Theodor Adorno’s, “The Cultural Industry” introduces readers to a wide range of unpopular concepts about current culture. Adorno’s essay is centered around the notion that culture has become standardized in our society through a uniform approach. Utilizing this concept as the centerpiece, he states that, “something is provided for everyone so that no one can escape” (Adorno 97).[1] In today’s environment, this homogenous approach is evident in the music industry. Because there is such an overwhelming commercial demand for new music, artists find themselves generating new material in the fastest and most efficient manner in an attempt to elevate their profile and increase their popularity. In turn, revenue and profits also increase. Due to this driving force, pop music is being mass produced, causing music across the genre to converge.

“Closer” by The Chainsmokers became a top hit following its release in July of 2016. It quickly ascended to the top of the Billboard charts and remained in the number one spot from September through mid-November.[2] How did this seemingly ordinary pop song gain so much play-time and remain so well-liked for so long? The answer lies in the “secret” guidelines found in much of today’s popular music. Experts have analyzed music in detail and have discerned patterns among many of the top-ranking songs. In part, the congruencies in tempo, chords, and overall repetitive aspects of songs are evident in music styles that have enjoyed historical success. Adhering to this music “formula” can commercially benefit the artists, as has been clearly demonstrated through The Chainsmokers’ repertoire.  This path to success has simultaneously created a decline in unique music. As artists and labels seek to capitalize on the standard template, there has been an increase in the overall consumption of music.

The Chainsmokers are an “electropop” group consisting of two American DJs, Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall, who began their careers in music production by creating remixes of existing songs. In 2014, they began their journey into original music with their release of “#selfie”. Subsequent music arrived in 2015 with the release of their EP, Bouquet, which included the hit song “Roses”. Following the release of this album, The Chainsmokers began playing large global music festivals including Lollapalooza and Tomorrowland. Following their tours, the duo returned to music production, creating the chart topping single, “Don’t Let Me Down”. In the summer of 2016, they released what would be their most popular song, “Closer”.[3]

After two years of creating and performing, The Chainsmokers had created a worldwide name for
themselves, which elevated “Closer” to the third most streamed song on Spotify, with over one billion listens. Did the publicity from the shows give the group the push necessary to make this possible, or was there an underlying factor at play? Joe Bennett, Dean of The School of Music and Performing Arts at Bath Spa University, explored the many factors that elevate the odds of success in today’s music industry. According to Bennett, “Pop songs (generally) stay in one key, are in 4/4 time, last between three and five minutes, are organized into chunks of four or eight bars, have a repeating chorus played two to four times, include the title sung at least three times, and feature short melodic fragments that repeat to help everyone to remember them” (Bennett).[4] Is it possible that The Chainsmokers followed these standards to increase the popularity of their song? A careful examination of the song will reveal whether or not Taggart and Pall utilized the pop music formula to create their incredibly successful hit song.

“Closer” is written in the Ab Major key which fulfills Bennett’s first component of the musical “equation”. [5] Moving on to part two, the time signature of this hit song is, in fact, 4/4, which is also referred to as common time. Common time, as its name suggests, is the most widely used time signature in Western music.[6] It is unclear why 4/4 has become the standard rhythm across the spectrum of pop music. It is of interest that popular music employs a common rhythm seeing as the terms “popular” and “common” are interchangeable in this context and popular music has become linked to common time. Bennett’s third requirement is the length of the song. “Closer” is 4 minutes 5 seconds in length, placing it almost directly in the center of the “requisite” time frame of today’s top hits. The fourth ingredient in the recipe for a hit is the sectioning of the song. The splitting of the song into either four or eight bar pieces is also present in “Closer”. Each verse, pre-chorus, and post-chorus are broken into two four bar segments. The chorus is a single eight bar portion.[7]

The final three prerequisites that Bennett examines all pertain to repetition. He first discusses the song’s chorus. The Chainsmokers repeat their eight-line chorus three times throughout the four-minute song. This sequence falls in the heart of the range of repeats that is formulaic for success according to Bennett. The reiteration of the song title is another requirement of the Bennett paradigm. The Chainsmokers certainly meet this standard as the word “closer” is repeated exactly three times throughout the song. The final element that Bennett discusses is the recurring use of fragments of catchy lyrics that are certain to resonate with the listeners. “Closer” features a six-line pre-chorus that appears before the first and second choruses. Following these choruses, the post-chorus consists of the line “we ain’t ever getting older” repeated twice. After the final chorus, the same line is repeated ten times, finishing the song. With the reverberation of this very simple five word line a total of seventeen times throughout the song, it actually accounts for 29% of the total lines in the song.[8]

