The Truth: Why Music Today Sounds So Similar
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- ▶ Spotify Playlist: shorturl.at/DXpD0
The Original Video:
• The Real Reason Why To...
▶ Support the Channel ⇢ / jonsine
▶ Get My Preset and Sample Packs ⇢ / shop
▶ Listen to the full Track ⇢ fanlink.tv/TRAN
▶ FOLLOW ME
Instagram: jonsine.fanlin...
Spotify: jonsine.fanlin...
▶Contact - pls only for business related stuff!
⇢ hello@jonsine.com
▶▶▶ MY GEAR ◀◀◀◀◀◀◀◀◀◀◀◀
● Studio Software:
⇢ Best Modern Synth: geni.us/c3qUEhM
⇢ Best Classic Synth: geni.us/Ld9Lq
⇢ Best for Mastering: geni.us/aXnzXyB
⇢ Best for Mixing: geni.us/D0Ap5w
⇢ Best for Vocals: fanlink.tv/eEtF
● Studio Hardware:
⇢ Wide Monitor: geni.us/COyL0
⇢ Speakers: geni.us/BcfdABA
⇢ Full size Midi-Keyboard: geni.us/8Cj2D
⇢ Best Headphones: geni.us/BY6ilNf
⇢ Best Soundcard: geni.us/4mt2I9
● DJ Equipment:
⇢ DJ Headphones: geni.us/jshd25
⇢ Mixer: geni.us/aUn3
⇢ CD-Player: geni.us/BDcouIP
⇢ Best DJ USB sticks: geni.us/jlHZ
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
thanks for watching. Ad your music suggestions for the playlist underneath. thx
@@Jonsine zig mentality - weight of truth
The Pilgrim - The Time You Wait (2020)
Any Michael Phones Track out there.
Sultan + Shepard - Highest Love
This is still a unique and striking production. I've never heard anything like it before or since. Yello featuring Stina Nordenstam - To the Sea
ruclips.net/video/0KRMVZ-PFbU/видео.htmlsi=WG0XPmzNX2dmfBOw
The main reason everything sounds the same is playlists. If you don’t get into a playlist, your monthly listener count won’t grow, you won’t get booked, and so on. But to even make it onto a playlist, your track has to sound (almost) exactly like everything else. You also can’t be better than the average-unless you’re a major label artist or one of the rare exceptions where a curator genuinely loves your track. Most people just listen to music in the background-at the gym, while cooking, or walking their dog. Even deadmau5 and his manager have complained that the biggest playlists are reserved exclusively for major label artists. There are also so-called label services, which come at an extremely high cost. They provide you with (almost) the same industry connections as the major labels, but you end up paying a fortune for them.
Exactly
completely agree, to get signed to a label you must 100% fit their style and sound, this makes every track sound like it has been made from the same artist, it was not like this 15 years ago, I remember there was some wiggle room in which you could be creative.
in the old days dance music artists were puting that sound through difference convertion processes
now everything going though the same converter as everyone eles is using most people are just working in the box
Not everybody have something to say and everybody is using the same tools watching the same tutorial. good bye
Today, everything ends up sounding the same. Every new single release, every EP, follows the same sonic formula. Even on stage, female artists adopt an identical style-minimal outfits, the same choreography, the same stage presence. Everything is becoming standardized.
This uniformity is also evident in music production. With RUclips tutorials, many sound engineers and producers follow the same techniques, use the same EQs, compressors, delays, and reverbs. As a result, everything sounds alike. Yet, synthesizer and drum machine manufacturers work hard to provide tools for greater creativity and originality, but in the end, everyone still does the same thing.
As soon as a new plugin is released, everyone buys it and uses it, reinforcing this homogeneity. The only real difference lies in hardware. Unlike software and plugins, which are widely accessible, hardware is expensive, and few producers can afford it. And that’s where the real distinction emerges-music made with physical gear has a unique warmth, depth, and creativity.
When you work with a Moog, Yamaha, or Roland, you take the time to understand the instrument, experiment, and craft your own sound. It’s a completely different approach from using a simple plugin on a computer. Nowadays, most producers work exclusively in the box-everything is digital, everything is in their DAW, with virtual instruments and repetitive patterns.
The issue is that no one takes risks anymore. Everyone wants to be in the same playlists, so the music all sounds alike-same chords, same tonalities, same dynamics. The result? A playlist where from the first to the hundredth track, everything sounds identical.
It comes down to a choice: either you create music that brings something fresh and accept the risk of being criticized, or you follow the herd, copying and pasting what already exists. Unfortunately, most people today choose the easy way, avoiding risk entirely.
