Critical vs. Popular Reception

What stood out to me from our first class was the differing roles of critics and the public in the careers of artists. Lewis stressed that we should include both critical reception and popular reception when we make our presentations or write papers on specific artists.

In my experience, whether we are speaking of music, books, movies, or paintings, critical reception and popular reception are very different. How important are critics' reviews to popular consumption of a product? For example, if the critics pan an album, but you preview it on iTunes and you like the 30 seconds you hear, would you still buy it? I think I would. But the critical review sits in your head and you might listen to see if you agree, or if you can learn something. Do bad reviews affect sales? I don't know the answer to this question, but my guess is: Not very much. I think people are going to buy what they like.

I think that to become a critic, you must be highly educated in the field, and you must be a very good writer (or talker, if you are on radio or TV). You have to have a broad knowledge of the field so that you have plenty of points of reference and the ability to make comparisons. These elements separate critics from the general population. The general population is relatively ignorant about the product they are consuming, and so may not understand the critical review, and may not find it relevant to themselves. Thus the review does not influence them to buy or not buy.

Then what is the role of critics, liner notes, reviews, and commentary? I think the critics' commentary is relevant to their peers, the highly educated and field specialists. It can also help artists win awards and gain general respect, which in turn will boost sales. So, I believe there is a "latent" economic factor to critical commentary. If I hear that an artist has won a Grammy, I might check out their website. But I still won't buy it if I don't like it.

I suspect we might touch on some of these issues when we talk about Dave Brubeck. My thought is that Dave deserves both critical reception and popular reception. I have seen him in concert and he is a truly great artist. Another artist sometimes "pooh-poohed" by academia but loved by the populace is Oscar Peterson, my first favorite pianist when I was in high school.

I'm going to leave you with an interesting speech on the role of critics...