Where’s there’s muck, there’s money

Sorry, but I couldn’t help but write about this news item: some musicians of a scatological bent report that Amazon Music has become their most significant source of revenue thanks to huge numbers of kids demanding that Alexa play “poop songs” or songs that include the word “poop” in the title.

The news, about which I have my certain doubts especially regarding the meaningfulness of the income, is nonetheless funny, because Alexa, on occasion, replies to children things like “this is not appropriate, but here goes”, and for children, songs that talk about poopy diapers, poopy butts, farts or pee have an undoubted appeal. The result is that songs like this one, this one, this one, or this one, have become, quite unexpectedly, stars of the children’s hit parade and are now widely sung in kindergartens and schools.

Initially, these poop-obsessed children required their parents’ acquiescence or active participation, but in the age of immediacy and ubiquitous access to all content, regardless of its popularity, all a child has to do is shout “poop” to Alexa, and she’ll play a song, which triggers a game of asking Alexa for more and more such songs (with the added bonus for frazzled parents that small children can listen over and over, and over, to the same tune).

It remains to be seen whether struggling artists try to cash in on the phenomena and trying to position their songs on Amazon Music with words that might appeal to a seemingly tireless audience and makes the cash register ring, albeit for very small amounts, every time the song is played.

Yep, it’s come to this.

(En español, aquí)