Everyone's using the same equipment, DAW's VST's and PlugIns.Back in the 80's 90's studio setup cost a fortune, you'd need something like an SSL large format console, a bank of up-to-the-minute synthesisers, a Fairlight CMI sampler, Akai samplers, a rack of Effect and processing units, A Calrec Soundfield microphone or other top-end mic, Monitoring speakers and a custom built studio environment to house all the apparatus.. So the investment back then would've been hundreds of thousands of pounds, dollars, deutsche marks, euros just to record your songs.. Plus you'd have to have a studio technician on call for when equipment would invariably breakdown...
Fact is, only samey sounding music is super popular. People make all kinds of stuff, it just doesnt get played unless algos have a reason to pick it up. Algos pick it up when it sounds samey.
The desire to be like a successful artist + use the exact same tools, plugins, etc. = Same shit
Today, everything ends up sounding the same. Every new single release, every EP, follows the same sonic formula. Even on stage, female artists adopt an identical style-minimal outfits, the same choreography, the same stage presence. Everything is becoming standardized.
This uniformity is also evident in music production. With RUclips tutorials, many sound engineers and producers follow the same techniques, use the same EQs, compressors, delays, and reverbs. As a result, everything sounds alike. Yet, synthesizer and drum machine manufacturers work hard to provide tools for greater creativity and originality, but in the end, everyone still does the same thing.
As soon as a new plugin is released, everyone buys it and uses it, reinforcing this homogeneity. The only real difference lies in hardware. Unlike software and plugins, which are widely accessible, hardware is expensive, and few producers can afford it. And that’s where the real distinction emerges-music made with physical gear has a unique warmth, depth, and creativity.
When you work with a Moog, Yamaha, or Roland, you take the time to understand the instrument, experiment, and craft your own sound. It’s a completely different approach from using a simple plugin on a computer. Nowadays, most producers work exclusively in the box-everything is digital, everything is in their DAW, with virtual instruments and repetitive patterns.
The issue is that no one takes risks anymore. Everyone wants to be in the same playlists, so the music all sounds alike-same chords, same tonalities, same dynamics. The result? A playlist where from the first to the hundredth track, everything sounds identical.
It comes down to a choice: either you create music that brings something fresh and accept the risk of being criticized, or you follow the herd, copying and pasting what already exists. Unfortunately, most people today choose the easy way, avoiding risk entirely.
*"STARTING TOO...??"*
Dude, this is spot on. There are multiple reasons, but creating for money vs creating for art's sake contributes to massive similarities in sound. Everyone using the same tools (mostly digital) is the 2nd big reason.
I agree, all these boomers think the Radio will have good music, but truth is, good music you have to go out of your way to find it!
You can try External Key (Perry O’Neil Mix) by Audioholics, great track from 2004. Good to see you again
The main reason is radio stations play-lists. For artists and bands who want to be commercially successful, radio play is very important, and they know, if they do too different from the most common radio playlist music, they don't get any radio play. So they try to sound similar as possible than all the other, and that's why almost all of today's popular music sounds like the same all even flat porridge. Unlike today, in the 1980s, artists did just quite the opposite of what they do today, and tried to be as original and unique as possible.
Spot on! Lately, I've been enjoying listening to: Sysdemes - Legacy
Billie Eilish (with her brother Finneas), St Vincent have done exquisite works last year with very particular sounds. Very creative, experimental. So it's not quite fair to make those statements for every mainstream artist.
It's not onlt the way music is made is made today. It's also how we listen to music and how we receive new content... i need to re-learn to dig. Even if its online on the web.
I recommend a video on RUclips called “Everything is a Remix (2023 edition)”
I once heard something on a 'submit your track for comment' that got a bit of ridicule. It may not be the 'norm' but I still think it could make some great carnival music - maybe with some minor changes. DJ Bitterval and a track called 'Hey'.
As we are already seeing AI generated reels and clips on IG and TikTok, I am not optimistic about Spotify not using generative music to replace artists' payments. That's what people are already calling Zombie Internet, with AI profiles creating content, so in the near future they won't need to offer monetization anymore.
Brakence - Hypochondriac. Well it’s not a song but a whole album, which has seamless transitions.
And another song is Bad Computer - Riddle.
I hope that playlist fills up. I think Origa - Inner Universe is a gem. It's an anime theme song. I don't know if that's the kind of thing you're looking for. It has this cool fast drum track and the lyrics are in three languages.
