So What Happened To Music?

1. 59

   toys-everywhereposted 11 years ago

   I completely agree. Now we have such seemingly cookie-cutter music; just add your typical vocals and,  voila, you've a hit single! It really sucks :[

   replyreport
   1. 54

      Shinkickerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Step out of TV Land and out into the periphery of reality and you'll find amazing REAL music. :-) It's everywhere!!!

      replyreport
2. 78

   copywriter31posted 11 years ago

   Thanks to file sharing, a cushioned term for its insidious, true meaning--STEALING, the desire to create really good music is gone forever. Think about it: What is the incentive for a recording artist to compose, record and produce great sounding music (costing 10s of thousand $s) when a label or individual knows he or she is throwing money at a lost cause. No one buys CDs anymore, and most don't have the decency to lay out 99 pennies for a download. . . instead, they steal from the artists or labels through free download, thieving Internet sites or individuals who are destroying the once-mighty and creative-centered music business.

   replyreport
   1. 60

      Jesus was a hippyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      How is it different to making a copy of your friends tape of an album or video like people used to do 20 years ago?
      
      How is it different to recording songs from the radio?

      replyreport
      1. 78

         copywriter31posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Making single copies is not comparable to having a list of 100,000+ songs where UNLIMITED copies are made available! Huge difference.

         replyreport
         1. 60

            Jesus was a hippyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            It is exactly the same. It is copying material. The only difference is that one method is easier and more effective.
            
            It is not ok to steal a million pounds but is it different to steal £100?

            replyreport
            1. 78

               copywriter31posted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I'll never make you see the difference, so this will be my last word on this subject, but I will answer your last question.
               No, it's not OK to steal even 1 copy, but 1 copy does not make a dent compared with the monetary damage the world's music-loving population who steal MILLIONS of downloads cause every year. Why do you think most major labels are selling insurance instead of music in 2012???

               replyreport
         2. 60

            Jesus was a hippyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Theft is theft no matter how big or small. I could make unlimited copies of tapes and videos. There was nothing to stop me.
            
            Just because it is easier and there are more efficient methods available now does not make it any more of a crime.
            
            
            
            Why would you download a song more than once? I only ever download a song once. It shouldn't make a dent right?

            replyreport
      2. 0

         Larry Wallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         It was not feasible to mass produce copies of tapes or albums a few years ago. Yes, copies were made, but they were not posted on line for other people to take.
         
         Copying an LP to a tape, resulted in a significant drop in quality. Copying a tape to a tape, was an ordeal. It was not a big deal.
         
         Lifting a song from a CD, or downloading it from Itunes or some other place is easy and then sending out to the world is even easier. It is a different situation, similar, but today on a much larger scale.

         replyreport
   2. 61

      twosheds1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      "creative-centered music business." And what planet are you from? Since when has the music BUSINESS ever been about creativity? It's always been about screwing the artists to milk as much money out of them as possible. How many established artists own the rights to their back catalogs? Not many.
      
      A study came out in 2004 from Harvard & UNC that said that "Downloads have an effect on sales which is statistically indistinguiable from zero." The title of the study is "The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis" if you want to Google it, or I have a pdf of it if you're interested.
      
      Look at it this way: Let's say someone downloads 1000 songs for free from a file sharing site. How many of those would he have bought on CD otherwise? Probably not very many, if any. It is possible (though there is no way to ascertain this) that his friend said "Hey, check out this band" so he downloads them, because who's going to buy a CD because your friend said they were good? And maybe our subject likes them and goes to the shows, buys the t-shirts, and buys the CD's. Or maybe he thinks the band sucks and deletes them. Was there any harm to the band? No.
      
      If anything, iTunes and their ilk have hurt CD sales, but CD sales aren't really a good measure of how the music industry is doing (which I couldn't care less about) or how the artists are doing (which I DO care very much about). Their actual revenue is the best measure, because the companies and the artists get revenue from other methods than CD sales.
      
      The music business model is changing. That's a fact. If you want to sell more CD's, make CD's worth buying. I remember buying vinyl in the '70s that had all sorts of extra stuff in it. My copy of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" had an iron-on in it. Dark Side of the Moon had stickers in it. I have two vinyl copies and a (gold) CD of that. Sticky Fingers had a zipper on it. School's Out had a pair of panties on it. You don't get that with CD's any more. I'm not saying every CD needs panties, but if you don't even get lyrics or photos in the booklet, what good is it to buy the CD? Download it from iTunes for cheaper.
      
      Janis Ian had something interesting to say about this:
      http://www.janisian.com/reading/internet.php

      replyreport
3. 0

   ksinllposted 11 years ago

   At one point I would have been inclined to agree that there is not much good music out there.  That was because I only listened to the music that was played on the radio.  I started looking around for good music and live music that played in the area and I found there's a lot of good musicians out there, they just aren't the commerical bands that you're always hearing.  Now I only listen to my own music when I drive because the radio just repeats the same songs over and over.

   replyreport
   1. 92

      Sherry Hewinsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for saying that! There are plenty of great talented musicians out there. There have always been talented musicians who never got famous. Support live music at a local venue if you want to hear something different and original. They generally all sell CDs at their shows. I'm always making new discoveries. and have a great multi-genre collection of music old and new, well-known and obscure.

      replyreport
4. 85

   rebekahELLEposted 11 years ago

   I like all kinds of music from different time periods. I like some of today's music and like ksinll posted, a lot of good music is found from independent artists. The radio music is simply to make money for the artists, producers, writers, record companies, etc. Many of them copy each other.
   
