Seriously, what killed the music industry?... Or is it alive and well?

[The Jabroni]

Dear Forum-Goer,

I was in an interesting debate earlier today about the current state of the music industry. The main goal was to determine whether the industry is dead, dying, seriously sick, or strong and thriving. If it were determined that it was completely dead, the next step was to trace the cause to its root. If it were determined that it was dying, the root was to be found and a remedy was to be recommended. If it were determined that it was alive, proof had to be given and all claims had to be substantiated. Here's my theory:

If music isn't entirely dead, it's definitely in jeopardy. The cause? The still-expanding dominance of the "single." Nowadays, singles sell and albums don't. Albums like "The Wall" and "The Downward Spiral" wouldn't have gained importance in history without successful singles ("Another Brick in the Wall, pt. 2" and "Closer," respectively) despite the fact that they're meant to be listened to as cohesive units instead of as individual songs. This presents a flaw in the system; singles override the albums they're a part of. As singles gain dominance, albums lose their power. As albums lose power, the need to consistently create good music diminishes.

Why write a full album, packed with solid songs and purpose, when you can write one audience-aimed pop tune and make millions?! That's the question that's been plaguing the music industry for decades. People lose the drive to write epics and masterpieces when they realize that 4-minute songs with basic progressions, catchy melodies, and meaningless lyrics always win. In 2010, the best-selling song was Katy Perry's "California Gurls." If you're not familiar with the song, it's just under 4-minutes in length, with a whopping total of 5 chords and lines such as "Sex on a beach / We get sand in our stilettos / We freak in my jeep / Snoop-Doggy-Dog on the stereo." Verily, an incredibly intelligent work of art! 5 chords, what a total! And John Keats himself couldn't have written better verse! Ms. Perry is truly a musical and lyrical genius!

Through the extremely bitter sarcasm, there is some truth to the above statements. However, she's not a "genius" in the conventional sense. She's a genius of marketability. She knows what her audience wants to hear; a young woman of above-average looks singing about "freaking" in a Jeep. Her audience, of course, being hormone-driven teenagers. That's a main part of the problem: What's marketable is seen as better than what's innovative, intelligent, and creative.

So what's killing the music industry? Why is there such a lack of competent artists willing to make "art?" Why do songs like "California Gurls" become best-selling singles while music with meaning and craftsmanship gets no attention from the mobs and masses?

It's not just about singles. The modern-day decadence and moral/intellectual deficit are playing a key role as well. "California Gurls," in a society that analyzes what they hear, would be labeled as pure smut (A great oxymoron, by the way) and would never be heard by mainstream audiences. So, in my humble opinion, it's not the music industry's job to get itself back on track. That monumental task belongs to the audience. The audience needs to think about what they're hearing and, when they grow tired of 4-minute 5-chord songs, they should go find an album. If they're really committed, they could make it their mission to save the industry. They could make their own art to combat the dismally trashy abyss of modern popular music.

However, that's just my opinion. Others may think that the industry is alive or that its death has a different source and a different remedy. So what do you think? Is the music industry alive? Is it dead? If not, prove it. If so, why did it suffer such an untimely demise?

Good luck.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

if anyone has killed its soulja boy or whatever his name is. i mean i like hip-hop and r&b to a point, but one of his songs is called doo-doo head! what the fuck i mean im only 19 but i love guns and roses, all 4 one, boys to men, acdc, aerosmith, and journey. his shit is just rediculous

 

[Oracular Spectacular]

Music is alive and well...Apparently you arent that in tuen to newer music.

Go listen to "The Suburbs" by the Arcade Fire, and Album that spent weeks as the number one album on the Billboards. Not only that MGMT and Vampire Weekend have also toped the charts, bands that have full albums that are fantastic(The Suuburbs doesnt even have a song that could be considered a "single")

By using examples such as the success of bands like Pink Floyd and NIN to show that music today is dead is alittle absurd. Firstly Trent Reznor is still making records How to Destroy Angels, Reznors newest project came out this year to little sale or success....and guess what, It sounds like a NIN record.

The Wall is a different story(Taking my personal feelings for the album out of the picture....I think its literally 80 minutes of pretentious *********ion and maybe Floyd's worst album) but that came out at a different time for music.

Many artists have relerased "Albums" the artists that release singles are more of the "cock rock" genre....Nickleback puts out singles for example,.

The music industry financially is dead because people are downloading music....I admit I do, but I also go to about 15 shows a year. MTV is not the all knowing music source that it used to be. MTV is marketing toward the 14-25 year old market. Girls that shake their asses in the clubs and the little girl equivalents that's parents will buy said albums.

In Conclusion, the music industry is alive more than it was 30 years ago. The amount of music out there is ridiculous and if you can't find music you like out there today you aren't looking.

 

[El Rev sXe]

I wouldn't say the music industry is dead, nor strong and healthy. I'll probably say that the music industry is in decadence. Now I'm sure someone is going to throw the card "illegal downloads/internet is killing the music industry". Well first of all the only way you can say that is towards new artitsts. Metallica, Britney Spears and Gene Simmons are just doing fine with their millions and millions of dollars instead of their trillions of dollars.

