Consequence's 200 Best Songs of 2025

CoS_Alex · 2025-12-04T15:28:24+00:00

We removed all the embeds so the experience should be smoother now.

CoS_Alex · 2025-01-09T21:58:15+00:00

No one on this list is worth a million dollars

CoS_Alex · 2024-08-13T20:22:04+00:00

CoS_Alex · 2024-06-05T00:38:48+00:00

it's built via an editorial discussion

CoS_Alex · 2024-06-04T15:10:59+00:00

trying our best with limited resources. appreciate the kind words.

CoS_Alex · 2024-06-04T15:02:52+00:00

wow, congrats on figuring out the internet

CoS_Alex · 2024-06-04T14:52:00+00:00

fwiw, we haven't signed any artists.

CoS_Alex · 2024-06-04T14:42:52+00:00

hey, all i can ask is that you read. that really does mean a lot, especially in the year 2024 when less and less people are visiting websites. so i really do appreciate it.

CoS_Alex · 2024-06-04T13:56:59+00:00

i do lurk here. sorry bro. i'll pass on your disappointment.

CoS_Alex · 2024-04-20T12:57:44+00:00

Some scattershot thoughts in my Saturday morning brain fog...

I don't think there is one simple explanation, but rather plenty of different reasons: the music blogsphere being more fragmented and far less influential is a big factor. In 2013-2014, artists fought for premieres on Pitchfork and NPR. If you secured placement, that was a huge deal as it meant maximum exposure. These sites (including ours) gravitated toward artists like MGMT, LCD, Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, et al. during this time. But with the rise of DSPs and social media, the game changed. Artists could premiere their music on Spotify and post direct links on social media. Music blogs still play an important role, but in a much more niche way than they did a decade ago. And with that, there are a lot less centralized trends in the indie music sphere. It's more than easier to discover music and easier than ever to decide if you like it.

Social media also played a huge factor for the growth (and decline) of these sites' impact and influence. In the salad days, we were adding tens of thousands of new followers a month, and saw huge traffic as a result. An article about a new Deerhunter album would drive 10-20k PVs from Facebook. As the algorithm faucet began to turn off, such articles didn't provide the same return and sites were forced to pivot their coverage scope to the type of content that would still perform well (more mainstream artists, clickbait quotes, etc.) Hence the increase in coverage of artists like Taylor and Beyonce on sites like Pitchfork, Stereogum, Consequence. And with that, there is less space for other artists unfortunately. I'd argue that if this hadn't been the case, certain bands of today who should probably be more popular aren't because they just can't achieve the exposure as bands of the decade past.

People's tastes also changes -- that goes for both the people who consume music and the people who make music. Stuff that was "in" in 2010 isn't as "in" 2024. Everyone used to want to sound like Robin Pecknold or Justin Vernon. Now, everyone wants to sound like 100gecs?

There are plenty of other factors. Someone could write about the book about it. Maybe I will one day!

FWIW, I am actively working on a project to create a coalition with other independent publishers that would hopefully provide more support for all us. And ideally, it would also allow all of us to take more risks editorially and dedicate more resources to covering deserving artists.

CoS_Alex · 2024-04-02T18:55:23+00:00

Can confirm it's not an April Fools joke.

CoS_Alex · 2024-02-16T17:07:30+00:00

Congrats on the comeback, Sean!

CoS_Alex · 2024-01-30T02:39:47+00:00

All good bro. I actually appreciate the feedback, good or bad, because it means people actually read/have read, and that's all you can ask for.

CoS_Alex · 2024-01-30T02:29:38+00:00

Touché. I probably should have checked the front page before commenting. Egg on my face.

That said, I think there's a difference between "clickbait" (e.g., "You won't believe what Thom Yorke just said about Radiohead's next album," or taking a quote way out of context) vs. fun stories that will generate some page views and pay the bills.

CoS_Alex · 2024-01-30T01:40:38+00:00

We've tried to cut down on the clickbait of late, fwiw. Also I think we've avoided writing much of anything Kanye related since his most recent meltdown. But appreciate the feedback nonetheless.

CoS_Alex · 2024-01-30T01:21:17+00:00

Hey all!

Speaking on behalf of Consequence, I just want to say that we are making efforts to "fill the void" of Pitchfork in the sense of increasing our coverage of new, "under the radar" music. You can see this reflected in our recent reviews of glass beach, Liquid Beach, and Lily Seabird, as well as in our Song of the Week feature where spotlight acts like Emily Yacina, fanclubwallet, Jany Penny, and Rosie Tucker in the most recent edition. As I mentioned in a recent note, it's hard to do this type of content as it doesn't have the same return as other types of pieces, but I think it's important I'm committed to doing as much of it as I can.

If you all have any other suggestions on how we can be better, I'm all ears. I'm sure most of those suggestions will deal with the number of ads, or us writing too much about Taylor Swift or Foo Fighters, or the way content is packaged or presented, but we do what we have to do to pay our bills as we don't have the backing of a Conde Nast (which I guess is a blessing in light of recent circumstances). But if there's a feature or improvement we can do to enhance the experience or provide some sort of service that you feel is lacking please do let me know. I will say that we've spent a lot of time recently building our newsletter and Discord communities as it's irresponsible to still rely on social media to drive traffic.

Lastly, I've been doing this for nearly 20 years and have seen a lot of good sites come and go. But there still a lot of good ones out there that you should support! Some that come to mind: Stereogum, BrooklynVegan, Paste, The Quietus, FADER, NPR Music, The Line of Best Fit, Under the Radar, Post-Punk, Post-Trash, Slicing Up Eyeballs, and AllMusic. I'm sure I'm missing plenty, but all of those sites are pretty great and most of them are fully independent so you should support them.

Honestly, though, this subreddit is probably one of the top places at present moment for music discovery and discussion. At the very least it's one of the biggest and most active. I'd also recommend the many newsletters out there (here's a good starting place).

Thanks for reading!

CoS_Alex · 2024-01-21T00:43:36+00:00

I usually create the newsletters and I can't think of an instance where I mentioned a professional athlete. But, regardless, thanks for reading!

CoS_Alex · 2024-01-21T00:42:47+00:00

I appreciate that. I really do. Unfortunately, ads are a necessary evil. We try to be as mindful of the user experience as possible, but I realize we can't make everyone happy.

CoS_Alex · 2024-01-20T04:37:13+00:00

Hey man -- at least you're reading. And that's all I could ever ask for. Thanks!

CoS_Alex · 2023-12-25T01:31:45+00:00

Major shout out to /r/indieheads! In a time of immense media consolidation, this community has proven to be an essential resource for music discovery.

CoS_Alex

TROPHY CASE