Has the quality of music deteriorated with more commercialization?
It is said they don't make music the way the used to anymore especially if you're my age (30+). What do you think about the quality of music these days in terms of beat, lyrics?
98- Uninvited Writer
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Like every other musical era, these days there is good music and there is bad. I like the music of people such as Adele, KT Tunstall, and Amy Winehouse for example. Music is always changing and we shouldn't just close our minds to what is new just because at first it may not be what we think we want to hear.
However, I usually end up listening to the music of the 80s and the 60s rather than new music. Occasionally, someone will let me know about someone new or I will see a piece on them, and give them a chance.
93- prettydarkhorse
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Uninvited Writer wrote:
Like every other musical era, these days there is good music and there is bad. I like the music of people such as Adele, KT Tunstall, and Amy Winehouse for example. Music is always changing and we shouldn't just close our minds to what is new just because at first it may not be what we think we want to hear.
However, I usually end up listening to the music of the 80s and the 60s rather than new music. Occasionally, someone will let me know about someone new or I will see a piece on them, and give them a chance.
i like the songs from 60s to 70s, i grew up with that kind of music because of my parents, am 30 plus now. I think that the beat and rhythm is becoming faster now unlike before they are more into voice quality,
one of the reasons music has changed is because label companies now dictate to recording artists what can and can't be sung. likewise, radio stations, in conjunction with the label industry, help determine artist success.
as in any artistic medium, gatekeepers determine individual success. in other words, play along to get along.
never.
97- Dame Scribe
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I agree with blue dog
I think only the tastes of the gate keepers are getting popular. I enjoy a whole array of music except rap and hip hop, no offence. Would be nice to hear more variety than one just one genre of music 
- 93
- prettydarkhorse
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blue dog wrote:
one of the reasons music has changed is because label companies now dictate to recording artists what can and can't be sung. likewise, radio stations, in conjunction with the label industry, help determine artist success.
as in any artistic medium, gatekeepers determine individual success. in other words, play along to get along.
never.maybe because of demand from the buyers of music, us? those who listen to music also changed their taste through time
prettydarkhorse wrote:
blue dog wrote:
one of the reasons music has changed is because label companies now dictate to recording artists what can and can't be sung. likewise, radio stations, in conjunction with the label industry, help determine artist success.
as in any artistic medium, gatekeepers determine individual success. in other words, play along to get along.
never.maybe because of demand from the buyers of music, us? those who listen to music also changed their taste through time
who, or what, created the demand?
- 93
- prettydarkhorse
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blue dog wrote:
prettydarkhorse wrote:
blue dog wrote:
one of the reasons music has changed is because label companies now dictate to recording artists what can and can't be sung. likewise, radio stations, in conjunction with the label industry, help determine artist success.
as in any artistic medium, gatekeepers determine individual success. in other words, play along to get along.
never.maybe because of demand from the buyers of music, us? those who listen to music also changed their taste through time
who, or what, created the demand?
oh well people buy this kind of songs, and in turn the artists earn a lot from it so they demand this kind of music (thats how capitalism works). It is sad thogh
96- rebekahELLE
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Kevin30 wrote:
It is said they don't make music the way the used to anymore especially if you're my age (30+). What do you think about the quality of music these days in terms of beat, lyrics?
you've hit on a subject that would really make a great hub article.
the quality of music can't really be compared in a true sense because the music is so different from previous generations.
I agree with bluedog that music changed within the industry when it became more about control and commercialism from the top.
the hip hop beat becomes annoying after a while. how many beyonce songs can we hear? it's all the same, jonas bros? please..
some groups that are still going strong, U2, have great lyrics and music, but they're not born from this generation.
there's too much control, the creativity has been sacrificed for $$.
good thread.
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- prettydarkhorse
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rebekahELLE wrote:
Kevin30 wrote:
It is said they don't make music the way the used to anymore especially if you're my age (30+). What do you think about the quality of music these days in terms of beat, lyrics?
you've hit on a subject that would really make a great hub article.
the quality of music can't really be compared in a true sense because the music is so different from previous generations.
I agree with bluedog that music changed within the industry when it became more about control and commercialism from the top.
the hip hop beat becomes annoying after a while. how many beyonce songs can we hear? it's all the same, jonas bros? please..
some groups that are still going strong, U2, have great lyrics and music, but they're not born from this generation.
there's too much control, the creativity has been sacrificed for $$.
good thread.thats a good idea, to blue dog, you can write a hub about that too...
89- L. Andrew Marr
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I'm only 18 but I must admit I love alot of old 80s music. New Wave and all that jazz (no pun intended); however, not all music is going downhill - classic rock is on the up (you know, the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, people like that) - it is only R&B which has truely changed music into a prostitution ring.
