pop’s future

as its present: in April she became the

first artist born this century to top the

US album charts. The 17-year-old

epitomises Generation ’s fluidZ

approach to genre. Her music smartly

intersects streaming culture’s hottest

trends —

SoundCloud

mumble rap;

sadcore angst;

booming trap

beats; pristine pop

melodies — yet

sounds original.

Though she is

bankrolled by

Apple and Interscope, Eilish maintains

creative control over her sound and

aesthetic, from baggy clothes to horror-

influenced music videos. In September,

she announced aglobal arena tour

for 2020.

Sam Taylor

FIVE TO WATCH From rap to classical music

N

otonlydoeseachgenerationgetitsownpopularmusic,it

alsoexperiencesmusicdifferentlyfromprevious

generations.Neverhasthatbeentruerthannow,when

computerisationandtheinternethavetransformedthe

waysongsaremadeandlistenedto.Herearethree

principaltrendsaspopentersthe2020s.

PART 1

Young producers

One of 2019’s

biggest songs

was produced

by a teenager

PART 3

rtificial intelligenceA

PART 2

The new fandom

This year an

algorithm

signed a

record deal

Fandom can be an

assertive act, by

creating memes or

appropriating songs

NextGen

NOVEMBER 9 2019 Section:Weekend Time: 11/20197/ - 17:27 User:andrew.higton Page Name:WKD14, Part,Page,Edition:WKD, 14, 1