Chappell Roan and “Brat” show that algorithms are changing the way we listen to music

This need for authenticity is what makes attempts at virality—artists creating TikTok dances or songs written specifically for the internet—seem so painfully contrived. The more time we spend online, the more aware we become of the tactics artists use to promote their songs. There is no greater crime online than trying to be seen.

Do you want to be a pop star in 2024? Good luck, baby.

While the closing gap between artist and audience is not negative, it goes against the elusive nature of our traditional understanding of pop stardom. Stars are supposed to be larger than life. Social media brings them back down to earth a little. The freedom and power we now have as consumers to determine who can be a pop star has changed the meaning of the term and everything it entails, Denis said.

“In the past,” he says, “a label or the industry would tell us who the stars of tomorrow would be – and we would interfere, or the records would flop so much that we would send someone else in. But today we can make a pop star out of practically anyone.”

The model has been turned on its head. Instead of investing time and money in developing artists, labels are keeping their ears open to the internet. They seek out artists who have built a following online, but discard them if their success isn't immediate. The charts seem like a revolving door of hot internet moments – without the songs that gained popularity through radio appearances – rather than a time capsule of stars' lasting legacies.