this was an interesting correlation i found, so figured id try to find out why that is, lmk what u guys think. of course this is about popular major label music too!
Thanks for this awesome documentary once again, matty it's crazy how sony is in the. Music industry when they also, made the PS1,PS2,PS3, PS4 and PS5. 😁💯
You know it's not as easy as you'd think to do a key change. It really changes the feel of the song. Most people want just that one cool thing to catch onto. Key changes are seriously unnecessary for the most part unless you're trying to make theatrical classical orchestra type stuff. You're so young. Most music is in Major and there's only 6 chords unless you use the diminish but try it it sounds kinda unnecessary. Just like a key change.
It's nice to know they do these "science experiments" as if we're lab rats to them. Wtf do they want to know all this for? That computer one you told is scary. In the future they'll be able to predict everything you're about to do and that can't be good. What do they think they're God or something? Yep they sure FN do bro. Scary.
I think music will still live on for a while the underground scene still has genuine artists tryna rap, produce, and write to pursue their dream. Plus more and more artists and audiences and even genuine managers will realize how fraudulent music labels are.
So if the top 3 major labels practically own Spotify, they own you as an artist without even being signed to them ha! That has to be the greatest most corrupt business move I’ve ever seen.
this isnt new. RCA owned a lot of the distribution channels back in the CD days. the entertainment industry is corrupt yes but is this move corrupt? or is it just business?
@@darkskinwhite it’s both. Most “smart” business moves in this capitalistic society have to be greedy and egregious. It’s both. Still morally wrong. Financially smart
@@Goobebeh I don't see what's morally wrong here, lmao. It's not like they're actually taking a cut the record label would take if they signed you, nor actually getting any power over you. (artists get 70% of the revenue on spotify, while labels tend to give artists 20% of the revenue)
@@Goobebeh All a smart business move has to be is attractive to the consumers and profitable, and consumers tend to prefer moral but convenient business moves. Like, lets be real here, if DDG was on the same level as Google everybody would switch in an instant. Most people I know tried it, realized it sucked, and then switched back to Google.
Also, I think the role of music in our lives has changed. In the days of physical media, you paid money for an album, which meant that you could really only get value for your money out of it by actively listening to it. In the current age of free or all-you-can-eat music + the pervasive presence of the internet in everyday life, music becomes more of a soundtrack rather than an activity. People listen to music while they scroll through social media, game, or surf the web. Interesting and unique music is not only surplus to requirements - it's a distraction. All the popular market needs is a generic, familiar sound that can be sold as a "new" song for the artist in question. N.B. I'm not saying that music was never treated as wallpaper back in the day. I'm just theorising that the change in the way we engage with music extends beyond just the way we obtain it. The fact that, for the cost of single new CD, we can now get a month's worth of unlimited access to unlimited albums, has an inevitable devaluing effect on our perception of music and the way we interact with it; it becomes more disposable. Like the news media, record companies want sustainable echo chambers into which they can keep pumping predictable, same-sounding bytes to keep us content and immune from thinking too much about what we're consuming. With music now as ubiquitous and as cheap as the air we breathe, and our collective consciousness now enslaved to mindless screen-gazing, we are happily complicit.
Pfft...I still buy vinyl and Cds when they're available. I don't buy singles, but the entire album. My nose isn't in my cellphone, like most of the general sheeple population. I discover music mainly here on RUclips, then if I actually LIKE what I listen to, I buy the album. And, I LISTEN to the music. Drop that needle on the record, and let the music take me away for a while. Is why I own a decent turntable and CD player (well, my 4K/Blu-Ray machine is the cd player, too). I don't listen to radio anymore, because it's all about the conglomerates. WAY too many commercials, annoying "disc jockeys" who clearly don't deserve to be on the air, and just a bland selection of music. I USED to listen to top40 (back in the 70's-90's), but in the 90's, things started going to shit. No variety, no cohesion, just an empty vacuum of vacuous, mindless and downright despicable "music".
A big part of this is DJ’ing and copyright. Can’t go 2 minutes without a stream getting cut or the entire stream getting muted. Years ago artists needed DJ’s and especially pirate radio (I’m here in the uk) to help get their music heard. Annoying
All good points, the industry be sucking all the fun and life out of music these days. It's mind control of the masses, total BS. They stopped playing cool bands in the 90s.
