by Jade Rangel

      he interpolation of music is one of the most lucrative ways the industry generates revenue from an everyday listener’s love for nostalgia. Interpolation is especially significant in today’s world because we see many artists employing it and achieving number-one hits as a result. However, this sudden rise is not a coincidence. In fact, we have huge companies that already own the rights to some of the most popular American music in history, meaning the interpolations for new songs only make these companies more money. This relates to the concept of the cultural industry, where an industry produces cultural goods that are repetitive in order to maximize profits. The music industry’s cultural manufacturing leads to the emergence of this form of pseudo-individuality, where new songs appear to be unique but are actually repackaged versions of the same old song, marketed as “new.”

        These ideas of capitalism are intriguing, as we see mass production and commodification in music making generate more money for large companies, such as Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group (WMG). This raises an alarming question: Is art actually unique anymore? Do these interpolations suggest that artists are not utilizing creativity as they once did? A specific case that exemplifies this issue is the interpolation of Taylor Swift’s song “New Year’s Day” in Olivia Rodrigo’s song “1 step forward, 3 steps back.” As a fan of both Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift, I found this interpolation quite tasteful. Rodrigo’s song uses the melody in a way that brings new life and meaning to the song. All of this to say, despite the author’s argument on the “laziness” of the music industry for using interpolations, I believe it is up to the individual artist using them to actually make each sample  their own. 

        Increased interpolations in modern music are due to the fact that the music industry is made up of huge record labels prioritizing profiting off the vulnerability of human emotions by creating cash grabs on music that they already know is going to be successful. Indeed, the president of the venture-capitalist upstart Hipgnosis Songs Fund says, “Whereas for us, we don’t have to convince anyone that the song is great. They already know that our songs are great.” I believe that this is a sad and capitalistic way to look at music. These industry giants are taking advantage of the fact that people love things that feel familiar to them, and financially benefit from doing so. Instead, the powerful people in the music industry should be prioritizing creativity and artistry, not profits.

        Standardization is a process in which the music industry follows predictable formulas, where the songs they produce are similar to how factories produce goods. This often includes reusing catchy harmonies in songs that are considered the epitome of pop music, or even chord progressions that feel familiar to general listeners. Interpolation is not just profitable in the music scene, but also in media like sequels and reboots of popular television shows and movies, which further emphasizes how effective capitalizing on nostalgia is. Nowadays, I’m seeing an increase in sequels for movies that should have ended with the first or second film, like Toy Story. A lovable franchise that Disney Pixar has been exploiting since 1995. From the lovable toy characters being plastered on merch to full-on rides at Disney World, there is not one avenue that Disney has not explored to make the most money possible. The ethics of this are a little more than murky. Disney adults have their own free will, in which they choose to engage with this franchise, but others might feel its inauthenticity. This can also be seen with the revival of reboots of old shows heavily marketed towards Gen Z. The iCarly reboot, which was a beloved show that ran on Nickelodeon from 2007-2012, was highly successful, but my main question is: why? Why is the industry scared of new and original stories? All of this raises a question of how far this nostalgia can take us with art. Will audiences eventually get tired of the industry marketing old media as new?