Don't Like - Tiny Desk Concerts

There was a time when Tiny Desk Concerts were neat. It was an interesting early new media venture and a surprising breakout success for NPR. The ethos of “Hey, what if we had a concert in here” is compelling—for a little while anyway. That time has since passed. I don’t know when I’d say they started to annoy me but it probably happened when the cultural sentiment became that doing a Tiny Desk Concert was prestigious. It makes sense that people feel this way. Adele, Harry Styles, Coldplay, Mac Miller, Sam Smith, and even Taylor Swift have done Tiny Desk Concerts. The only reason pop stars of this level would play NPR is because the Tiny Desk Concert is a covetable and ownable moment for their careers. To that end, it isn’t out of place to say that artist “has a Tiny Desk Concert.” That makes sense because a Tiny Desk Concert is a chance to have a short and intimate performance for all of your fans without them being present. It’s much safer than showing up unannounced or under a fake name to play a truly intimate affair. In this way, the Tiny Desk Concert is a mirage with the palpable sense that a manager has done their job. Take Justin Timberlake’s recent stop at the desk. He wasn’t just there to play a concert. He was there to rehab his image. The fact that Tiny Desk Concerts would let him play reflects that their own real goal at this point is to increase their clicks and views.