The Communications Act of 96 killed music as an art, turning it into corporate formula. Started slow but now we see it in full momentum. Going to have to go with the roots of punk/hardcore(back in the early 80's) & DYI, but I expect the labels to make it near impossible.
@@jordanwardan7588 Agree about the Pistols, what I was referring to was bands like Black Flag(Greg Ginn starting SST Records, Dead Kennedys(Altenative Tentacles), Bad Brains, Minor Threat & other bands that didn't get the publicity that the Pistols & Ramones got. These bands didn't get signed to major labels, they did their own legwork; recording, putting together their own packages for their records & their own promoting & touring. A good documentary about it would be the movie American Hardcore(the History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986.
i like how art complexity goes from really simple to complex then back to simple. Think about it; fine arts, architecture, music etc. We go from ungabunga haha to complex musical structure to 2 chord songs
Guys singing crappy minute long songs with too much distortion in their garage -----> artful expressions of emotion and complex ideas with long songs requiring careful listening containing experimentation with technology, neoclassical elements, and extensive usage of music theory -----> guys singing crappy minute long songs with too much distortion in their garage (but faster)
Gonna say this there’s a lot of people making ig you could say ”different “ music but no one actually takes the chance to look them up or listen to them because they’re different. So can’t fully blame these companies when a lot of you don’t even try to explore new stuff. Like once people here stuff that’s different y’all trash them like streamers who do music reactions etc..they literally follow what their chat says or the other way around.
The one thing that opened me up to "different" music the most was when I finally got the appeal of extreme vocals. There are so many amazing songs that I would have previously dismissed as just screaming
Thank you for explaining this. I have observed the same phenomenon and it’s sad that these companies do this. This is why I use SoundCloud and spend tons of time combing through underground music.
Last time I remember a song by popular star was prised for a key change was Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga, it peaked at #15 back in 2016, a year of hip-hop and rap
This is like the disco era. The labels think they can manufacture the hot sound of the moment and find that formula. And then sell it to people are sick of it and repeat
@@elm1230 And the history of art or even movie industry, you just find a new golden egg chicken, then it becomes formulaic and generic cashgrabs like MCU movies or even before that with comedy and action, now it's time for videogame film adaptations.
The sad thing is, there's no modern equivalent of a Disco Demoltion night to shake things up. And this has been a problem far longer than when disco was at its peak.
I remember when my mom and I would go to Sam Goody at the mall to buy the latest CDs. Oh it was a treat. I still have them I still collect CDs. What a time to be alive in the ‘90s. Used to love going to Hastings too and I had to buy the CD maxi singles that usually had bonus tracks and remixes.
just wanna say, would love to see you do a video on the Max Martin machine-he's been a major influence on pop music all sounding the same. (ironically, no disrespect to him, he's insanely talented at what he does…but what he does is formulaic.) love your channel man!
@@mattyballz big-time producer-I think he’s got his own imprint (MXM/Maratone comes to mind?) but just to give you an idea-“…Baby One More Time” was his first big hit. he was indispensable to Britney’s earlier career; he spawned Benny Blanco, Rami Yacoub, Dr. Luke (ugh), Ilya, and MANY others under his wing. seeing a deep dive from you would be awesome, even if I’ve studied him enough for a lifetime 😂 he’s got a sonic “footprint” that’s instantly recognizable once you make the connection. his latest fave to work with is The Weeknd-co-produced Blinding Lights (and most of that album), Starboy, Can’t Feel My Face, etc. etc.
@@mattyballz oh, one more thing while I’m here (these are just ideas I’d make videos on, but you have a way better platform and I love your onscreen presence)-if you ever feel like making a vid on the diff between a sample and an interpolation…watched an “[x] songs you didn’t know sampled other songs” vid (easy to find lol) and something about people not getting the difference got way under my skin 😂 petty, yes-something I think you could explain eloquently? also yes!
Make sure you actually like and share the music of your favorite independent artists. At this point its not just about supporting them, its about combatting this BS!
The basis of all entertainment marketing is if you convince people something is already popular it will inevitably become popular. I wasn't aware of the study you showed towards the end of the video, but it's a great confirming example of this.
