The state of the music industry.

[Dazlovestolaugh]

Hello folks,this is just a discussion about the music we hear today and the level of talent involved and about how money is the main prerogative and not the level of talent involved in the music we hear.

Well to start off im going to give you my view on what i think. Im from the UK ever since i was old enough to generate a view and an opinion of my own i started to drift away from watching TV and listening to the radio,ive been passionate about music since i can remember,and the sort of music i grew up on in the early 90's(ok not the best era i know,but its way better then the **** out today),just some examples Oasis,wu-tang clan 36 chambers i was more drawn to hip hop,i seemed to like the storys and the messages the lyrics told,also the beats that made my body sway,i felt alot more intelligent after listening to that album then i ever have from any of my high school teachers lol. It got me hooked on making my own beats and learning to use the equipment used to create them. One thing i knew about myself i could'nt rap lol i knew that from day one,but i had a feeling for the beats and making some good ones,even tho the music was gangsta rap,it never infulenced me to go on and pretend to be gangster like many people do,to me it was fake and not true to who i was,so i just enjoyed the storys told and the beats and the talent involved in it.

Well as time went on i got older,25 now and i listen to hip hop music these days and im just quite shocked,where did it all go wrong? Music is so money driven by the powers that be,its thrown onto our screens everyday,its advertised like no mans business,its played on radio 1,which is a radio station i just can't stand to listen to anymore the amount of repeats a song gets is so unreal. Nobody knows where to look for true music anymore,what we see is what we get,we ain't allowed to make a choice no more. artisits like lil wayne who just sounds like a robot on every track has no talent at all ,hes just a product being sold and he's made millions from it and so has the record company. If music carrys on this way,the new generations who like me back in the early 90's who learnt from music and come away feeling intelligent won't get that level of knowledge. There are so many better underground rap/hiphop artists,the lyrical content is so true to life and the way reality is,its pushed to one side,because record companys would only sign them up if they change the word **** to Hoe or some ****,and at the end of the day the choice on what music many people like today is made for them and they don't know any other choices,so basically music today has lost its talent,intelligence and the fact that people are controlled on what they can or can't say is the reason we have the level of poor music these days we are just wrapped up in cotton wool.

[oliscott]

It depends where you look. If you look hard enough you'll find something you like. However unfortunetly a lot of people only listen to the drivel on Radio 1.

[dazza74]

The rise of R&B for me has ruined the music industry. I think the original post is spot on it's more about marketing now than coming up with a good tune. You just know anything that Simon Cowell puts his name to will be a success. For all that moaning you still get the odd jems like "Duffy", "Kaiser Cheifs" etc so it's not all bad

[Eddy.]

Originally Posted by dazza74

odd jems like "Duffy"

Urgh, speak for yourself, I think she's atrocious.

Though, she's a genius compared to garbage like Rihanna, Girls Aloud etc.

[avinitski]

You seem to be focusing on commercial music, theres plenty of good music out there no matter what you're into.

Im pretty sure theres plenty of people out there that love Radio 1 and love all the commercial tunes out there too, its all about opinions i suppose.

[Dazlovestolaugh]

Well in a way im kinda talking about commercial music,if it was not for youtube i would never of known about artists like ill bill,jedi mind tricks,atmosphere ,brother ali they to me produce real hip hop music. Music today just seems so talentless,and yet its the music thats advertised like its amazing and earn alot of money doing it,yet real artists ones with a brain who can actually write powerful lyrics,are in the dark.

[Bill Hicks]

Well I was getting a little jaded with the music scene at the moment, until I discovered the Marconi and Radcliffe show (Mon-Fri at 8pm Radio 2) who play an excellent mix of tunes and who are very funny as well.

It was them that introduced me to the Isle of White's greatest band the Bees!

Here's a few samples of their music.

