Paulina Paucic

Billboard's 2024 year-end analysis: 82% hit songs now use one of just four melodic structures that have previously proven most successful by the algorithm. Spotify's year-end data: the average similarity score between Top 100 tracks reached an all-time high.

We are transitioning out of the era of Lifestyle, and into an era where the production of culture is valued—both subjectively and financially—on its own terms. From an era where brands are designed to sell products to an era where brands are designed to be culture, to transform lives, to instill beliefs.

No matter how great the list of product recommendations in your favorite nootropics or skincare subreddit, the practices and the moral premises of a subculture always are deferred when put in company hands. Deferred in the way that buying the hottest running shoes don’t mean you’re fit. Deferred in the way that buying books from Verso isn’t an... See more

Content creates context