86- Pseudonymous
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I don't think overall musical quality has declined insofar that there is still tons of great music being created. However, you could argue that the quality of 'popular' or 'chart' music has declined. While this is fairly subjective its difficult to compare the Beatles with, for example, the Jonas Brothers without being underwhelmed by the latter.
Of course, not everyone who is selling a lot of records these days is bad, but is there any commercial band today to rival the muscial quality of the Beatles, Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, etc?
Just one man's opinion of course, and I still think there is tons of great music being created and thanks to the internet people now aren't forced to consume just the music that is pushed by the record companies. So while popular music might have declined in my opinion there has never been a better time to be a music fan.
82- theageofcake
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Pseudonymous wrote:
I don't think overall musical quality has declined insofar that there is still tons of great music being created. However, you could argue that the quality of 'popular' or 'chart' music has declined. While this is fairly subjective its difficult to compare the Beatles with, for example, the Jonas Brothers without being underwhelmed by the latter.
Of course, not everyone who is selling a lot of records these days is bad, but is there any commercial band today to rival the muscial quality of the Beatles, Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, etc?
Just one man's opinion of course, and I still think there is tons of great music being created and thanks to the internet people now aren't forced to consume just the music that is pushed by the record companies. So while popular music might have declined in my opinion there has never been a better time to be a music fan.There are bands bubbling under the commercial music sphere that are frequently compared to the bands you just mentioned. Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear are the first that come to mind.
We live in an interesting age, because the distinction between pop and underground, with the accessibility of the internet, is becoming blurred. For many, Sufjan Stevens is a household name, despite being rarely featured on the radio or MTV. The same goes for the Shins or the aforementioned Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective. M.I.A. developed a sizable following online before "Paper Planes" caught on. Electronic artist Pogo had millions of youtube hits without any record label intervention. The rules for commercial success, it seems, are beginning to change.
While the artists receiving the most radio time suck more than ever, we can at least take comfort in knowing how much easier it is to find the artists with ambition and a unique voice. My hope is that it won't be long before record labels are entirely obsolete, but this is mostly wishful thinking.
71- Below-average Joe
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I am so glad to be a 70s/80s kid growing up with such amazing music. Music from that era is so much a part of pop culture then and now. It is referenced and used in movies, TV, books, animation. Think of the music playing today & do you really think it's going to be played 10 or 20 years from now, like the music from the 70s & 80s?
Nearly all music from the mid-90s to present is like drive-thru McDonald's. Consumed, momentarily enjoyed and then forgotten.- 82
- theageofcake
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Below-average Joe wrote:
I am so glad to be a 70s/80s kid growing up with such amazing music. Music from that era is so much a part of pop culture then and now. It is referenced and used in movies, TV, books, animation. Think of the music playing today & do you really think it's going to be played 10 or 20 years from now, like the music from the 70s & 80s?
Nearly all music from the mid-90s to present is like drive-thru McDonald's. Consumed, momentarily enjoyed and then forgotten.I don't understand why so many people remember 80's pop music so fondly - especially those who denounce modern radio. The 80's music scene paved the way for the overt commercialization and mindlessness we hear on the radio today.
Like every era, there was some good material, but in terms of pop, I think it was second to our current decade as music's least creative.
At least the 90's had Radiohead, Missy Elliott, Bjork, Beck, Fatboy Slim, and Nirvana to spice up the airwaves. Thats not even mentioning the artists who never quite made it big, but made waves in the underground circuit, such as Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, My Bloody Valentine, Portishead, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Eclecticism was becoming the norm, replacing the homogenized sound of the decade preceding it.
If we experienced any progress in the 1980's, it was progress that we now realize was pointing us in the wrong direction. - 71
- Below-average Joe
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theageofcake wrote:
Below-average Joe wrote:
I am so glad to be a 70s/80s kid growing up with such amazing music. Music from that era is so much a part of pop culture then and now. It is referenced and used in movies, TV, books, animation. Think of the music playing today & do you really think it's going to be played 10 or 20 years from now, like the music from the 70s & 80s?
Nearly all music from the mid-90s to present is like drive-thru McDonald's. Consumed, momentarily enjoyed and then forgotten.I don't understand why so many people remember 80's pop music so fondly - especially those who denounce modern radio. The 80's music scene paved the way for the overt commercialization and mindlessness we hear on the radio today.
Like every era, there was some good material, but in terms of pop, I think it was second to our current decade as music's least creative.