But first let me ask you something Jabroni, what do you mean by saying that the music industry is dying? There isn't money anymore? There isn't good music anymore? A combination of the two? Something else? I'm going to understand your thread by the second one, there isn't good music anymore.

First of all, there is still today good music, but not as much as once upon a time did. There isn't many new great bands that are leaving their print on music history. I think that honestly the main problem is with teenagers and Disney, seriously.

Disney has taken advantage, I correct myself, Disney discovered that the music industry is all about money and that it isn't necessary to be a virtuoso to have a huge fan base. Look at the Jonas Brothers, High school musical, Hannah Montana and other shit like that. It isn't about the music anymore, is about what makes/draws more money. Granted, music after all is a business, but take a look at the industry the last three decades. As jabroni said we passed from 8 to 20 minutes songs, with guitar-bass-drums-vocals-keyboard solos to having a fucking teenager singing "baby baby oh, baby baby noooo". The music industry isn't looking for good music, but rather it is looking for pop music. Let's face it, pop draws alot more people than rock. Hell, even rap draws more people, and then you have a simple yet effective formula: pop+rap=money and that's why you have Katy Perry and Snoop Dog making a song.

According to some authors about the philosophy of art, they said that art isn't somenthing useful, it's a decoration you have. What's the point of having a painting, a book, a cd? Today, music has become an object not of art but marketing, a merchandise. You don't sell music, you sell an image. Kiss understood perfectly that.

 

[The Jabroni]

Great responses so far. There's some great debating going on. First, I'd like to clarify a bit. I, by no means, believe that there isn't good music left. I got "The Suburbs" the day it was released and it was fantastic. There's still music that I would consider art, but, to much of the modern audience, it takes a backseat to the pop music of the day. The problem isn't an extinction of good music, but an overabundance and overrating of horrendous music. The industry is being taken over by those who least deserve it, those without talent and ability.

So, hopefully, that cleared things up a bit. Keep on debating!

 

[Syn]

I feel music as a whole is still alive and thriving, its mainstream that has taken a dive in recent years in my opinion.

Every decade there is a change in what is mainstream, what tops the charts. In just the last half of the century you go from the likes of Areosmith and Led Zepplin (amoung tons of other classic rock bands in the 60 and 70s) to Motley Crue and Metallica (in the late 70s and 80s) to Madonna and Micheal Jackson. You get the boy/girl pop band/single craze of the early 90s coupled with the breakout success of bands like Matchbox 20, Lifehouse and Goo Goo Dolls who offer amazing lyrical songs.

Late 90's/Early 2k's theres the rise of numetal/heavy rock over the radio with Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Disturbed, Papa Roach. Of course what you heard on the radio all depends on where you live. So you may have instead gotten bands like Slipknot, Mudvayne or Drowning Pool played more consistantly then we did here in Canada.

Then came the slow return/reincarnation (and a terrible one at that) of party rock. Nickleback and all the bands like them. (Theory of a Deadman, Hinder, Saving Able). Nickleback started out as a straightforward rock band and turned into the monster of a party band that they are now. Spawning countless copies. Buckcherry and Papa Roach selling out helped bring that party theme out. Then came the pop variations, that continued the party idea but instead brought in dance beats.

Combine that with the influx of hip hop / RB that became popular in the early 2k's. Eminem, Outkast, Early Black Eyed Peas and countless others that spawned 50 cent, Nelly, and too many others that made it mainstream. Over the years lyrics became less and less important (not to say that the early stuff had great lyrics, but you get the point) and they were drowned out by beats and synth, fancy cars, ****ty chicks, and alcohol. Though that was limited to r&b and hip hop.

The party rock/pop/hip hop took over the radio. Where all you needed was a somewhat catchy tune, bunch of chicks/cars/money and some autotune.

Recently there has been the odd artist/band that stands out from the bunch. Bringing something new to the mix. Kings of Leon brought a breathe of fresh air to how things sounded on the radio. Likewise we get the odd single from a brand new band who gets one big song. Or bands who became big from their previous style and decide that they are going to completely change their sound. (Linkin Park for example). Whether it works is left up to the listener.

But the airways are oversaturated with dance pop/disney/rock bands/artists giving dance beats and crappy lyrics, and likewise with the r&b and hiphop fueling the airwaves. Right now this is what is making the music industry money. So now we wait till these genres wear themselves out and the mainstream grabs ahold of new kind of music. Whether a new genre that has never been a main focus, or going back something older.

Now to find good music you have to look into what is not popular, theres million of bands and just cause they ain't on the radio doesn't mean they aren't making awesome music

 

[Alex]

I would say its oversaturated with the same sort of thing. To many musicians today sound very very similar and have similar lyrics so its hard to distinguish one from the other unless you're a diehard fan of one musician. This in turn means musicians who sound unique and refreshing are gonna have a harder time because they are unique and record labels don't want to get behind something new, they want easy money by chugging out genric singer A's album because it will more likely sell.

