I'm an artist and there's definitely a new type of listener that is listening for vibe. My most successful songs on Spotify are often described as "vibey" by listeners. People will comment on the "sound of the sounds" and the overall feel of it. Curiously I find other musicians less likely to comment about vibe. Instead they will comment on the songwriting or on the production— often picking out esoteric elements of the songs.

It makes total sense that people are listening for vibe. Music is way more accessible than ever before. We pipe in music constantly to set mood or create ambience (or to cancel surrounding noise). I recently saw my father-in-law (who's in his mid-60s) sit down with his laptop and simply listen to some of his favourite folk music. He wasn't browsing the web. He was just listening. It was funny how unusual it seemed.

I wonder if outrage from the music industry over the decline of active-listening has more to do with the feeling that artists are just less important. People mostly listen to music now— rather than individual artists.