Let's not forget about when it was found out that alot of Spotify Lofi-HipHop playlists had brand new artists with no followers showing up, all being able to be traced back to a big music company/label
You broke this down to a T. I personally don't think labels are bad, people just need to understand how they work so they won't feel cheated IF they sign. Lalels made too much money over the years so it ain't no way to really stop their influence but if you work with them make sure u get what u want
This segment is DOPE!!!! Gives an independent artist HOPE!! What an encouraging way to end, you've said what I've been FEELING deep in my heart all along.🙏🏾 Originality will ALWAYS beat AI for real and intelligent people....can't say much for easy to be led, synthetic, microwave people. To each his own. 🤘🏾
That’s why I mainly listen to music made before 2000, and I still like buying hard copy CDs at my local record store. Always remember, just because something is popular doesn’t mean that it’s good.. And often stuff that is really good isn’t all that popular...
Believe it or not, there are set parameters for good and bad music, it not simply “good if someone likes it”, because there are people with bad taste that unbeknownst to them are unaware of how bad their taste actually is because they’ve never been introduced to good. Good music is an acquired taste, just as playing good music is an acquired skill. So for me in my opinion, good music isn’t easy, it’s ineffable and takes examination. Easy, simple music can be fun and sell to a lot of people, but that doesn’t make it good, it just makes it catchy. Art isn’t always art, some times it’s kitsch, and a person’s bad taste in something doesn’t make that something good, it just means they objectively have poor taste...
"lack of respect for copyright" lol. Copyright itself was always an egregious law. It's music possessed as property, when music was always a social and cultural phenomenon. We've always shared it for free socially, long before the internet.
YES! This makes so much sense! I've said for years that good music stopped being made at the turn of the century. Now I see there's actually data which proves this and explains why. *THANK YOU!*
Underground will always be where the unique organic creative Artists mold themselves and build confidence. It's all about finding creative ways to get new music out. The Labels follow the streets. More online platforms must be built so the listeners have access to new unsigned music while paying the creators.
Imagine The new physical music scene Where artist don’t have an internet presence and instead build a community where the art can thrive worldwide With a new listening format that backs away from streaming and in the direction of tape or vinyl or something entirely new. If you wanna know the scene or the artist, check out the magazine (yeah a magazine!) Or television or someone who decides to post stuff about it (just to get the word out digitally) The goal is to get people back to living their lives and going out to make memories, make it not impossible but a bit more of the grind to listen and make music. Imagine some new underground scene that is actually making new waves and genres and experiences! Can we really have the next nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Tupac or Motown experience if all of our artist and listeners refuse to go out and live! Make it so much more fun and enticing that people will look away from their phones to go enjoy some amazing moments! Don’t get me wrong I love the digital ease of music nowadays, but there is something beautiful in the blood sweat and tears of some driven music lovers making songs for the sake of the art and not just greed and popularity. That would be cool, since the physical world of music is lacking nowadays
This has been super prominent since the early 10s club era. A song that’s very underwhelming at first could become one of your favorites because of repeated exposure to it.
Pop music is the way it is because record labels got greedy and piracy plus streaming services were the justifications they used to get greedy. Genres that favor a vocalist such as Pop and Hip-hop are less expensive to produce they would share the profits to one artist rather than five artists in a Metal or Funk band. While the rest of the studio musicians are paid a regular salary, or a commission. However, even Pop and Hip-hop seemed to have reduced in quality because they are often depending on the same studio DJ/songwriter to work with who knows how many artists.
The major record labels have always controlled what gets pushed to the mainstream. I think the difference now is that less and less people are seeking out music through other means. For decades, you were exposed to other artists and genres if you went out to buy music. Even the most casual music fan would at least hear or see something besides what had been pushed to them via radio. That still happens with hard core music lovers, because they still go to the record store and they still go see smaller artists who are on their way up. The casual music fan doesn't have to go to the record store anymore, because all the music is available for free right on their device. So they play what was pushed their way, then the services push more of that to them because that's what they listened to. In short, I think that because people are talking to each other less about music, it leads to less diversity in what the average fan is exposed to. So the popular stuff ends up sounding more and more the same because all data shows that that's what people want to hear.
