Taste.

Some of the most profound impacts of new media are the most subtle.

In music, there has been tremendous focus on industry. And understandably so. When the infrastructure of a business is turned upside-down, there are major changes. But it’s no different than any other business, really. You deal with it, change, and move on.

The real shift with music is how people are relating to it.

One of the most interesting things I find in my work today is that there is very little consistency or pattern with regard to musical taste. Especially with younger audiences. Whereas mass distribution led to certain artists defining times and generations, today there seem to be fewer guideposts.

It’s quite comic, puzzling and liberating at the same time.

I’ll be performing at a show. I’ll see a group of people come in. They’re in their late 20’s. I’ll adjust the set towards, say, a contemporary, Jack Johnson-ish feel. It’ll go over well, but then during a break, one person will ask what song I was just playing, another will ask if I know any Sinatra, another will look for Johnny Cash, and then someone else will say they want to hear songs from my own albums.

The musical guideposts are gone. It’s absolutely fascinating.

It’s even more apparent with instrumental guitar work.

Event organizers and clients really labour over decisions a lot more in this forum. From a list of 70+ songs, I’m amazed at the range of differences in song choices from people in identical age brackets. There’s not one song I can think of that’s always a must-have for an event. Each one is different. One group might love old 60’s music. Another might have a penchant for Neil Young. Another might be into jazz.

This is in stark contrast to older event organizers. There’s instant, across-the-board recognition of certain songs, artists and genres. They’ll find six artists on the list and say “play stuff like that.” Easy. Done.

Electronic access to music has changed tastes. Today, there aren’t the massive hits that are exposed to everyone at the same time. There are little pockets. Everyone finds their own unique thing in their own way and in their own time.

It’s a world of music… defined solely by the listener.

I look forward to seeing you out soon.

Jake Dudas, Guitarist

All photography by Sue Morley Photography

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