[lostinspace]

I have to agree that music is all about money first and talent second these days. I grew up in the 60's, and I seemed to like pretty much everything out there.
In the 70's I loved the glam rock stuff (Queen particularly), and every week there seemed to be another good band/artist coming through who looked good, but could actually sing and play instruments.
The 80's were a bit bland (new romantics etc-not for me).
Then came the 90's..........................manufactured bands.

Then there's the aforementioned hip hop and rap. Some of the rhyming is quite clever, but is it really music? I vote no.

Gone are the days when talent was the most important part of getting a contract. Now if you look good, then you're fine. In these days of electronic pitch correction (which most "musicians" use to some extent), anyone can be made into a star. Ask Simon Cowell.

[clockworks]

Pure speculation on my part, but I wonder if the "problem" is the technology?

Back in the day, getting a record into the market was a big deal. It meant that an artist had to be discovered playing a gig, or impress an A&R man with a demo track.
Instruments, amps and recording equipment were expensive. It took determination and talent or novelty to get noticed.

These days, anyone can make a demo on their PC, spending as long as it takes to knock it into shape. Stick it on the net and wait. From there, it's pure luck if they are "spotted" by record company.
The volume of music being produced today must be enormous compared to back in the 50's and 60's. The good stuff is probably out there, but it's lost in a sea of mediocrity.
Many talented musicians are stuck playing pub gigs, with no chance of getting signed.

On the other hand, it could just be that we are becoming our parents, condemning anything new and different to the stuff we liked when we were teenagers.

[Bill Hicks]

Originally Posted by clockworks

On the other hand, it could just be that we are becoming our parents, condemning anything new and different to the stuff we liked when we were teenagers.

I think that this is more true than the talent not existing anymore!

I remember my older family members in the 70's moaning about how "These new lot are rubbish compared to what it was like in the 60's!"

Just keep you're ears open cos there's still a lot of great stuff coming out every week. Just ignore 99% of the stuff that makes it to the singles chart!

Listen to certain quality music shows on the radio, I mentioned a nightly radio show on Radio2 at 8pm in an earlier post, shows like these leave out the teen rubbish and play the good stuff that's emerging!

[unique]

the music industry is in the middle of a large shakeup due to technology, i personally view it as a good thing, it's an up to date equivilent of how punk kicked the arse of the industry 30 years ago, and rock and roll did the same 50 years ago. it's taking the control away from the record companies and into the hands of artists and fans. it's dissolving the business from music

it seems that every generation looks back fondly on the music they listend to when they grew up, and dismisses the current generation, but i'd say music started getting good in the 60s, with the advent of more available instruments and better technology to record, and people experimenting with different styles of music, and the 70s became a much more progressive and experimental decade, probably the best for music, as it was the period when more musicians matured, and there was enough technology to expand things without relying too much on technology. there were real drums instead of drum machines, and keyboards still required keyboard players instead of sequencers

i think things started going badly wrong in the 80s with far more commercialisation of music and an influx of drum machines, sequencers and samplers. for the first time, people with little to no skill in making music were having hit records, some good, some awful. but even worse, the manufactured bands stopped playing instruments and became singers and dancers instead, and some of the most awful music ever made was released. ironically people are looking back at the 80s as some great period, but it was the decade of bad taste. things got better in the 90s, with grunge and britpop bringing back real instruments and writing, but there was still a fair amount of awful music going around.

i think the current wave of music is perhaps the best since the 70s. even pop music in the charts is far more palatable and better produced than the 80s and 90s. there are far more styles of music, and all sorts of sub genres. rnb and hip hop are the most popular types of music today, and even within those genres are a large number of small sub genres to suit all sorts of tastes, in the same way as there is in rock music. like with all sorts of music, a lot of it is commercial party feel good music, but you could say a lot of music in the past decades was fine to listen to at the time, but you wouldn't play it much now apart from for nostalgia reasons

i think if you haven't found music that you like from the current era you need to dig a bit further to find it, as it's waiting there to be discovered, and there are all sorts of methods such as itunes, spotify, lastfm, myspace, allmusic, etc that weren't around in previous decades

[karkus30]

Todays rubbish is tommorrows classic.