I like this vid quite alot. One problem that I have with most top songs is that they have weak messages and are purely just the catchyness. IMO songs should be considered as a story or a message that you could relate or learn about and not cause it has good sounds. Most of these rappers and singers are barely understood in any car radio. It's actually about how much you push music into people's faces at any costs.
That’s why you gotta search for underground artists like myself! But there’s waaaaaay more talented people than I out there. Definitely worth the search 💯🔥
@@beingsshepherd That’s confirmation bias. Great music can’t always reach you if you don’t have a network to spread it. You can make the best music in the world but it only matters when people find it. So many great songs are lost in the music world
I give Hip Hop another twenty years, and then it will die down. It will have the same fate as rock music. Rock music reigned for about sixty years, then when the early 2000s ended rock music die out mainstream wise.
Right? I thought the same. I guess you and I are the minority here judging by the comments. He didn't start answering the question until around the 8 minute mark, with only three minutes left of the video.
@@felipehernandez-pedroza8288 it’s madness!! I was 5 minutes into the video before I realised he hasn’t even brought up the question yet. Couldn’t believe it.
Clue is in the name, music industry it's the industrialisation of art. It's not made for art's sake, it's made for money's. And now they can't sell records via gatekeepers because the internet exists (yes their still struggling to get over that fact) it has to be the most efficient process possible. It's Henry Ford all over again, only paint the cars black because black paint dries 4 minutes faster. Only use these 4 chords, melodies and key words because that's the MVP, minimum viable product, least effort quickest for most short term sales. Again the clue is in the name. It's a product from the corporate industry, not music from an artist. Theres plenty of original art out there, but you won't find it on a major record label. That's why I distinguish between the terms "music industry" and "music scene"
10:20 that's my experience with playboi carti songs , I hated most of his songs when I hear it 1st time , then after hearing multiple times I love em ( not all ) .
Theres a scientific explanation for that, and it has something to do with your brain getting used to the unfamiliar sounds, meaning in theory, any and all music can be comsumed
That song Wake me up when it's all over was covered within a year of it's release, got airplay like the first one...I think that says it all, out of millions of choices they pump out an extremely similar track with a different singer and make even more than the original did...all within months. I always thought that learning to play well, write well, adapt and keep it interesting as a whole would be enough....maybe not for notoriety but to have a band... However, people have truly changed and that includes the musicians. For me RUclips is the only place I listen to music now, and I like the idea of having some commentary on bands available. I do wish there were some channels more critical of sell out bands (cough cough RHCP/Metallica) who showed the other choices of that age like Fishbone, Living Colour, Prong....there was so much more than what survived the 90s other than sell outs sucking the corporate rock nipple... And again, the entire counter culture of that era has now descended into a bunch of stale cynical clichéd cliques, Perry Ferrell, Les Claypool and even Pumpkins seem like the elitist latest fad, and they act accordingly as lap dogs, regurgitating their glory era yet in select seating venues like a domesticated and submissive failure to the point of embarrassing themselves. We lost everybody in the last 15 years, Jackson, Prince, Bowie and Cornell...it's like a revelation of age would have made them dangerous to the 'plan' and they had to go...murder? No necessarily, there's ways to do things that that can destroy the soul and then you just wait. Music is shit and movies have taken the place of fandoms...the production is massive, new shows almost weekly and films that boast billion dollar revenues. Entertainment has changed and meaningful words are far detached from singers, they give all the speeches to a man in blue tights carrying a star and striped shield. Whataworld.
A very very simple, and very very reliable metric to remember, and it’s very very easy to remember is this: if it is overwhelmingly popular, it’s garbage. Simple as that. And this works with everything, music, restaurants, candidates….everything. If something is a true quality find, it has a very small following and is an acquired taste.
Just shows how easy people are to manipulate and control and make money off. I actually refuse to listen to the most popular music, I find it boring anyway.
