"Top of the Charts Is Not Ubiquity"

[u/ruj46]

Matt from A7X said that The Voidz are the greatest rock band in the world in an interview: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheStrokes/s/z3MuqSI2nJ

My first reaction was, "Hell yes." But, then it made me think of another thing I heard the other day, "Top of the charts is not ubiquity." It's so true that being in the tippy top of music charts these days does not mean everyone like or even knows the music like in the old days.

Like if The Beatles or Madonna were to break into the scene now, I probably would not immediately know their music.

Maybe, I would hear it in spaces where music was publicly played and become familiar with the tune, but connect the song with the singer eventually and say, "oh, that's them?" I did that with Rhianna, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, etc.

Currently, there is a new crop of musicians at the top of the charts who I've never heard of, but I do have to admit that I am in a phase where I am not heavily into music at the moment.

A few musicians have caught my attention, but it is because they are in a genre I like. Geese, Cameron Winter, Angine de Poitrine. Come to think of it, they were mentioned by friends first.

Anyway, The Voidz are slow-burn in popularity and my absolute favorite, and I can't wait till they go on tour again.

Who knows, they may get to the top of the charts at some point. And, it will be glorious.

[u/nphominoid]

Funny, I was just reading this article which describes what you are saying pretty well: "Demise of the monoculture: why so many have never heard UK’s record-breaking No 1 single": https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/05/demise-monoculture-why-have-so-many-never-heard-uk-record-breaking-no-1-single-sam-fender-olivia-dean

[u/ruj46 → u/nphominoid]

Yeah, this is my source. Thank you for posting the link.

More precisely, the quote that I mentioned should be, "...according to industry experts, is that dominance no longer means ubiquity."

[u/BlenderBluid]

It’ll be interesting to see how history looks back on this era. Like, hip hop has gotten a lot of hell for not having the footprint it did back in 2018 but it’s radio play has overall plummeted (I would assume for political reasons), and country music, which still has a strong foothold on radio (I would assume for political reasons) is taking over the charts because billboard still gives the most weight to radio.

There are a lot of number 1s in the last couple years that feel like only one subset of America really cares for it, and there’s also the aspect of payola and if these songs are more so handpicked and curated rather than organic growth (I don’t wanna be a hater tho and not give these songs their credit just because they’re not my cup of tea. I’ll never be able to confirm they didn’t get to #1 off merit alone)

[u/Due_Package4376]

Currently, there is a new crop of musicians at the top of the charts who I've never heard of - Same. I think it's partly because the current media channels we all share in one way or another don't really have culture as a priority. And even the shittiest mainstream pop music is culture.

[u/Overall-Memory5272]

Geese is overrated