At least the 90's had Radiohead, Missy Elliott, Bjork, Beck, Fatboy Slim, and Nirvana to spice up the airwaves. Thats not even mentioning the artists who never quite made it big, but made waves in the underground circuit, such as Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, My Bloody Valentine, Portishead, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Eclecticism was becoming the norm, replacing the homogenized sound of the decade preceding it.
If we experienced any progress in the 1980's, it was progress that we now realize was pointing us in the wrong direction.The Police, U2, Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel, Jane's Addiction and Dire Straits (to name just a few) pointed us in the wrong direction?
There was admittedly some crap songs in the 80s (of course and there always is) but ALL crap? No. 
60- dutchman1951
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Kevin30 wrote:
It is said they don't make music the way the used to anymore especially if you're my age (30+). What do you think about the quality of music these days in terms of beat, lyrics?
Artisty is lost, no real tallent anymore, immagination. Just same old same old, artists look like twins, same motif etc...
no individuality, or if so not much of it.- 82
- theageofcake
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Below-average Joe wrote:
theageofcake wrote:
Below-average Joe wrote:
I am so glad to be a 70s/80s kid growing up with such amazing music. Music from that era is so much a part of pop culture then and now. It is referenced and used in movies, TV, books, animation. Think of the music playing today & do you really think it's going to be played 10 or 20 years from now, like the music from the 70s & 80s?
Nearly all music from the mid-90s to present is like drive-thru McDonald's. Consumed, momentarily enjoyed and then forgotten.I don't understand why so many people remember 80's pop music so fondly - especially those who denounce modern radio. The 80's music scene paved the way for the overt commercialization and mindlessness we hear on the radio today.
Like every era, there was some good material, but in terms of pop, I think it was second to our current decade as music's least creative.
At least the 90's had Radiohead, Missy Elliott, Bjork, Beck, Fatboy Slim, and Nirvana to spice up the airwaves. Thats not even mentioning the artists who never quite made it big, but made waves in the underground circuit, such as Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, My Bloody Valentine, Portishead, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Eclecticism was becoming the norm, replacing the homogenized sound of the decade preceding it.
If we experienced any progress in the 1980's, it was progress that we now realize was pointing us in the wrong direction.The Police, U2, Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel, Jane's Addiction and Dire Straits (to name just a few) pointed us in the wrong direction?
There was admittedly some crap songs in the 80s (of course and there always is) but ALL crap? No.I never claimed all of it was bad, but I do think the better artists contributed very little in progressing production values/song structures/content. Electronic music saw some progress, but I think this was more in the underground than pop radio. Even so, many would argue that the genre as a whole experienced its true renaissance in the the 90's when Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Orbital, The KLF, Future Sound of London, Daft Punk, The Orb, Fatboy Slim, and The Chemical Brothers had taken it in several unexpected directions.
The artists you've mentioned are solid, but did they really move music forward? Mind you - good musicianship does not necessarily mean innovation.
Michael Jackson redefined music video more than he did music I think. Same with Gabriel, although the songs he was writing certainly distinguished themselves in 80's radio.
I think the best band to challenge my initial statement would be the Talking Heads, who brought World Music into Western pop (which coincidentally, Gabriel picked up on as Talking Heads' popularity was diminishing). Public Enemy and Grandmaster Flash also contributed quite a bit for politically conscious rap music, though that has - unfortunately - been abandoned (moreso in the 2000's than the 90's, since bands like Rage Against the Machine and Arrested Development kept it going in different, but equally impactful ways).
Like I said before, the 80's were not an entire waste of time. But a side by side comparison of that decade with the decade proceeding it seems to provide evidence of the latter being a more creative and eclectic point in musical history. 
77- sneakorocksolid
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Theres deffinately been better.
82- allpurposeguru
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Kevin30 wrote:
It is said they don't make music the way the used to anymore especially if you're my age (30+). What do you think about the quality of music these days in terms of beat, lyrics?
I wonder how many people realize that popular music, properly so called, has been around for a little over 200 years and was a commercial enterprise from the start? I'll probably blog about that some time in the near future.
Anyway, from the start, the intention was for publishers (and now record labels and whatever else is equivalent) to issue large quantities of songs that were very much alike (so the buying public would be comfortable with them) but just enough different from earlier songs to be an attractive novelty.
The complaint that writers of the latest songs don't know much about music is very old, and usually very accurate. Where, to my way of thinking, things really started to go downhill was right after World War II. Before that, popular music had been marketed to adults, and all generations liked the same kinds of popular music. It evolved slowly. After that, it was marketed to teenagers and children. Now every generation's music is nearly incomprehensible to every other generation.
Stephen Foster's music was genuinely popular for a hundred years after his death. How much of today's popular music will be of any interest to anyone after the generation for which it is intended grows old and dies off?