The reason key changes has been on the decline is not because pop music has become less complex. Key changes in widely popular music throughout the 80s and 90s, with the exception of some world inspired was mostly there, because in power ballads and rock music at the end of the song, there was a repeat of the chorus, sometimes the bridge and in some cases even on verse or a variation of a verse, where the singer could then show off their vocal range, by singing the song at a higher key, that wasn't an octave jump (that would have been staying in the same key). So while the history of the key-change may have indicated more complex song writing, it wasn't throughout the 80s and 90s. Music styles come and go, and the power-ballads and Rock music, were on the decline in the late 90s early 00s. Making music in the computer doesn't make making key-changes harder, one could argue it is easier than ever. Shorter songs though, can be an issue for re-introduction of the key-changes, as it can become quite messy, with key changes in a short song. And when it comes to the complexity of pop music, some of Beatles biggest hits, are not complex pop-songs at all. Som simple pop songs, is actually a part of the pop history, since long before the internet. And many modern pop songs are rather complex when it comes to the production. I would not say that songs sound the same. I would say, that there is a bigger variation right now, than in many years, because at this point, when it comes to pop, there is no clear defining genre at the time. There are a few EDM up-tempo popsongs, at the charts, 90s inspired light rock songs, some rather complex K-pop songs, weird songs, re-imaginations of songs of the past, a bit of latin.... The people that typically say that all songs sound the same, are middle age men, and they do that in every generation. Sometimes those middle aged men, get their students or children to think the same, som there is a cohort among young people that repeat the same talking points and typically prefer to listen to older music, and occasionally indie artists (that may or may not be inspired by older music).
although several of your points make sense, you act as if the internet has changed nothing in terms of music. the internet certainly has made music less profitable. why would you expect music to be on the same quality level pre vs post internet when we as a society invest less in music today?
Music as an art form is underground. It will always be there, just harder to find. Music to make money (generic, no talent, no depth, no meaning, no risk, all the same) will be the normal from now on.
I have a classical music background (performance, composition and live performance). I generally do not listen to ANY TV or RADIO since 1990ish. I got very angry when we were "told" to have this or that service piping music at a high volume by the top mucky-muck's of corporations. I ripped out the sound systems in every place that I worked. Also, got fired. But I did find out that our sales were skyrocketing AFTER I ripped out the sound systems. Many times they wanted us to "play" the music above the live TV feed in echoy rooms (I was a General Manager for Airport Consessions). I have also noticed the "similarity" of most music since the 1960's. I also am a Church musician and found the same issue with the music. I like to call it the Burt Bacheratization of all music. Many musicians are also employees of a certain three letter agency (something that you all can venture into and it is well documented). I have picked out Bacharach's "Do you know the way to San José?" in Church Music, Pop Music, Rap, Ska, Reggæ. Not just a few notes - but the whole thing. It seems as if his (Bacherach's) catalogue of works had been produced by people that specialize in Mind Control and other tawdry manipulation. Pieces were probably written by a "team" NOT Bacherach - he was merely the presenter of the Tome. From Wikipedia: " Burt Freeman Bacharach (/ˈbækəræk/ BAK-ə-rak ( May 12, 1928 - February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music." Most of his music library gained instant skyrockets to the number 1 spot for many weeks on the Billboard Charts. Hmmmmm ...I wonder...?
The music industry doesn't suck. It is what it is like any other industry...the bottom line. The listener actually sucks. If you're too naive of a consuming listener, you deserve to be manipulated. Educate your ear and become a more savvy/sophisticated listener. Otherwise don't complain. Secondly, the integrity of the "artist" in many of these cases would have to come into question as well. Make your money. Make all the money you can. But don't complain that the music and the industry sucks when you've willingly participated in the saturation and proliferation of mediocre at best 🎵🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵.
This video does more right than wrong, I thought it was just another piece talking about how modern music is the same, while glorifying the past. Thankfully, you aren't as daft as Thoughty2, and just fanticise the past. Because Music even in the 60s was formulaic, from Record Labels. Don't forget even for every Beatles, there were month going by with generic hits, that we don't remember because they were so forgettable. So I think it's good to disntiguish that record labels, have always been pumping out rubbish that will "sell". I'm sure you're aware as you researched for the video. Lastly to reiterate, for the most part, I liked the video, it's pretty much Thoughty2's one on music, but better in every way so lol.
