In a recent interview, music producer Todd Rundgren stated that video games have changed the consumption habits of young men and influenced the pop music scene. He believes that men spending less on music and shifting their purchases to games since the 1990s is the reason female singers now dominate the pop charts.
Rundgren has been creating music since 1970 and has produced albums for numerous artists, including XTC, Patti Smith, Hall & Oates, Sparks, the New York Dolls, and Bad Religion. He also produced Meat Loaf's album Bat Out of Hell.
When discussing current pop songs, Rundgren linked the rise of female artists to video games. He said, "The most popular artists in the world today are women, and this is caused by video games. In the 1990s, men stopped spending money on music and started spending it on video games." He thus connected video games to the decline in male pop music creators.
Rundgren also criticized Taylor Swift, claiming she has "nothing particularly outstanding about her except for having long hair." Regarding the relationship between games and music, the original article cited Pokémon and The Sims to illustrate that the gaming audience is no longer limited to men, noting that Lady Gaga has also publicly spoken about her love for games.