This piece is mainly directed at Afromusic as a whole but it can be applied to other music umbrellas.

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Defining the term: Popular Artist Bias (PAB) occurs when you prematurely like a song (even before you listen to it) just because it was performed by a popular artist.

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It seems like we all do it and it is understandable since the best predictor of future behaviour is often based on past experiences.

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However, I believe it is important that people are aware of such bias as this awareness can open us to different kinds of good music and artists out there.

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You see, the danger of PAB is that a mediocre song can be ranked as a good song even though at best it is just average. When mediocre songs get the most exposure it reduces the overall quality of Afromusic and this produces some ripple effects.
If the worthy songs do not get enough exposure, it can demotivate the upcoming artists performing good songs, which can cause them to either switch to mainstream mediocrity or stop altogether.

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Now this is not a piece on how to reduce or break the Mathew Effect- where popular artists get even more popular due to their already acquired popularity- it is to make you aware of PAB so that you can either choose to widen your search or stay in your set circle.

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Here are a few litmus tests to know if you are exhibiting Popular Artist Bias:

1. If this song you’re listening to was performed by a relatively unknown artist, would you like the song in the same way?
2. Is the new song as good as your favourite song from this popular artist?
3. Are you hoping this song ‘grows’ on you if you listen to it multiple times?

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Important to note that these are just litmus tests and it is not meant to be a definite system of rank.

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Shameless Plug: Every week, Less Than 3 Percent sends the top songs out of sub-Saharan Africa to subscribers. It is imperative that those songs are free of PAB and by doing so subscribers find serendipity in the songs they receive.

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Now, with all that’s been said, sometimes popular artists do release good music frequently. The ones that strive for consistency in quality are truly the talented individuals.

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In Closing: If you want to suppress your PAB, sometimes it helps to listen to the song first before looking at the name and making a judgement call, or listening to a varied set of songs in general rather than only mainstream ones.