--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think this whole division between the…" description: "\"I think this whole division between the genres has more to do with marketing than anything else. It's terrible for the culture of music.\" — Tom Waits" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/tom-waits-916_culture_i-think-this-whole-division-between-the_1926113.jpg" --- # I think this whole division between the genres has more to… ![“I think this whole division between the genres has more to do with marketing than anything else. It's terrible for the culture of music.” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/tom-waits-916_culture_i-think-this-whole-division-between-the_1926113.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/tom-waits-916_culture_i-think-this-whole-division-between-the_1926113.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/tom-waits-916_culture_i-think-this-whole-division-between-the_1926113.jpg) > “I think this whole division between the genres has more to do with marketing than anything else. It's terrible for the culture of music.” [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Genre divisions are driven by marketing, harming musical culture. **In simple terms:** Marketing splits music genres. Key Takeaway Support artistic freedom over market labels. Themes music industry culture marketing Mood critical thoughtful Type cultural analytical When to use this quote - record label decisions - playlist curation - artist branding Key Concepts Genre classification artistic integrity commercialism Questions to Reflect On - How does genre labeling affect listeners? - What alternatives exist to market-driven categories? A Different Perspective Market forces can also foster diversity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Culture Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture-music-762566/) [Division](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/division/) [Division Genres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/division-genres-2986431/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Genres Marketing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genres-marketing-2986432/) [Marketing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marketing/) [Marketing Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marketing-terrible-2986430/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-culture-2986429/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [It's terrible for the culture of music. Like anything that is purely economic, it ignores the most important component.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/it-s-terrible-for-the-culture-of-music-like-anything-that-is-purely/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I am so sorry to see the state of reading in such decline. I think it says something really scary and terrible about us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smith/i-am-so-sorry-to-see-the-state-of-reading-in-such-decline-i-think-it/) [Lee Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smith/) > [The superior person tries to promote music as a means to the perfection of human culture. When such music prevails, and people's minds are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-person-tries-to-promote-music-as-a-means-to-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [I have a great affection for Indian culture and music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mclaughlin/i-have-a-great-affection-for-indian-culture-and-music/) [John McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mclaughlin/) > [I try to put my culture in all my music, as much as I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wolf/i-try-to-put-my-culture-in-all-my-music-as-much-as-i-can/) [Karl Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wolf/) > [I was in Paris last year, where there's a great appreciation of many different aspects of African culture and of black culture. The music...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-kravitz/i-was-in-paris-last-year-where-there-s-a-great-appreciation-of-many/) [Lenny Kravitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-kravitz/) > [Character is the backbone of our human culture. Music is the flowering of character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/character-is-the-backbone-of-our-human-culture-music-is-the-flowering/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Even though we were influenced by American culture and music, we like the rest of Europe have been colonized with that in the post-war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/even-though-we-were-influenced-by-american-culture-and-music-we-like/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [There's so much culture, so much music and so many different people from all walks of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lola-young/there-s-so-much-culture-so-much-music-and-so-many-different-people/) [Lola Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lola-young/) > [I think there is no culture in which music is not very important and central. That's why I think of us as a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/i-think-there-is-no-culture-in-which-music-is-not-very-important-and/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [I think I realised, at teachers' training school, that I felt that the culture that I came from, the Sámi culture, was not good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-boine/i-think-i-realised-at-teachers-training-school-that-i-felt-that-the/) [Mari Boine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-boine/) > [In '77 there was no Internet, there was no Twitter or Facebook, and I think that, without being some old git who hates anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jones/in-77-there-was-no-internet-there-was-no-twitter-or-facebook-and-i/) [Steve Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jones/) > [Capoeira is a game, it is dance, it is fight, it is of war and it is of peace, it is of culture, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinaldo-ramos-suassuna/capoeira-is-a-game-it-is-dance-it-is-fight-it-is-of-war-and-it-is-of/) [Reinaldo Ramos Suassuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinaldo-ramos-suassuna/) > [Anyone interested in the world generally can't help being interested in young adult culture - in the music, the bands, the books, the fashions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mahy/anyone-interested-in-the-world-generally-can-t-help-being-interested/) [Margaret Mahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mahy/) > [I'm not afraid to embrace different music and different culture and put it in the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dizzee-rascal/i-m-not-afraid-to-embrace-different-music-and-different-culture-and/) [Dizzee Rascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dizzee-rascal/) ## More by Tom Waits > [Most of us have the residue of thousands of songs in our ears, that if you end up songwriting, I think you're mostly smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-us-have-the-residue-of-thousands-of-songs-in-our-ears-that-if/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Don't plant your days they turn into weeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/don-t-plant-your-days-they-turn-into-weeds/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/t-ain-t-no-sin-to-take-off-your-skin-and-dance-around-in-your-bones/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/an-all-time-favorite-the-large-print-giveth-the-small-print-taketh/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ll-tell-you-all-my-secrets-but-i-lie-about-my-past/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/for-a-songwriter-you-don-t-really-go-to-songwriting-school-you-learn/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm trying to learn how to write faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-trying-to-learn-how-to-write-faster/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-world-is-a-hellish-place-and-bad-writing-is-destroying-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-always-looking-for-sounds-that-are-pleasing-at-the-time-the-sound/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-was-born-in-the-back-seat-of-a-yellow-cab-in-a-hospital-loading/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [There's not much difference between what I appear to be on stage and what I am. I think people like that, that I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-not-much-difference-between-what-i-appear-to-be-on-stage-and/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The devil knows the Bible like the back of his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-devil-knows-the-bible-like-the-back-of-his-hand/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I bark my voice out through a closed throat, pretty much. It's more, perhaps, like a dog in some ways. It does have its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-bark-my-voice-out-through-a-closed-throat-pretty-much-it-s-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Explore all 328 Tom Waits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## More Culture quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I don't think the distinction between high and low culture exists anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scott/i-don-t-think-the-distinction-between-high-and-low-culture-exists/) [Jeremy Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scott/) > [You get below the Mason-Dixon line and you have some of the best music, culture, the two races, the literature, and it's so rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duvall/you-get-below-the-mason-dixon-line-and-you-have-some-of-the-best/) [Robert Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duvall/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Being grounded in your lifelong culture and your personal perspective, you are comfortable with the way you see things and may believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/being-grounded-in-your-lifelong-culture-and-your-personal-perspective/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) [Browse all 15,940 Culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think this whole division between the genres has more to do with marketing than anything else. It's terrible for the culture of music.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Waits" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-think-this-whole-division-between-the-genres-has-more-to-do-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Culture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-think-this-whole-division-between-the-genres-has-more-to-do-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/tom-waits-916_culture_i-think-this-whole-division-between-the_1926113.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/tom-waits-916_culture_i-think-this-whole-division-between-the_1926113.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/tom-waits-916_culture_i-think-this-whole-division-between-the_1926113.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think this whole division between the genres has more to do with marketing than anything else. It's…” — Tom Waits", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tom Waits", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think this whole division between...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-think-this-whole-division-between-the-genres-has-more-to-do-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-think-this-whole-division-between-the-genres-has-more-to-do-with/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```