YT: "Burn (65daysofstatic remix) - Alkaline Trio". I think this remix is one of the best songs ever (I think it's better than any alkaline trio song or any 65daysofstatic song), and it practically doesn't exist. This only has 360p YT audio quality, but the only 480p alternative I know of (2nd result) sounds worse. Please listen loudly, as you are going to get rocked.
My recommended song: Submotion Orchestra - Variations
all your music is carbon copy music it sounds the same as every one else
your music does not have its own flavior if you look at artists like aphex twin
he bring new rocks to the table unlike copy cat dance artist like you i get it why you want your music to sound like everyone else music becuase you want the acceptance and your only in it for the money and not really for the love of music
Today, everything ends up sounding the same. Every new single release, every EP, follows the same sonic formula. Even on stage, female artists adopt an identical style-minimal outfits, the same choreography, the same stage presence. Everything is becoming standardized.
This uniformity is also evident in music production. With RUclips tutorials, many sound engineers and producers follow the same techniques, use the same EQs, compressors, delays, and reverbs. As a result, everything sounds alike. Yet, synthesizer and drum machine manufacturers work hard to provide tools for greater creativity and originality, but in the end, everyone still does the same thing.
As soon as a new plugin is released, everyone buys it and uses it, reinforcing this homogeneity. The only real difference lies in hardware. Unlike software and plugins, which are widely accessible, hardware is expensive, and few producers can afford it. And that’s where the real distinction emerges-music made with physical gear has a unique warmth, depth, and creativity.
When you work with a Moog, Yamaha, or Roland, you take the time to understand the instrument, experiment, and craft your own sound. It’s a completely different approach from using a simple plugin on a computer. Nowadays, most producers work exclusively in the box-everything is digital, everything is in their DAW, with virtual instruments and repetitive patterns.
The issue is that no one takes risks anymore. Everyone wants to be in the same playlists, so the music all sounds alike-same chords, same tonalities, same dynamics. The result? A playlist where from the first to the hundredth track, everything sounds identical.
It comes down to a choice: either you create music that brings something fresh and accept the risk of being criticized, or you follow the herd, copying and pasting what already exists. Unfortunately, most people today choose the easy way, avoiding risk entirely.
What speakers are they? Black installed in the wall? Dont you have those Eve Audio SC 3012?
Hello Jon, Happy New year 2025. Been a long time no see, no talk via youtube. Nice video by the way. I have a question for you. Is there a site to view whats in the top 50 say like dance music charts, or hip hop genre without being charged to view these charts? Billboard is charging to become a member to view charts and I guess do other things on billboard as a member. a few other music chart sites are charging as well. I just want to view whats trending out there so me and other dj's would keep up to date with their playlists.
Song recommendation: Nau Squaglia-Nothingness
Everyone (almost) is using the same In The Box cheesy plugins and digital summing algorithms, and very few songs have any real harmonic content, so it all sounds HARSH AF
*#Jon**, I am 7 minutes into this and I have not any TRUTH as to WHY music today all sounds the same. All I am hearing is the belaboring of SYMPTOMS of the actual measurable root-cause.*
...please keep in mind, I do not deal in "be-LIE-f" and when it comes to matters of facts, truth and evidence I stray away from schools of thought as much as possible.
Pete Tong & The Heritage Orchestra - La Ritournelle feat Will Heard - Original by Sébastien Tellier
When Dance Music combines Orchestral
Another Great Electronic Pop Song using Unique Elements is :
Madonna - Substitute For Love
Great Examples are:
Zero 7 - Destiny ft Sia
Air - All I Need ft Beth Hirsch
I produce Tech House but Electronic Music could be so creative and unique, using elements with many variations.
Jon all these years you been challenged yourself with so many electronic genres. Music is timeless, 70s, 80s I believe the songwriting process has changed since then as we pay more attention to production. Social media makes music shorter and catchy. I believe though that if someone wants to create any style or genre in our days this can easily happen.
without watching the video: Because everything was written by Max Martin 🤣
These are some extremely valid points, I merely want to expand on the video a bit further.
The video makes no mention of bands and how they're excluded from charting music altogether (and why). As this is a channel mainly focusing on producing electronic music, this is fair, but hear me out, this is relevant to the discussion I promise (most of us listen to a variety of genres, don't we). There are no huge bands that were formed after 2010. There are reasonably big acts, but nothing on the level of legacy bands that are still headlining the biggest festivals.
