[synthpop]

This POV is making the wrong equivalency, though. Prog, Krautrock and early (usually more abstract/experimental) electronic music) weren’t usually released to meet “pop” ambitions. Sure, the most remembered ones from decades ago did yield some form of crossover appeal with mainstream radio audiences/marketing efforts at the time, but it’s not like those genres or their influence just vanished. Check out newer ‘prog’ bands like Black Midi, just as an example. They’re not on the radio or magazine covers but still have a significant following among music nerds, much like King Crimson 40 years back.

I think autotune and Top 40 charts are too often used as a scapegoat by people that simply became too lazy to seek out stuff on their own without first being filtered through a marketing campaign. The radio or the front page of any given streaming service is designed to appeal to the mass audience, so why would you be surprised as a fan of more outsider sensibilities when it doesn’t immediately represent your niche tastes? You’d be more likely to find that type of stuff in a music store, printed review, or some random blog not too long ago. Now, that may as well be discogs or wikipedia, and the internet is much more powerful today as a resource than the record store of old. I feel like many people are more bitter over their music taste not being socially validated by the mainstream rather than just enjoying what they like and being content with the circumstance that it’s “not for everybody.” TBH I feel like it’s more desirable as an artist to have a dedicated following of fewer number than being one that’s involuntarily shoved down everyone’s throat. Most modern pop and rap is as ubiquitous as it is because of enormous label astroturfing and marketing, just as genres like New Jack Swing or Nu-Metal or whatever was dominating MTV back when that was a 'relevant' source of music discovery. It's always been commercial! So it doesn't do much good to bemoan the corporate machine's aggressive shoveling of its corporate properties, just tailor your sources of discovery to places that better suit your interests if the lowest effort option isn't doing it for you.

To me, people that have a chip on their shoulder about autotune are frankly just projecting some other abstract frustrations and nostalgia over a nonexistent time where all music culture was contained to TV and radio. It wasn’t! Do some old fashioned digging and go deeper than just the surface, you’ll find plenty of good new stuff and a thriving music community if you actually try.