That's a real issue. I think the biggest issue with genre, though, is that even if people agree on a list of possible genre labels, there is often disagreement about what music belongs in which genre.
This isn't a new problem at all. Even music labels often disagree. Back when record stores were a thing, it was pretty common for different stores to categorize the same albums differently in terms of genre. I think the only way to avoid it is to stick to very, very broad categories. "Rock", for instance, covers an amazingly broad set of styles.
That's a real issue. I think the biggest issue with genre, though, is that even if people agree on a list of possible genre labels, there is often disagreement about what music belongs in which genre.
This isn't a new problem at all. Even music labels often disagree. Back when record stores were a thing, it was pretty common for different stores to categorize the same albums differently in terms of genre. I think the only way to avoid it is to stick to very, very broad categories. "Rock", for instance, covers an amazingly broad set of styles.