By Mitchell Copeland

Music is one of the few things that all people seem to love, a unifying force among many cultures and communities. We don’t often think about the impact of music on pop culture and art. It is used to make political statements, tell stories, share culture, or just make cool melodies. 

It’s no secret that some artists garner more support than others, but we don’t often consider why. An obvious answer may be “Because they’re better,” but I would beg to differ. Some of the best artists go unnoticed or completely forgotten despite having popularity and influence. However, sometimes artists who aren’t quite as unique as others find a lot more success than they might deserve. Why does this happen? The answer is not as simple as one may think.

Now this isn’t universally true. Plenty of artists have made it into the music industry simply because they’re talented. One of these artists with a very interesting story is Panchiko. In 1998, a group of high school friends in Nottingham, England formed a band and named themselves Panchiko. 

They played at a few local pubs (though underage) and competed in a battle of the bands competition. In 2000 they decided they wanted to release an EP, however, they weren’t able to get a record label to sign them. So they bought their own recording equipment and made it on their own in their basement. It wasn’t until 15 years later in an Oxfam charity shop that someone stumbled upon their work. The buyer, who was interested in what they heard, made a post on 4chan, an anonymous image board website. The post sparked some curiosity and eventually, the songs would be uploaded on YouTube where they would amass roughly 200,000 views. 

Shortly after, a small group of people dedicated themselves to trying to find the band but were unsuccessful for years. However, after many trials and tribulations, they finally found and reached out to the band’s lead singer, Owen Davies. He then reached out to the other members, all of whom had been unaware of their newfound popularity. They reformed, remastering their first EP and uploading it to streaming platforms. 

Panchiko’s style is a mix of experimental electronica and indie rock. Some of their influences include Radiohead, Joy Division, Air, and Nirvana. Their use of layered synth and guitar filters gives them a unique sound that heavily resembles that of Radiohead.  Davies delivers soft, emotional vocals that mix perfectly with the DIY 90s recording gear. The drums add the finishing touch, giving them a unique melancholy feel.

Panchiko’s story is rare although paralleled by others such as Daniel Johnston or Death. Often artists who are impressive and self-made like these will never be heard of unless they manage to be rediscovered through some unlikely sequence of events, their records left to collect dust in someone’s attic. So why is it that artists like these are frequently shoved to the side all the time? There is a relatively simple answer. Money. None of these artists had anyone to fund them. Take Death, for example, a 70’s Motown band consisting of three brothers, who never had any of their music released until 40 years after it was made. The main reason was money, as the brothers grew up poor and were barely able to afford their instruments.

One of the determining factors in success for a small or new artist is whether they have connections to the music industry or if they have a lot of money. Some of the most popular artists of today got their start simply because they came from a rich family, like Taylor Swift, who comes from a long line of rich bankers, or The Strokes, who were funded by their very wealthy lead singer, Julian Casablancas. Just because these artists got their start due to their wealth does not mean they aren’t good musicians or that they didn’t have to work hard for the success they ended up with. But being rich definitely didn’t hurt them. So why does this happen?

Unfortunately, it’s because the music industry only cares about money. Some might argue, “Of course they care about money, they’re an Industry, it’s what they do. You can’t just release everyone’s music for free, that’s not how things work!” They might have a point, however- it’s not a good thing. Because if the music industry is about making money, so are the artists. This tends to produce a more generic, uncreative, hotel-website-with-an-image-of-a-white-family-on-a-water-slide type of music. 

Take a look at the state of modern country music. Some of the most popular songs seem to contain the same subject matter: drinking, rural lifestyle, women, religion, and of course, jeans. A song that exemplifies this country music standard is Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried,” famous for vapid, predictable lines like: “Cold beer on a Friday night, Pair of jeans that fit just right.”

The lyrics to this song are uncreative and lazy but have inspired many country artists since. When looking at lyrics from Blake Shelton’s “Boys Round Here,” the working class theme is much more prominent: “what they call work, digging in the dirt. To get paid.” In these verses, Shelton describes the work of a farmer or a ranch hand, but Shelton never had a blue-collar job in his life. In fact, he is extraordinarily wealthy. 

Many large country artists will write songs about dirt roads, or working on a farm despite being wealthy, upper-class celebrities. Their lyrics are disingenuous and a clear attempt to pander to working-class country fans who may relate to such experiences. It’s one thing for an artist to appropriate a working-class culture to sell records, but this idea has seeped into the core of modern country music. 

Although pandering in other genres isn’t the same or as bad, country music demonstrates the problem of trying to appeal to an audience rather than making genuine music. This process tends to reward seemingly less talented musicians and creates the same boring songs over and over again. Because of this, you end up with generic artists like AJR getting more attention than niche bands like Panchiko.

So how can this be changed? Well, one of the major issues is that small artists who don’t have money can’t get a record deal and have any of their music released, which was the original issue with Panchiko. Now we have countless platforms that anyone can access and upload music to. The power that streaming services hold over the spread of music is undeniable. Thirty or forty years ago, if you wanted to listen to an artist you’d have to be lucky enough to find their work at a record store and if you were looking for lesser-known artists who go against the grain, you were out of luck. Now you can listen to anyone at any time. 

I have personally discovered dozens of incredible artists who I wouldn’t have heard of if it wasn’t for streaming services. Along with streaming services, the impact of the internet and social media has been huge. Artists now have the ability to promote their music completely on their own to make a name for themselves, which was the case for many modern pop stars such as Adele, Arctic Monkeys, and countless others who all got their start sharing their music on MySpace.

Record labels still hold a lot of power over distributing rights and few well-known artists are completely self-made, but the ability for artists to be successful without the privilege of wealth is crucial for keeping musical culture from becoming horrendously corporate and boring beyond belief.