Question for those who like recent mainstream pop... why?

"currently listening to some gothic rock and *I* don't *THINK* theres anything better than this..."

Sounded like a personal opinion to me. While writing this I actually considered starting it with "I'm genuinely curious, ...", but decided against it because I thought people would know that anyway. It seems like I probably should've went through with it though.

No hate against current pop music, I just personally find it hard to enjoy, so I'm curious to hear a fan's perspective.

And if music elitism was a plague, *I* don't *THINK* the radio would sound like what it does :P

the short answer: it sounds good to them
the long answer: mainstream pop music has always been lo.com.denom crap to capture the widest appeal possible to make the most money. i think there should be a demarcation made between people who only like stuff on the radio and people who like music. imo, most music in general regardless of popularity or genre sucks, also, im not sure why you specified modern, because i can guarantee you most stuff on the charts in previous decades werent very good either. at least not to me

true, good point, I just see it as a money-maker, that's why I wonder how it even sounds good to people. and why I say modern is because in my opinion the popular music of the 60s-80s was good 90% of the time. 

yeah I understand where you're coming from, of course it wasn't easy to find much alternative music but my point is that even the popular music at the time was good in my opinion. it degraded over time because now its way easier to become popular, and now anybody is on the radio, even some random person who "blew up on tiktok"

i would disagree; its not that it became difficult to become popular (because you can get somewhat popular if you have connections in the industry, which really went for any period of the 20th century), its probably that the bar of making music got lowered a lot. it is much easier to make music than now than it was in the 60s, where if you wanted a band, you had to get some people (either have friends who are willing to do it or look for musicians), play shows, hope you get noticed, pay for studio time, press a bunch of records, and even then you can put in all of that effort and nobody'll really give a shit. (though tbf you probably shouldnt make art for attention)
now if you have a computer you can just get FL studio or something and voila, the last century of recording innovations is in a black box. i dont think this is a bad thing by any means, but this certainly gets a lot people who dont really know anything about music to do whatever they want
making electronic music in the 80's when it really became a feasible option for most people was still really difficult. you had to program tons of drums and synths, and even if you were a rapper just sampling a break you probably had to get it JUST right on the turntable or the 8 track tape. this is not the case now, since analog technology has been removed almost completely from the equation. something being hard to do is not really an indictment of quality, but it does attract people far more pragmatic and willing to do hard things than easy things do. i think it is those people that make good music

also yea the bizarre populism of tiktok is hilarious. i think stuff like whitehouse and black metal blew up on there, which would've been unquestionably impossible to happen 30-40 or even 20 years ago. though i think its telling that a lot of old music blows up on there, not so much new music

yeah no of course I wasn't saying that the main reason was tiktok, in my opinion pop music got worse way before that. and yes you're right, there is less effort now. but at same the time it's the sound too, the choice of what kind of music people choose to make whether it's easy to or not. it's depressing and annoying, even music from early 2000s is better. I just wanna know how people even like today's music

it is depressing. i feel as if i am in a completely different world when i try talking to other people about music. the way everyone talks about it is so banal and confusing. thats how it is i suppose

really? wow I haven't talked to any pop fans much, or at least never about the music so that's why I created this topic haha

hi! im probably one of the biggest pop music fans out there... that being said, i don't particularly like "mainstream" pop... or at least any song of the last 3 years that has reached like the top 40 LOL

i think why i love pop music so much is the melody and the choruses. i like music that makes me happy and that is fun to sing and dance too! I love a really well written pop song and tbh i think the best artists in strictly "pop" music right now are probably Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor... those two know how to make a generic topic and create something quite interesting, compelling, and super addictive! im assuming that when i say that, you immediately will judge me! but believe me... they can make such ADDICTIVE songs. Hard on Yourself by Charlie Puth and Wave by Meghan Trainor are some of the greatest pop songs of the last few years that have been so largely ignored... its so unfair.

however, i will say i'm more of a fan of dance-pop music, which most people just label as "pop"... someone like Ava Max who picked a musical theme (being 2010-esk club dance-pop) and stuck to it. I also think her song "Dancing's Done" is one of the most beautifully produced songs of the past few years... the beat is so electrifying and her voice is beyond perfect, illuminating the track. i played this song for my scene friend and he said it was so boring >.< i don't understand how anyone could say that though!!!!

but yes! i love a variety of music including scene music and pop rock... like im super obsessed with The Ready Set, Brokencyde, and Breathe Carolina! Recently been getting more into Get Scared though... I think i tend to like most genres of music, as long as the melody and chorus are interesting, upbeat, and catchy!

Don't worry, I'm not judging anyone in these replies, I just want insight because I genuinely wonder. And I see where you're coming from! I will say you definitely didn't give me a bad choice, and even that's not what plays on the radio. It's almost as if they pick the exclusively terrible songs to play on the radio in my opinion. however I gotta say I still prefer the upbeat dance-y songs of the 70s, 80s, or maybe even 90s. Older music had a more dramatic feel, for instance Dancing Queen by ABBA is still far more dramatic than upbeat songs of today. I guess my taste might also come from my character, I can't say I'm very upbeat as a person even. I prefer more dark, dreamy, and melancholic sounds in music, which can be heard in pop songs but genres like gothic rock as I mentioned take those elements and push it to the max. Once you get into that, pop songs sound a little too upbeat

id like to start this off by saying yes i do listen to a lot of alt music! like a lot of different genres and stuff. but i do like mainstream pop! its mainstream for a reason. ofc it depends on the song but they can be catchy or emotional or relatable and a bunch of other stuff that makes it appealing. anyway my top three artists this year were in order Olivia Rodrigo, Penelope Scott, and Marina and im unashamed lol

"it's mainstream for a reason" doesn't apply now, the music industry does not work based on how good music is. it's about money, and people make music for the money now, rather than earn money because their music is naturally so good. singers and bands are always talking about record labels forcing them to make certain stuff that they think will earn the most. Plus people make their way to the top by paying enough people anyway. I'm not saying those artists are bad, I actually think olivia rodrigo is a lot better than most of what you get now. but I gotta say those other singers you named aren't really the modern mainstream music I was talking about , Penelope Scott  is definitely not mainstream even though she got popular, and Marina never really was the kind to be on the Top 40 on the radio (correct me if I'm wrong), and her most popular stuff was made 10 years ago. I suppose I meant to say recent pop, not modern. I asked this question because my ears bleed whenever I listen to the radio now, and I'm wondering who'd enjoy it.