The recurrence of simple patterns throughout a song may be the most effective way that an artist can engage and re-engage listeners. Through the utilization of a straightforward chorus, a concise title, and the persistent repetition of a five-word line, The Chainsmokers were successful in creating a song that is perpetually reverberating in the listeners’ heads. How did these formulaic elements disrupt a theoretically dull song and create an unequivocal commercial success? The use of these cyclic patterns allows listeners to quickly become familiar with the tune. In other words, the music is easy to recognize and learn, which encourages people to sing along almost instantaneously. With the simple, repeating lyrics and the song title inserted into each chorus, “Closer” is accessible to even the least sophisticated of listeners. With one quick Google search of “we ain’t ever getting older”, the name and artist of the song can immediately be revealed. Recognizing the repetitive sequence of this line allows most listeners to remember it. With this sequence embedded, the listener can easily find the song. This is quite important because the easier a song is to find, the more likely someone will retrieve a song, and possibly purchase it. While convenience is a driver for the listener, it is arguably far more important to the artist. If the task of recovering their song is seamless, the song will receive more plays on platforms such as Apple Music or Spotify. This drives the revenue and growth and increases the profile of the artist.

Does the strict use of the music “formula” translate exactly to a guaranteed chart topping single for an artist? This is true to some degree, but one must also take the creative aspect of the song into account. Artists become popular for a myriad of reasons, and this typically incorporates the production of music that is quite simply enjoyable to hear. Throwing together a song that strictly adheres to a rigid set of guidelines but has no musical appeal is unlikely to yield a product that is as successful as a song that also contains high quality sounds that are attractive to the ear. Bennett states that, “crowd-pleasing songs simultaneously tread the well-trodden path and the road not taken” (Bennett). Following the blueprint of popular songs is important, but it is not everything. Personal flare must be added to the song to increase its appeal, but “we are endlessly entertained by songs that fit within known parameters, and we only need slight variations from the predictable to make something quirky or interesting” (Bennett). This indicates that a talented artist should have no problem producing popular music if they incorporate creativity into the “rules” of today’s pop music.

Along with the success of today’s pop music, the aforementioned streaming platforms have also had a positive impact on today’s music industry. According to Billboard, the success of the music business can be attributed to “streaming revenue” (Christman). Although the revenue of the music industry peaked in 1999, music sales are again expanding, and much of this resurgence is due to the models deployed by streaming sites.[9] In today’s world, music is abundantly accessible, and this feature has truly transformed music into a central component of daily life. Nowadays, it is virtually impossible for a day to pass without being exposed to music. From car radios to restaurants to YouTube ads, pop music is ubiquitous, and it has become a central feature of our cultural landscape. Adorno would argue that this omnipresence converts music listeners into submissive recipients of culture. Without consent, people are “fed” this music. Isolation is no longer an option as these artists produce and broadly disseminate their music.[10] Although one may claim that this propagation solely benefits the artists and the music industry, one could argue that music positively impacts the individuals who participate in its consumption and, more widely, society as a whole.

Today’s uniform production of music culture operates under a set of rules which seemingly allows for no variation in the basic components of songs. It makes logical sense in today’s world that the utilization of a pop music “formula” for the production of music would decrease the attractiveness of this platform. Yet, it seems that the industry is defying this logic.  With the assistance of relatively new streaming platforms, music is flourishing. The top songs in today’s environment, including “Closer” by The Chainsmokers, gain their popularity by remaining simple and repetitive. This blueprint provides listeners with exactly what they are seeking while concomitantly generating tremendous amounts of revenue. Even though today’s popular music may contain less variety than in the past, listeners seem to enjoy this evolution.  Infusing a formulaic standard with personal flair has allowed the community to converge and support this new music model. Today’s consumers of music appreciate how the current genre has united the culture through its passion for music, no matter what the formula.

[1] Horkheimer, Max, and Theodor W. Adorno. “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception.” Dialectic of Enlightenment Philosophical Fragments, Stanford University Press, 2002, pp. 94–136.

[2] “Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart.” Billboard, www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100.

[3] “Music for Everyone.” Music for Everyone – Spotify, www.spotify.com/.

[4] Bennett, Joe. “Wanna Write a Pop Song? Here’s a Fool-Proof Equation.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 27 June 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/06/27/wanna-write-a-pop-song-heres-a-fool-proof-equation/?utm_term=.5f2930093be1.

[5] “Closer (The Chainsmokers Song).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Oct. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closer_(The_Chainsmokers_song).

[6] “Time Signature.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Oct. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_signature.

[7] Pimplup. “Closer – The Chainsmokers Ft. Halsey (Piano).” MuseScore.com, 2 Sept. 2016, musescore.com/pimplup/baby-pull-me-closer.

[8] “The Chainsmokers (Ft. Halsey) – Closer.” Genius, 29 July 2016, genius.com/The-chainsmokers-closer-lyrics.

[9] Christman, Ed. “U.S. Music Industry Sees First Double Digit Growth in Almost 20 Years as Streaming Takes Over.” Billboard, 30 Mar. 2017, www.billboard.com/articles/business/7744268/riaa-us-music-industry-2016-revenue-double-digit-growth.

[10] English 117