The Era of Urban Supremacy Is Over

[Acajack]

Not in the US but over the weekend there was a report on Radio-Canada on the state of the music industry these days, and one big thing that was mentioned is that the focus is now more on selling specific songs as opposed to artists. (The Taylor Swifts of the world being an exception I suppose.)

A symptom of this is the multiple versions (different languages sometimes, different styles) of songs that get released, and also the numerous "Feat." songs where it's often hard to tell which artist's song a tune mostly is.

The "star" or "featured product" these days is more than ever the song, and not the artist.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Toasty Joe

Something that hasn't been mentioned is the rising urbanist mentality among younger generations (Gen Z, young millennials) that will likely lead to more life-long city dwellers than the typical city --> suburb pipeline. We're more conscious of our carbon footprints and the negative effects of anti-social, auto-centric suburban lifestyles. Also lines up that fewer plan to have children and therefore fewer will be "pushed out" to the suburbs due to space, schools, or safety.

Yeah, I think Gen Z likes to paint themselves as that but once they start having kids en masse.....

[MonkeyRonin]

How many times have we heard these exact same arguments about the latest music & pop culture trends over the decades?

"But this time is different!" you'll respond. No it isn't, you're just old now.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

"But this time is different!" you'll respond. No it isn't, you're just old now.

So true.

(I type as Pandora's Yacht Rock station plays in the background).

Old indeed!

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Yeah, I think Gen Z likes to paint themselves as that but once they start having kids en masse.....

Probably will happen in mass right around age 30-35 as the depression hits in their minds and the prospect of genetic suicide becomes very real.

In other words, maybe there will be a baby boom in the next 5-10 years for the Gen Z folks? Which will than translate to more suburban growth?

Originally Posted by ocman

It’s all just pop and rap. But pop and rap have always dominated. Now they just monopolize the airwaves. This might be the longest stretch of time where we haven’t experience a renaissance of genre or innovation in style. The internet was supposed to expand our tastes with access to different types of music, and expand the reach of smaller artists, but somehow it did the exact opposite. Maybe it was too overwhelming that societal taste retreated to what was comfortable and familiar, and to a few platforms, mainly Spotify. There was always a counterpoint to the mainsteam. But the mainstream today is more monopolizing and powerful than its ever been.

All of pop today seems like music/ idol worship for teenage girls. All the boys are still on hiphop/rap.

That's because music these days has manifested into the musical version of Call of Duty. Same garbage, recycled in and out and all about the Benjamin's versus quality.

I watched a little bit of the VMA's a few months ago and the quality of music was rubbish. At least with the mainstream stuff.

That's why its best to avoid listening to what the masses listen to for one to discover some true gems. Inside the sea of twerking asses lies a music gem, just have to filter through the cheeks to get it, and there's a lot, because that's what sells unfortunately. Long gone are the days of Pink Floyd or Jimmy Hendrix or the Metallica's of the world. Now its all about the beat, the size of the buns and some incoherent mumbling.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

How many times have we heard these exact same arguments about the latest music & pop culture trends over the decades?

"But this time is different!" you'll respond. No it isn't, you're just old now.

It’s not different. It’s the same. That’s the problem. Stagnation of music being recycled over and over for the past 15 years. And the more observant among us can pin it to something beyond some generational cliche and more to the online shift that only strengthened the monopolizing power of the American music industry. It’s one sound, uninfluenced by the world and completely self-referential. British music industry is one obvious victim. It’ll likely never reach the heights of influence that they once held except for the artists that fit the American sound.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by ocman

It’s not different. It’s the same. That’s the problem. Stagnation of music being recycled over and over for the past 15 years.

Rick Beatto had a guy on his youtube channel awhile back who explained how the record companies are no longer developing new music or new artists. Instead, they've bought up the back catalogues of pretty much everyone you've heard of and will use AI to create new songs by dead artists. So Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, etc., will still be putting out new records 100 years from now.

Meanwhile, those new figures who they bring into the fold are basically going to be propped up to lip-sync songs generated by artificial intelligence using those above-mentioned back catalogues.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by ocman

It’s not different. It’s the same. That’s the problem. Stagnation of music being recycled over and over for the past 15 years. And the more observant among us can pin it to something beyond some generational cliche and more to the online shift that only strengthened the monopolizing power of the American music industry. It’s one sound, uninfluenced by the world and completely self-referential. British music industry is one obvious victim. It’ll likely never reach the heights of influence that they once held except for the artists that fit the American sound.

The thing is, "the music industry" is less relevant than it's ever been. Top 40 has a smaller market share than ever - kids these days don't watch MTV or listen to the radio; new artists start making music in their bedrooms and build a following through Soundcloud, Youtube, etc.

I do agree that there is less innovation happening now, and change seems to come more slowly, but we're also coming off of an era of unprecedented technological & social advancement. It's harder to come up with new stuff when everything's already been done, and there aren't any new instruments or drugs to inspire new ways of making music. The 1920s-2000s were likely the exception, and we're now just reverting to the norm. Still, there's no shortage of great new music all the same; while there are also unmistakable 2010s-2020s sounds & styles that simply couldn't have been from any other era.

I'm dreading the inevitable AI-ization of pop music, which will further stifle creativity and innovation in favour of anodyne rehashes of old music; but, the effect of that may also be to make pop music even less relevant than it is now. Or on the the other hand, perhaps the next generation will find creative new ways to use it and it'll end up being one of those new technologies that ushers in a new wave of innovation.

Either way, at least for the time being - to quote an earlier post from Wigs - rumours of music's demise have been greatly exaggerated. People are still making it, people are still listening to it, people are still going to shows, and people still at least try to do new things.