The Commerce Of Creation
Where are the most valuable spaces in the music industry? When I was young, it was the rack of seven-inch singles at the end of the shelves in the local record shop. Songs placed there would be more visible, sell more copies, and chart in higher positions. They were rarely awarded to releases on artistic merit.
Nowadays the rack has been replaced by the recommendation engines of Spotify, iTunes, and the streaming music platforms. If your song can feature on one of the recommended playlists, or better yet a standalone position on your won, you’ll get the streams, the ears, the buzz, and a feedback loop of more recommendations. They are rarely awarded to releases on artistic merit.
Spotify doesn’t even hide the pay-to-play nature of the transaction. Do you want to be there? Here’s the deal. The machine of music knows what it wants you to listen to.
Eurovision is not won on commercial success, although many artists have many millions of streams before appearing. The Song Contest also offers a platform for music of different genres, flavours, and emotions. Think of Salvador Sobral’s ‘Amar Pelos Dois‘ or Jamala’s ‘1944‘. Without Eurovision would these ever reach an international audience?
Now take that sentiment and scale it up to thousands of songs. That’s our National Finals selection, and this is why I love this early part of the Eurovision Song Contest season.
Here Come The National Playlists
Although September 1st is the deadline in the rulebook, the artists and music start to flow as the clocks go back in the northern hemisphere (and we have numbers to prove it). In the last week, we have received the full list of 31 performers for Albania’s Festivali i Këngës, and the 36 semi-finalists for Malta Eurovision Song Contest.
The Albanian entries will follow in due course, but the entry list offers me a list of artists to explore before the competitive songs are released. Malta has already put me on notice that nine songs are going to arrive this Friday (October 27th) and each Friday until all 36 are available. That’s an album’s worth of new music each weekend just from Malta… Albania will add to that, the Estonian names are due “no later than November 7th”, Spain’s Benidorm Fest entry list will be announced on November 11th, and they’ll all be joined shortly with names and tunes from across the continent.
The entry lists aren’t algorithmically massaged by a computer program to keep me listening for one more song so the likes of Spotify (market cap $29 billion) can offer an artist 0.003 cents. The one thing they have in common is that the artists, and the broadcasters, believe these songs could win the Eurovision Song Contest. The Eurovision podium over the last few years has included glam rock, swing jazz, turbo folk, electro-pop, chanson, rap, reggaeton, chanson, and more. It’s no surprise to find out just how varied these long lists and National Final entries can be.
I Need The Exposure
I’m not ignoring the fact that the various music labels across the continent are part of the process, and will have artists that they would like to get the added exposure of a Eurovision entry – this is still the music business – but being one step removed from the algorithm allows me to explore new artists I would never have been exposed to or recommended. It allows me to stumble down rabbit holes of extensive discographies, amazing collaborations, and to listen outside of my comfort zone to find something that resonates because of the art of music.
As we all through the songs, sharing favourites and discussing the potential winners, something curious happens. These unfiltered lists are slowly sorted by the community. They are added to playlists, the streams played count climbs higher, and the online buzz builds. You know what starts to pick up on that? The algorithm.
Let’s draw on one recent example with ‘Queen of Kings.‘ Alessandra may have started out as a relatively unknown name, yet when the MGP Grand Final came around to select Norway’s entry to the Eurovision Song Contest the track had received countless plays through the online music services, there were TikTok videos packed with catchy chorus, and the online world was flooded with digital signs that this was a popular song. How many signals? Spotify placed her at number one in its Global Viral-50. The jury knew that, the public knew that, and Alessandra’s team knew they already won half the battle to be selected.
While we are at the mercy of the power of the algorithm, we have the power to change it.
The House Always Wins In The End
As the National Final season starts to reveal its secrets, I’m ready to find something new that I will love forever.
Some Spotify recommendations (image: Ewan Spence)
Yet Spotify will still try and recommend Taylor Swift’s latest release to me, to you, and to everybody. Some things never change.