less consuming, more creating please

for an outlet that regularly publishes music and album reviews and every now and then criticises artists, everything which is about to be said must be prefaced with the acknowledgement that it is probably hypocritical. whilst the purpose of inyourheadphones is to provide an alternative to the endless algorithmic recommendations, ai playlists and top 40 tiktok sound slop, to provide music curation which is actually grounded in emotion, creative value and experience, it must be said that publishing a music review doesn’t hold anywhere near the same creative credit as releasing a song or an album. and so if you read this article and conclude ‘that’s rich coming from you’, i wouldn’t blame you. the messenger may be guilty, but it doesn’t mean it’s not true.

it’s the word which will probably go on to define this era of human existence. whether it’s the rapid overconsumption of earth’s natural resources, the dystopian images of people shelling out their life savings for branded clothing, or the horrific accumulation of wealth at the top of our society so great nobody could possibly know where to begin spending it, it’s clear our modern society has a restraint issue. but for a long, long time the arts seemed to be immune from this crippling virus.

when the 2008 financial crisis rocked the world, maybe the first tangible indication of an era defined by overconsumption, the arts were consuming just fine. some of the greatest movies of all time were released that year, take a look at the top 40 list and sure the music isn’t amazing- but you can’t say it wasn’t valuable or creative. in a world so plagued by inequality, division and eerie consumerism it felt like the arts was the only place you could go to escape from everyday despair. the final untarnished element of our crumbling society. well, not anymore.

i don’t think you need any more evidence than the fact universal pictures will be releasing the 12th fast & furious movie in 2028 to prove that the arts has an overconsumption problem. art is no longer judged on its creative or emotional credit, it’s judged on streaming numbers, box office sales and money made. it has been hollowed out by the corporations looking to exploit our natural affinity to creativity, and willingness to pay for it, and replaced by soulless, empty ‘artists’ creating soulless, empty ‘art’ at the behest of rich people getting richer.

this isn’t a hot take. and it isn’t a secret. everyone knows. you know, i know. when we turn on the radio and hear the same snippet from a song we’ve heard every single day on tiktok for the past month, we know. when we go to the cinema and you can’t see an interesting movie because every screening has been bumped by a franchise well into double digit sequel numbers, we know. when we walk into a bookstore and the first 10 books you see, gleaming by the entrance on polished stands ready to be bought for the cheap price of £24.99, are all about self-improvement or a bio on elon musk, we know. so why aren’t we doing anything about it?

in response to this open acknowledgement that consumerism has ruined the arts, it seems the fight back has been to… consume more? a belief that if we attach a false value to the valueless things we are consuming, they will innately become meaningful has led to a critique culture across the arts. a movement which demands you not to consume personally and quietly, but to speak about, write about, make a tiktok about, log on an app your every reaction to the music, movies and writing you consume. inevitably, if we place the value of art on the act of consumption, rather than the art itself, we’re going to consume more. we’re going to consume more and not care about what we’re consuming, whether it’s a copy, paste film or an ai generated song, because it doesn’t matter what it is if we can critique it.

i don’t think that’s the way to bring value back to art. critique is important, it’s essential in fact. but when it’s tied so neatly to consumption, it can only benefit those looking to exploit our desire to overconsume.

i think, as fans of art we should consume less art. we shouldn’t have access to music 24/7, and we certainly shouldn’t have access to leaks, teasers, or snippets. we should be waiting for an artist to release an album, consuming it purposefully, and critiquing it personally.

but moreover, we should be creating more. i’m not saying everyone should be releasing music, or creating short films. but everyone should purposefully create. write. give value back to the experience of art, in both the way we experience consuming it, and in creating it for the purpose of creation. creativity is a completely unique human quality, because it is its own end. we work because we need money, we eat because we’re hungry, we create because we enjoy creating. it’s innate, and yet we view it as something to exclusively consume, to be processed by systems and delivered neatly on a plate in front of us. so, i put it to you today to shift your view. value art for its experience, be purposeful in your consumption, and create more.