   Find local musicians, frequent NPR for their song of the day. They have a wide range of artists they highlight, some are very good. Even Starbucks introduces some decent artists.

   replyreport
   1. 92

      Sherry Hewinsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      My town's local, non-profit, listener supported, radio station is available live on the web. They play and endless variety of music you won't likely hear anywhere else. Everything from World beat, and Rock and Roll, to Country, Bluegrass, Americana, Hawaiian music and and hits of '50s. I doubt that anyone would like everything they play, but it would be a rare person that doesn't like something they play. If interested just Google KVMR.

      replyreport
5. 44

   coolbreezeposted 11 years ago

   Sure The Classics, I used to think the same thing but there is still real music today. This kid is for real
   http://jasonmraz.com/four-letter-word/  Gaga is very talented. Adele listen to her voice dam! Ah lets see
   Karmin rocks.  I can go on.

   replyreport
6. 83

   psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

   If you are listening to "current music" on the radio of course it is the most populist stuff.  But there are jazz, soul, grunge, rock and every other kind of musician still putting out new stuff.  You just have to go out and find it.

   replyreport
7. 61

   twosheds1posted 11 years ago

   College radio is a good source for good music, too, if you're lucky enough to live near a station (though many stream online now). For as much as commercial radio in Cleveland (where I live) sucks, there are four college stations in the area (plus two more slightly out of town) that play interesting music.

   replyreport
8. 70

   Theeyeballkidposted 11 years ago

   I feel the same, all my musical heros are dying. There is still some good music being written and recorded but you really have to search hard for it. TOdays mainstream music and so called "indie scene" (there is nothing independant about it at all) is the worst era of music that I can remember.
   
   I think a lot of it has to do with the era that musicans are brought up in. Some of the great music of the last 100 years was written during times of adversity (depression era blues, the swinging 40s, the 60s protest anthems, 70s punk rebellion agains the mainstream etc). Todays generation of (mainstream) music represents the worst in materialism, corporatism and lack of moral character. Look at any of the top 20 songs on any day and most of them will be about bling culture, materialism, objectifying woman..... or schmaltzy, overcooked love songs that have no soul.
   
   Maybe all the great songs have already been written.

   replyreport
   1. 59

      toys-everywhereposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Not to mention, today's popular music a lot of the time represents the worst forms of hedonism as well. We have so many songs that are perfect dandy themes, all about partying and drinking and sex and fun. At least most rock music has thought placed into its creation, but pop is mindless at this point, and I cannot stand it.
      But there are still many great songs being written, and to be written--it's just a question of whether we care enough to go through the work involved in looking for them.

      replyreport
9. 60

   Druid Dudeposted 11 years ago

   The rockers claimed all the good riffs. The Country/Western boys stole the beat, now they are doing pretty good...but, it its still C/W. There are only so many notes, and only so many ways to pleasingly connect them.

   replyreport
10. 60

    knolyourselfposted 11 years ago

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eysGQuTm6s

    replyreport
11. 65

    Tusitala Tomposted 11 years ago

    In some ways the beginning of the end of good music began when electronics began to take over; around the time the small combo group was replaced by one man or woman able to use background recorded music, and perhaps a keyboard.  From there it grew. 
    
    Then along came that worse of all inventions, the automatic drum beat.  Now every bit of music has this God-awful drumbeat (because no one has to actually beat a drum) going at various speeds, and a few inane intrumentals and two or three words repleated over and over.  It's hard to believe but some people must actually like it or it would surely have gone the way of so many trends by now.
    
    Thank God for the 'easy-listening' radio stations which play the 1930s, 40s, 50,s 60s, 70s and even 80s and 90's songs.   Something dreadful happened in our present Century.  Let's hope the cacophony of noise which passes for music today passes away never to be heard again.

    replyreport
    1. 0

       Larry Wallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I understand what you are saying my son likes rap music. He has written some and recorded CDs that are given away locally. Never made any money. But some people sell beats. They just keyboards that can imitate other instruments and the lyrics are either repetitive or too personal.
       
       Take the Blues, some of it is great. However, the songs where the artists keeps referring to himself, do not do anything for me.

       replyreport
    2. 61

       twosheds1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I disagree about electronics being the end of good music. Did the introduction of word-processing software spell the end of good writing? Or even the typewriter, for that matter? Electronic instruments are tools to make music, that's all. They can be used for good or for bad. I agree that the ease with which electronics can make music means a lot of garbage gets released, but there has been a lot of good music that has used electronics in one way or another.

       replyreport