There are lots of great artists out there producing amazing music. The charts have always been a mish mash of MOR music at best with the odd quality band thrown into the mix mainly by a sheer fluke.

There seems to me a set group of people buying music from this extremely commercial source. Teenagers and early 20's who, in most cases just want a good tune to go with their lifestyles and friends (as it has always been), working folk who listen during the day, lunchtime, in the car etc who hear something they quite like and buy an album, listen for a few weeks and then discard, or the coffee table browser that needs something reasonably quiet, with nice vocals an air of serenity and a touch of laid back jazz for the next dinner party.

These people are not interested in music for music's sake, as long as it suits what they are doing it's fine. Like buying a bottle of wine to go with a meal or a new phone to go with a lifestyle it is rarely about the technology or the acidity of the wine. They really don't care a fig as long as it sounds right.

It's we who are the odd ones out, we obsess over bands and music, pull them apart, debate the sound. We are the wine connoiseurs, the audiophiles, the strange anorachy types who mull through old vinyl and worry about the latest interconnect. Because we inhabit this strange region only we know where the good stuff is kept, the supermarket shelves and radio one do not have it, anymore than Sainsbury's have the best vintage Champagne, or Dixons stock that Sumiko blue point cartridge.

This is how it is, how it's always been, those who want the best have to dig for it, the others are more than happy about the goods on sale.

[eviljohn2]

That's one of the best posts I've read in ages Karkus - really opened my eyes. Thanks.

People will always enjoy music just as people have always been making music. I suppose the sad reality is that the music industry hasn't really changed in the last 30 years - just reinvented itself as exactly the same thing every time whether it's cassettes, CDs or downloads.

[soundstory]

I have to agree with the majority of the comments.

Even growing up in the 80's & a massive fan of Electronic music (nothings changed!) I had to search for great bands like Yello for example who didn't get any radio play until The Race came out.

Word of mouth still is a great way to find new stuff, but now we have You Tube, Myspace & lastFM etc.

I think that it's easier to find new music than ever before.

I was always interested in what the bands I'm into were influenced by.

You have to keep your radar open at all times !!

[deadtotheworld]

I hated the 90's 'anybody can play in a band' mentality. Nirvana, Oasis seemed the main culprits spawning more 3 chords and you can play onstage attitude. Since then it really does seem like everyone is releasing stuff. Great musicians seem to be less respected and are disappearing fast. I used to read mags and see the mighty Metallica when I was a kid and really looked up to them... I dont wanna worship a bunch of dicks that live next door playing 3 chords thanks! Seems like the only huge bands left are the surviving ones from the 80's or 90's... now there is just too much sh ite. Another band on the scene, another drops off the radar the next day!
The introduction of more and more sub-genres is pretty annoying too - seems like every band has its own genre!
I do believe that the internet is affecting the music biz alot more with record companies just releasing clones of other bands to make a quick buck - because they cant afford to release something that isnt going to be a sure fire hit. So they just get what they think are pretty people to sing some crap to appeal to kids. Beyond middle of the road easy listening crap for numbskulls. Market people like Winehouse and Duffy, Blunt and Gray - to a more 'sophisticated/dull and boring' audience. The Metal scene seems a bit crap these days with producers opting to make all bands sound the same.
I have always turned off Rap/Hip Hop/RnB so cant comment on those genres. Just seems like more and more music with less to get excited about.
Usually I hear something that reminds me of something I already own so just go and put that on, instead of rebuying similar music repackaged with 'prettier' or a cooler look. I cant remember a recent band that had a non appealing look to its target audience. I mean you look at TOTPs 2 and see ugly bald guys with great songs - that will probably never happen again. Even a band like Slipknot have turned there ugly bloke image into an appealing one for kids with the masks n stuff.