Dear Music Industry,

At the age of 22, I'm sure you would have in your head exactly the kind of music I listen to: Pop. Most likely, your picks for me probably include Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and a slew of other 20-something pop stars. What you would be surprised to know is that I don't listen to any of those artists or any of their counterparts. I find them to be artificial, a gift that you have presented on a silver platter.

In fact, you would have to dig back well into the decades to find the artists whose music touches my soul. Stevie Nicks, Carly Simon, and the Eagles might be names that those in my generation are not familiar with, but I am. I am most certainly my mother's daughter, inheriting her incredible sense of talent and sincerity in artists. It has allowed me to explore artists not because of what they look like or how old they are, but for the beauty in their voices and the poetry in their lyrics.

However, what I value severely differs from what you do. What appears to be important in the industry of today is a person's attractiveness level, how tight or sexy their clothes can be, and how much they can appeal to fans in the 18-35 range. The fact that these are the priorities that are held dear in your industry makes me sad. This industry was built on people sharing their emotions and thoughts through lyricism and music. Instead, it has become about anything but.

I will first discuss how it appears as though an artist needs to be attractive in order to be marketable. It is a ridiculous notion, for I would have never thought to look at a person and decide whether or not I like their music. Music is meant to be about the song, not the physical attractiveness of the person performing. You've made that almost a requirement for someone to get played on the radio.

Going right along with that, you praise artists who break the boundaries. There is a way to test the norms and break ground. However, the artists you give attention to are vulgar and only doing what they do so they can see themselves trend on Twitter. It has nothing to do with bringing attention to important issues or equality for a gender; It's about being the center of attention.

Then, of course, there is the fact that you only care about listeners who are between the ages of 18 and 35. Therefore, this means that all of the artists played on the radio also generally fall into this category. It's too bad that there are also listeners who fall outside of that bracket and would like to hear artists their own age. Like your brothers and sisters in the television and film industries, you've chosen your target audience without recognizing that the majority of individuals are in the baby boom generation. What about them? Don't you care? None of the people in your precious age bracket are worried about buying music. Most of them are streaming it. And you continue to wonder why record sales are falling...

I haven't even touched on the fact that many of the artists you wish for us to worship cannot even sing. However, that seems to be an afterthought for you. You would rather that they be able to entertain us with dancing while lip-syncing in an outfit more fit for the bedroom than a stage. After all, it's so easy now to cover up the fact that an individual cannot sing. Just add some extra background noise and other edits to distract us.

Well, I will not be manipulated or distracted. There are other young fans like myself who do not understand your priorities. We also don't fall for your marketing ploys. It might force us to choose artists you won't play on the radio for a variety of reasons, but that's just what we will have to do to seek real artists.

I know my opinion doesn't likely matter to you, for as long as you continue to ride on the coattails of success, you won't worry about the fall. However, I hope you know that there are people who see through the superficiality you have created. I hope that people will at some point in their life, see that music shouldn't be about what you have spoon-fed to the general public; It's about having that song that simply gets you.

Sincerely,

A Saddened 22-year-old Music Fan