This is something I’ve noticed for a long, long time and to be honest it’s really starting to grate. It’s especially noticeable on TV programs or at dance shows / performances.

For a start there’s the question of whether it is ruining the song. For most songs on TV programmes it’s an improvement because it drowns them out somewhat. But then you’re left to focus on the clapping which inherently is far worse. This is because the audience never claps in time but they’re not syncopated either with the result of ending up somewhere between the two so it sounds plain wrong. Kind of like a demented metronome that’s lost all interest in keeping time.

You might think it’s due to the large number of people all with just slightly different timings but no, because the audience weirdly does seem to sync itself quite well in this no-man’s land. That…