Quality vs. Popularity

[scramjet]

What's your opinion on the correlation between popularity and quality? By popularity I mean measurable results like CD sales, Billboard charts, theatre grosses, etc., while by quality I mean your personal subjective judgement about what's good and what's bad. Since this is a music site I'm thinking mainly about music, but if you want you can apply the question to movies, books, TV shows... whatever.

To put it a different way - If something's good is it likely or unlikely to be popular and vice versa?

Is the correlation between popularity and quality

[glokstadt]

I voted weak positive! Just because it's popular, could mean it really sucks...

The old addage: "If everyone is jumping off a building, are you going to follow???" [:p]

[djcraig]

I always think of how Rolling Stone used to rip Led Zeppelin. While never a huge fan, I've come to enjoy their music. In this case, the record buying public was right.

<a href= http://

<a href="http://www.djcraig.net/">DJ Craig</a>

[SwampThing]

I've always found that the best music can be found one tier below the major labels. Artists are for the most part allowed full creative control at this level.



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[Mechi]

Weakly negative. Generally what everybody else's likes is not my personal taste. There are some exceptions.

http://spaces.msn.com/members/mechigc

[KYYX4ever]

Weakly negative. Stuff that's popular is sold to the masses--middle America--making it even more popular. There is the lemming effect. Many people like stuff that the majority like. Most people do not like to deviate from the norm.

[trekds947]

Look at what's popular nowadays. Absopositively crap! I mean Britney, Christina, COME ON PEOPLE! Our stuff--Ultravox, Midge Ure, Surf Punks, Elvis Costello, Fun Boy Three, The Specials, and so forth--the masses pass this up and we are left with the masses dictating the crap to become the popular and well known. Holy samolians get me Doc Brown's DeLorean so I can go back to the 80s where music was an art and artists ACTUALLY had talent, PLEASE!

PS Have Britney, Christina and Jessica learned how to tie their tennis shoes yet?

[newwavepunkgirl]

I'm not sure. I mean alot of stuff that is good doens't becoem popular thesedays because the record companies/TV execs etc want to make easy money so I would say that yes, alot of popular stuff sucks. That said though I have liked Green Day for over 10 years and I'm not gonna slag them off or stop listening to them just because they are popular! They haven't sold out in my mind so it's acceptabel to still like them. Likewise fashion, if I like soemthign and it's 'me' I will buy it even if it is really trendy! I guess it's all about having boundaries and personal opinion. I mean if you liek somethign adn you change because it gets popular thta is jsut as bad as fake as following trends! I just like what I like. But yep, most stuff that is popular is crap, I don't even lsiten to the charts anymore or watch much TV it's that rubbish![:(][V]

Devolution is real