They are the biggest losers of what is essentially the end of artist development. Another reason, of course, is that software instruments have gotten really good and there's no immediate need to rely on others to get your ideas out. The problem is that bands (ideally) consist of 4-5 specialists, each of them adding a unique ingredient. There are no more specialists, only generalists. TL; DR the good enough is good enough mentality is greatly stifling creativity on this front. Software instruments are insanely practical and hassle free.
This is not a problem for listeners who only every cared about artists or DJs/producers, but the same cannot be said for people who are predominantly moved by music made by bands. Hence, Blanket dismissing all of Beato's points as being an old man's lament is tone deaf in my opinion, and it's missing the point.
Everything else is spot on in this video.
as a ghost producer for the last 5 years I love it when someone asks me to make a song based on a playlist of songs rather Than one song in particular
You have to love music to make it and I think everyone should know that - thanks Jon Sine 👉
Yet people complain about AI infringing copyright in some massively general way, yet seem deaf to the fact humans do everything they can to copy and mimic and shadow popular songs as a matter of normal business, much to the loss of interested listeners.
Today, everything ends up sounding the same. Every new single release, every EP, follows the same sonic formula. Even on stage, female artists adopt an identical style-minimal outfits, the same choreography, the same stage presence. Everything is becoming standardized.
This uniformity is also evident in music production. With RUclips tutorials, many sound engineers and producers follow the same techniques, use the same EQs, compressors, delays, and reverbs. As a result, everything sounds alike. Yet, synthesizer and drum machine manufacturers work hard to provide tools for greater creativity and originality, but in the end, everyone still does the same thing.
As soon as a new plugin is released, everyone buys it and uses it, reinforcing this homogeneity. The only real difference lies in hardware. Unlike software and plugins, which are widely accessible, hardware is expensive, and few producers can afford it. And that’s where the real distinction emerges-music made with physical gear has a unique warmth, depth, and creativity.
When you work with a Moog, Yamaha, or Roland, you take the time to understand the instrument, experiment, and craft your own sound. It’s a completely different approach from using a simple plugin on a computer. Nowadays, most producers work exclusively in the box-everything is digital, everything is in their DAW, with virtual instruments and repetitive patterns.
The issue is that no one takes risks anymore. Everyone wants to be in the same playlists, so the music all sounds alike-same chords, same tonalities, same dynamics. The result? A playlist where from the first to the hundredth track, everything sounds identical.
It comes down to a choice: either you create music that brings something fresh and accept the risk of being criticized, or you follow the herd, copying and pasting what already exists. Unfortunately, most people today choose the easy way, avoiding risk entirely.
Hi jon,
You should make a video and share some suggestions about artificial streams.
I released a track in 2021 and the track got 14k streams on Spotify. I used dailyplaylist (free profile) sometimes but never used any promotions or PR & marketing. Recently, my distributor (routenote) removed the track and said it identified artificial streams. Well, I lost my asset and I don’t know why and how the track got artificial streams. 14k straight on audio platform is huge for me and an independent artist also. You can feel the pain. But my distributor said sorry for the inconvenience. And I also shared the matter to dailyplaylist so that they can remove the curator who use tech to provide artificial streams.
I agree - some music sounds the same but you have to be careful it’s easy to get stuck, yes even you Jon but I know you are aware of this. No disrespect you know I love your music. It’s not easy to create a sound that doesn’t get you stuck. It’s a lot of work and I think a lot of listeners are a bit unfair. It’s partly a culture we are in.
Great point, well made. 😀
Because people have stopped composing music and have started programming music. Today there are no composers and producers. There programmers! We should start BOYCOTTING THEM NOW!!!
I’m just not sure the premise that everything sounds the same is true at all.
I think there is a genuine problem that genre-based playlisting and excessively granular definitions of genre exacerbate this (perception of) homogenisation, particularly for dance music, but for music as a whole I would suggest that there is more diversity than ever, thanks to the far greater accessibility to the means of production and distribution since c.2000s than has ever existed. The range of influences, cross fertilisation between genres and styles is actually huge.
You are 100% correct IMO
I learnt how to produce music back in 2011, I'm STILL learning the ins and outs. At the moment I make music for fun but been trying to create my own genre but its difficult, tried to create existing genres..I find Trance music the easiest followed by hardstyle. Trying to be unique.
But I agree, music has been remade and remade again based on original tracks...different versions from different artists...it's the same in the film industry too, no original thought, just reboots remakes
I listen a lot to Retrowave and synthwave lately, its based on the sound of the 80s but has its own touch. In my opinion a lot of these songs are far better than anything on the radio. Search for The Midnight, FM-84, Ollie Wride, Timecop 1983, kalax, Yota for example.
