"There's nothing remotely interesting to me about marketing music as a product"
About this Quote
Mark Edwards is basically spitting on the spreadsheet version of art. The line lands because it’s not a careful critique of the industry; it’s a shrugging refusal to even pretend the “product” framing is creatively neutral. “Remotely interesting” is the tell: he’s not arguing marketing is immoral, he’s saying it’s boring. That’s a sharper insult in a culture where boredom is the ultimate cancellation.
The intent reads as boundary-setting. Edwards is positioning himself on the artist-first side of a long, ugly tug-of-war: music as expression versus music as SKU. By choosing “marketing” rather than “selling,” he targets the machinery before the money changes hands - the packaging, the audience segmentation, the rollout strategies, the engineered virality. It’s a rejection of the idea that the most important part of a song is how it will be framed on a platform, teased in a clip, or optimized for a mood playlist.
The subtext is also reputational. Celebrities are expected to be brands now, fluent in “drops,” “eras,” and “engagement.” Edwards signals that he’d rather risk being called naive than be seen as complicit. That stance plays well in an attention economy where fans are increasingly suspicious of anything that looks focus-grouped, and where authenticity has become its own currency.
Contextually, it fits a moment when streaming has turned discovery into distribution logistics. When the system rewards strategy over surprise, “I’m not interested” becomes a quiet threat: don’t ask me to make content. I’m here to make music.
The intent reads as boundary-setting. Edwards is positioning himself on the artist-first side of a long, ugly tug-of-war: music as expression versus music as SKU. By choosing “marketing” rather than “selling,” he targets the machinery before the money changes hands - the packaging, the audience segmentation, the rollout strategies, the engineered virality. It’s a rejection of the idea that the most important part of a song is how it will be framed on a platform, teased in a clip, or optimized for a mood playlist.
The subtext is also reputational. Celebrities are expected to be brands now, fluent in “drops,” “eras,” and “engagement.” Edwards signals that he’d rather risk being called naive than be seen as complicit. That stance plays well in an attention economy where fans are increasingly suspicious of anything that looks focus-grouped, and where authenticity has become its own currency.
Contextually, it fits a moment when streaming has turned discovery into distribution logistics. When the system rewards strategy over surprise, “I’m not interested” becomes a quiet threat: don’t ask me to make content. I’m here to make music.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
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