 

[Jonnie Walker]

Everything that's popular sounds the same. For rap, it's money and bitches. For pop, it's something involving a member of the opposite sex. For rock, it's usually horrible these days, because everything is the same. It's the same bands that make the same sounding music with the same sounding singers. What killed the music industry is unoriginality. If you look hard enough, you'll find something good, but everything that you hear is shit, because everyone sounds the same.

 

[Alastor]

It depends on what you are asking about. The music industry is declining in terms of earnings compared to a decade ago, but the quality and variety of music available to the the masses has never been greater. In the past, the music hear will be determined by the major records company and the radio stations DJs who are on payola with the records company. Due to technology, people are able to listen to what they like more often now. The money may still lie with the few major record companies, but the money among the artists that are not chart toppers is split up more due to there being more acts releasing records now.

The industry is shifting in its business model and what was once a strength for record companies is seen as a weakness now. An example would be record companies used to have leverage over artists due to their abilities to produce physical copies of the music (CDs, tapes). Now factories producing these CDs are a liability to the companies as less and less people purchase physical copies of their music. What these companies have is their ability to reach out to a wider audience, which is their marketing capability, which is a reason why artists still want to sign on to major records.

As for the quality of music, that is subjective. Mainstream music always contain 'trashy' pop or 'manufactured bands'. That is what generates the most revenue from relatively cheap acts. The fact that they are more prominent now is because the record companies are desperate due to declining revenue. If anyone search hard enough I am sure there are music that suits his/her taste hidden somewhere on the internet.

 

[dman1373]

producers killed the music business. When the whole game of modern producing started with the beatles, it made sense. It added another depth to the songs. But it has since turned into shit songs just being over produced. And those are the songs people are listening to now. It doesn't matter what genre of music your talking about now. They all are total garbage now. Their hasn't been a great album in at least two years. And before that they were few and far between. Its just has been going down since 2002. And thats because of the modern day computers being able to produce songs that just have hooks but no depth. And why would anyone want to buy a hole album with no depth. So they just buy the singles. And wait until their favorite part comes on.

 

[lenguy]

The music industry is alive and thriving as much as I hate to say that because I can't stand the popular music today. With all your Ke$has and your lady Gagas, katy perrys and justin beibers and they all sing and cover some very similar topics, on top of that they completely dominate the radios making it harder and harder for other artists to get some kind of exposure.

I made a thread called "So I Killed Your Rock and Roll", in it I discussed that these days you hardly hear Rock songs on the radios besides the really popular generic bands(I.E Nickelback..) Its all about dance music today and Rock is completely on the back burner. Which is a Shame because there are some really good Rock bands out there that are struggling to make it big but can't because there music they play and lyrics they sing aren't "in". So they have to conform themselves to making radio friendly songs and singles just to get noticed and often this still doesn't work out for them.

All these singers and musicians know how to sing about these days is stupid failed relationships,drinking, partying or living in a teenage dream..I missed the days where artists actually touched on subjects to need addressing..there is more to music than writing another generic love song...Artists know this don't they? I hate the music the radios play now a days. I hope someday it can get back to the glory days of good music.

 

[CM Pulsar]

The music industry is dying because the major labels didn't adapt to the demands of consumers. They spent years fighting the internet and when it didn't go away, tried suing people to force them to buy music. That didn't work, so then they tried relying on the internet as a way to find out who to sign. Now Myspace is DEAD, and they are back to square one.

The industry DESERVES to die for its own stupidity.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Napster ultimately did. I loved Napster and being able to download songs for free before you got viruses and had to pay for them, but Napster and the internet changed the music industry. It isn't even about album sells anymore, it is about MP3 downloads and how many hits a artist had on youtube. It seems that anyone can be a music star nowadays. I can only think of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and maybe Justin Bieber or Rihanna as new music acts that actually sell out crowds. When most music is all electronic dance beats that anyone can download for free online, of course the industry is dead. Along with music.

Has there even been a rock band that was a top of artist of the past 5 years on tour? Besides the usual older bands like U2, Metallica, Stones, Eagles, Kiss, etc.? The industry is dead. American Idol CD's go into the bargain bin at local stores before the stars even become famous. Most music stores are going out of business too. It's really sad. That damn Lars Urlich was on to something.

 

[An Angry Blonde]

the music industry overrall is dying.

Now what is killing music? you may ask,so lets go down what I believe to be the ones responsible...

#1)Society.
Society has gone "pretty boy", so music followed the same direction. That's why we are stuck with talentless pieces of shit,who soley reley on image to get by. Once society finally stops caring anout image, and demaning talent, then a "trimming of the fat" will happen and only bands/people with talent will remain.

#2)Abundace....
So many bands/singers in each genre, their overflowing with preformers. And everything seems to have one general thing sung about, instead of singing about shit that should be sung about(See Mosh by Eminem,Sing for the moment by eminem,Like toy soldiers by eminem.) Do you not what they have in common? They actually are about bigger and more important Shit than what the average performer sings. In fact http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4hAVemuQXY

Sing for the moment by eminmem says it best....

I'll take a break and finish my list later..

 

[wrestlingfan]

Well I think the music industry is now trying to apply to kids. Kids are starting to become a big market to msuic and given that most Kids in our era don't know what true music is about they would probably want to listen than California Girls which has a catchy beat than say something deeper.