Song recommendation: Rusty Android Pocha
Publishing deals
if you upload a song in your you tube channel, tha you have created using a vocal sample from Splice, do you get copyright claims from you tube ? ( because there is a chance that someone else already uploaded a song with the same vocal sample )
But there's also the expectation from listeners that you have to sound like this or that. Try to show something totally different you made to your friends and watch their face ...
I have had the same conversation the other day. Too many copy cats no one is unique these days.
Of course there is good music if you dig for it. I think the bigger issue is why popular music sounds the same. The 90's, 80's, 70's , 60's, etc all sounded distinctly different from each other. Today, I hear very little difference between a new song and one that came out 20 years ago. Even between artists from any given year there were big differences. 1980, you had The Police, Gary Numan, Donna Summer, Kenny Rogers, Brothers Johnson, Alan Parsons Project...all of them sounded quite different from each other, and different from the music that came 5 years before or 5 years later. Today, music is WAY MORE democratized with far better tools to make it, yet it largely sounds the same.
Because you need to dig more than years ago. I agree about decades distinction but within these decades you had some many copycats, the fact is that you remember the most distinctive artists from individual decade and everything was curated better
And of course More people can express themselves musically which is not good cause 90% don’t have distinctive taste and imagination
I don't think Billie Eilish sounds the same. Quite particular.
@@cervecero7874 How many Billy Ellish's are there? Not too many. I'm not saying there isn't great music today. I'm saying there is a lot of sameness to the sound. I think a lot of that comes down to similar DAW production techniques and songs being written by committees.
SPLICE:(( Only new producers like "Subscription" models (not every producer ) uses SPLICE.))
Yeah I agree with your points. There is awesome music out there but I still find the audience of many music events to be close minded. People want to hear what they already know and nothing else.
All this leads to producers desperately trying to somehow get to the top. Else nobody is going to listen to them enough to make money. Copying styles is one way of doing that. The listeners are creating the problem as much as the music producers as well as the labels and the whole industry.
Only the top 5% (or something like that) are actually making money. afaik spotify even refuses to give you money below a 1k plays on a song. The race to the top ruins the music.
Anyway here is a song I think is really good: Digicult - Replicant
Come on, analyse 50’s, 60’s, 70’s or 80’s stuff and you gonna make a huge discovery that this process didn’t start yesterday. Those 50’s rock n roll things sound almost identical, Beatles wannabes copies from 60’s too, same disco/funk stuff of 80’s. Those people use more limited equipment and those things sounds similar. Maybe only fact is that nowadays you can discover music to the point of exhaustion and there are no limits to it
You're bringing up good points.
great to always watch and learn. and be around. great to see you both and new born great stuff
Same producer, songwriter, engineer, marketing…you name it, of course they have to pay there bills and work more als an musical.
Music as passion is really a such good thing, but as income or job? Nope…
Un important subject. I agree sir thanks
Here's my attempt at a remix Jon - keen to hear your thoughts!
ruclips.net/video/NXbiIz5Yy0A/видео.htmlsi=Blr5N0QSCJWxPiQj
But the idea of music sounding the same from the sounds used and soundcard etc, its very true, if you have Pianotec and others use it, they will sound the same, or any other plugin, that guy was right.
Sine would find a way not to agree with anything everyone is saying.
so because to say yes that is true is the problem of many.
let me just say the opposite.
some people do this without even knowing.
If I say RollRoyce is better than Bently most guys would say the opposite.
not because they are right, they just feel like if I agree am inferior, this is a subtle with many humans and its a sickness.
If something is right I will agree I wont be trying to find a reason to disagree.
As if, oh that is true, yes that is true, they dont like that.
This is why its hard to find truth.
The other day me girlfriend click on an Aviici tune and what came ofter it was horrible, all the tune were sounding the same, guitar, 4x4 and vocals, it was like listening to the same tune for an hour, but thats something different those are the playlists
I think using reference tracks is also a big part of it. It is a great tool for beginners to learn, but I see many producers incorporate using reference tracks into their workflow and sometimes they overdo it... They "copy" the song structure, the drums, the sound design, the transitions, etc., and essentially end up with a very similarly sounding track to the reference. Potentially maybe even without realizing it.
Money is evil
If you make art for money you will make bad art and low money
If you make art for art you will make good art and more money
Erster :)
It's a great idea to create a spotify Playlist and share new fresh songs.
If you include our new track would be really appreciate:
ruclips.net/video/XvlzIoe9UNE/видео.htmlsi=85bEAwyI2yVyQE3b