Why Beyonce’s Renaissance is a template for music’s future
It’s true live music is still everything, but, writes Alex Behan, inclusivity could – and should – be the art form’s superpower moving forward.
This is my last weekly album review for the Sunday News. It’s been a blast. Although to be totally honest I, like many of you perhaps, am frequently overwhelmed with choice in this everything, everywhere, all at once environment.
Choosing what to listen to used to be as easy as grabbing the CD wallet from the floor by the passenger seat, but when you can choose any song from any artist any time you want, sometimes it’s hard to choose anything at all.
When I took the reins, the column was called What To
Listen To. The title made the task clear – help people find music they are likely to like. The unspoken implication was equally clear; don’t waste space savaging people’s music.
There’s no time for that any more and, frankly, no need either.
Music criticism used to be at least half-full of people like me saying music was not very good and why. It was useful because music was expensive and there was no convenient way to hear it before purchase. When the cost of entry is $33.95 (the price of a CD, last I recall), warning people that a product is rubbish is a strong public service.
Streaming has made that largely redundant. While some people enjoy deep, detailed analysis of music, most people want quick recommendations – and algorithms can do that better than any human.
But the algorithm is not perfect and the streaming business model is far from proven.
One thing really came home to me writing this column – how hard it is for artists to get noticed at all. Especially local ones. The volume of product means smaller, independent musicians (here in Aotearoa, that means almost all of them) are competing with Beyonce and the bottomless pockets of major record companies for your attention.
Speaking of Beyonce, as I pondered these very issues, I was of course listening to
Renaissance.
What? I can’t be a local music advocate and also a hardcore Beyonce fan?
Listen, if you’re not asking yourself ‘‘What Would Beyonce Do?’’ on a regular basis, you’re not living your best life. That’s just facts.
Anyway, as I was blasting Queen B, four things occurred to me about the state of music in Aotearoa – and globally – today.
LIVE MUSIC IS EVERYTHING
Much good stuff has been written about the house music influence on Renaissance. That’s because pop music has always, and will always follow what’s hot in the clubs because that’s where the money is.
The album made me want to get on a dance floor and made me think about our event community which has been devastated in recent years. I hope they get all the support they need, from every corner imaginable – and we bounce back to pre-pandemic party levels.
INCLUSIVITY SHOULD BE MUSIC’S SUPERPOWER
Renaissance is packed with jams that make you feel beautiful and loved. It empowers all marginalised communities, not only ones with which Beyonce identifies.
When an ableist slur got publicly called out, Beyonce removed it quick smart. The biggest brand in the business is not immune to criticism, is quick and unafraid to correct mistakes and recognises safe spaces and inclusion are the bare minimum we want and deserve.
If live events want to get back to pre-pandemic party levels – the entire industry has to embrace that.
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT’S DUE
There are approximately a billion songwriters on Renaissance and those people all getting their dues is an integral part of the business.
Songwriting is becoming one of Aotearoa’s strongest suits. We could be as prolific as Stockholm or Los Angeles one day. I long for the day music gets its dues, like sport or film, and we really invest in its future.
POP MUSIC IS ENDLESSLY FASCINATING AND GLORIOUSLY FUN
Beyonce’s record made me dance and made me think. All the little details got me excited and energised. There’s never been a more interesting time to be a music fan. I’m not going to stop writing about music, or talking about it, or playing it loudly to anyone in my vicinity. Just less. And with everything, everywhere all at once, probably with a more specific, locally focused lens.
‘Listen, if you’re not asking yourself ‘‘What Would Beyonce Do?’’ on a regular basis, you’re not living your best life. That’s just facts.’