What Drives Popularity in Art (Hint: It’s Not Just Talent)

Why do some books, songs, and artists take off… while others don’t?

It’s easy to assume it comes down to talent or quality, but that’s only part of the story.

In this episode, I’m breaking down the real drivers behind popularity in art, from exposure and promotion to timing, luck, and privilege.

Because understanding this changes how you see both your own work—and everyone else’s.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:17

Welcome back to your next chapter, the podcast for women who read, write, and live creatively. I'm your host, Rebecca Hasselak. And today we're talking about what drives popularity in art. Last week I talked about subjectivity in art, how what we like and don't like isn't always quite as straightforward as we think, and how sometimes our reactions have more to do with us than with the work itself. But there's another layer to this, because once something is out in the world, once it's being consumed, there's a different question that comes up. Why do some things become wildly popular while others, just as thoughtful and just as well made, don't? If art is subjective, then popularity shouldn't be so predictable. And yet we see the same patterns over and over again. Certain books take off, certain artists break through, certain work becomes everywhere. So I want to zoom out a little bit today. Not to critique that, but just to understand it a little bit better. Because when you understand what's actually driving popularity, you can stop taking it so personally, especially if your art is not quite there yet, or you're seeing a lot of other people around you get great commercial success and you're feeling a little bit left behind. What actually drives popularity in art? There are a few things. I'm going to give you five. And so hang with me here. We'll talk about it, and then we'll recap some of the sticky issues about subjectivity. So, number one, what drives popularity? It's exposure. A lot of it is exposure. Popularity often comes from repeated exposure. The more we see something, the more familiar it feels. And familiarity builds preference. Think about political signs. I know, I'm sorry to bring it up. I hate seeing them. They drive me nuts. They're a part of life. But my goodness, if I don't see the same ones over and over again on the street corners. But the point of the political signs is that the more you see a name, the more recognizable it becomes, and the more your brain subconsciously views it as trustworthy. Now I could go down a whole separate rabbit hole about the fact that seeing annoying signs over and over again actually kind of backfires for me, and I do not want to vote for the person, but I digress. The theory, and there have been studies about this, is that the more you see someone's name, the more familiar it is, the more trustworthy you view it as. So the point is with political signs, put them on every corner, put them everywhere that someone can see them. Same with things like accident attorneys. The more you see them, the more familiar you are, and the more likely you are to vote for them, use them, call them whatever. So exposure is huge. What are emerging creators bumping up against? Well, a real lack of exposure. Where are you supposed to expose your art? There are very few places when you're first starting out. So that's a hurdle for us as we begin in these fields. Number two, what else drives popularity is who promotes the art. Is it publishers, marketers, publicists, book clubs, media lists? The more funding and backing that something has, the more likely it is to be seen and therefore liked. So you know, we've all seen this that when a book hits one of the book club lists, which I love, I would love to be on a book club list, I'll be honest with you. But when it hits one of those lists, it just blows up in popularity. Suddenly sales are massive, people are clamoring to get it, it's on hold at the library, you try to check it out and you're told you're like number 52 on eight copies or whatever the case may be. And it's just an engine for popularity. So when someone is promoting art, it can quickly gain steam. And it can gain steam whether it's objectively high quality or not. And I say objectively high quality, which is kind of funny because the whole point of this is things like that are subjective. So anyway, I hope you get what I'm saying. Exposure and who promotes it play a big role in what becomes popular. Number three, who endorses it? This is similar to who promotes it, but the promotion side of it is more of like the marketing, the advertising, the lists, things like that. Whereas who endorses it is more like celebrities, influencers, people you trust. This is often about visibility more than pure taste. I mean, there are book talk people out there who have been responsible for helping certain authors' books just skyrocket in sales. And there are a lot of people who say, a lot of these books are really not that well written. Or, you know, I keep going back to books as my example, but that's the industry I know best. So, you know, there it is possible for something to become a cultural phenomenon, to become widely embraced and commercially successful simply because a few very influential people decided to promote it. Number four is luck. Yes. Luck plays a role, my friends. Timing, trends, whatever's happening in the zeitgeist, cultural moments, all of this does factor into what becomes popular and commercially successful artistically. So something can be excellent, but it can totally miss the moment. You know, and something else can perfectly align with what's happening in the world and just take off. And that is completely luck. Usually creators work on something for months, if not years, sometimes even decades, before it's brought into the world. And they can't predict what's going to be happening in the world at that time. They can't predict trends, and they just can't know what is going to be accepted in society better than something else. And then number five is quality. So, yes, quality does play a role. Most books, songs, movies, art, fashion are not going to be total commercial successes without some level of quality. And again, yes, that is subjective, but usually it has to be good enough plus the right timing plus strong exposure in order to take off. It doesn't mean it has to be perfect to equal success. And then I will throw a sixth one in there, even though I only said five. And the sixth one is privilege, because people who are in a position to know industry gatekeepers, have strong networks, have access to education and craft development, have access to time and resources, they are going to have a little bit of an easier time. And I think it's important to say this out loud because when you don't understand all of these forces, it's very easy to internalize what you're seeing, to look at someone else's success and think they must be better or I must be behind or I must be missing something. But when you actually step back and look at it, you realize how many variables are at play. Variables that have nothing to do with your ability, nothing to do with your voice, nothing to do with the long-term value of what you're creating. And that doesn't mean quality doesn't matter. As I mentioned, it does, but it's definitely not the whole story. So what does all this mean for you? There are a lot of things here that we cannot control and things that we can control. So what I always like to come back to is that. So which of these six items, since I added in a bonus, can we control? Let's take a look. We can't exactly control our exposure. We can try to promote things on social media and find other ways to get exposure, but that one's a little tricky. We can't always control who promotes it unless we're paying people. We can't always control who endorses it. We can't control the luck. We can't control the cultural moment and all of that. We can't control our privilege. So basically, there's one that we can control, which might sound demoralizing, but it is always the thing to come back to. And what you can control is the quality of your work. How much time, investment, care, and I don't mean investment in a monetary sense, how much energy and love and passion are you putting into what you're creating? Because quality, even though it's subjective and even though it's not the only thing, quality does matter. The more you create a quality product, the more likely you are to get true fans, loyal fans, and to grow a following over time. So if you take anything from this, let it be this popularity is influenced by a lot of things: exposure, timing, promotion, luck, and yes, quality, but not quality alone. And when you understand that, you can stop measuring yourself against outcomes that were never fully within your control. You can focus on the one thing that is, which is the work, the care you put into it, the time you give, and the honesty behind it. Because that's really the part that lasts, you guys. Not the moment, not the spike in attention, but the work itself. So I want to leave you with a quick quote that says, you have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. And that was said by Marcus Aurelius. So I encourage you to stay focused on what you can control, keep showing up, keep refining your work, and trust that the right people will find it in time. Until next time, keep creating and keep turning the page.