i saw his vid as i was about to finish this one haha, but i agree. i saw in some articles that labels let artists experiment more back in the day, but i could be totally wrong
So what you see today IS NOT HIPHOP. Plenty of Hiphop in the 90s had change ups and key changes. What they are doing now is some brain dead nonsense and I’m tired of our culture being associated with it
Another way the industry is controlled, independent artists get kept out of the Spotify Playlists. I heard it from others, and now experienced it myself. The distributes will drag their feet submitting your track to spotify to ensure you are no able to submit with the 4 weeks spotify asks for to be considered for their playlists. My last submission I submitted 2 months in advance and it still did not get processed in time. Not sure if the distributors have struck a deal with the labels, or if they are just getting an ego trip playing god with peoples dreams. But it seems way to many people to be saying the same thing for this just to be a mere coincidence. Heard of multiple distributors all behaving like this. (i wont mention any names at this time)
All songs that I hear in stores, gyms, grocery stores, etc sounds like a jet engine starting up, then it has this climax thing and a drum machine type sound. Every song sucks sooooo bad!!!
Back in the days I thought listening to hours upon hours of song of storms would drive one insane. Today I switch on the radio and the first song doesn't even need to finish in order to wreck my sanity. Like pop music today is always a different mix of the exact same topics words, even rhythms. Like there is no single song that stands out. Nothing that catches one's attention. Just one giant, homogenous blob of sound.
Hi, so all this is correct, but there's also more. I'll try and keep this short but it could do with a 10min video. Music, like any media such as film or art, is based on tension and release. Imagine a string bend on a guitar. It starts in tune, then goes out until it becomes in tune again on another note. It's tension then release. Similar, a melody is a note going in and out of harmony with it's based chord. Music can have a variety of this but a good example is jazz, with it's large array of chords and scales, has a huge amount of tension where as pop music has very little. This makes pop music very easy to consume. This combined with modern life and psychological human desires to seek comfort makes the problem even worse.( Image, most humans would rather sit on the sofa than hit the gym). It's complicated and needs an entire essay to explain but metaphorically Listening to jazz is like hitting the gym and listening to pop music is like sitting on the sofa eating chips! The same thing can be seen in movies. An artsy indie Korean film is like jazz and your marvel super hero films are like the chips and sofa. What's great though, is that both are great. Going to the gym all day is not healthy and neither is the sofa but a great balance is perfect. Sometimes it's great to stretch the mind and sometimes you just want to have fun!
I grew up in the 1970’s. I have noticed that the music industry cut the soul out of what artists created. Songs became more and more generic. Boy bands, Girl bands and disco. Then Rap. Great singers and guitarist were no longer promoted. That individual creative style was done away with. People like Hendrix, Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Gilmore were no played on the radio in the 1980’s except on some small hard to find FM station. Then those stations were purchased by large corporations and their new line-up was run. They decided if you didn't like Cyndi Lauper or Madonna you must not be hip or just too old. I think even today ganster rap is controlled by corporate bosses. They promote that the artists are wild and uncontrollable raw talent but I think they are actually told give off that vibe if you want to be rich. Corporations are not only programming whats being played, they are now programming peoples brains.
there's even more diversity in the 2010's .. I think everything REALLY sounds the same now. I wonder if the music from today will even be talked about or remembered years from now And i also wonder what if someone just made a super catchy, unique song... It'd probably really take off... hence why there were soooo many one hit wonders back in the day
I've written 40 good ass songs in the past 2 years and they are all based on original piano melodies I came up with. There will always be real songwriters and real musicians doing real shit in the world. Ai hasn't been thru the struggles and triumphs I've been thru and therefore can't see me when it comes to depth/ feeling. My songs will be known by the mainstream at some point, word to ya'lls mamas on that. Lol
bro Im so confused that people actually think like this. I know youre just s posting but people legitimately think large record labels dictating popular music is a new thing when the diametric opposite is true
What's sad though (regarding independent artists these days) is that independent artists are more likely to create just more bland and samey music as corps push because they think that is what sells, thereby perpetuating the trend. The artists themselves end up adopting the same business-oriented mindset as the record labels use because in order to be successful monetarily, they seemingly have to.
That’s absolutely true. I’m a music producer and a lot of my clients come with these kind of thoughts. What they don’t realize is that the cake is for a few ones, and that there is even more competition doing this kind of music because a lot of artists are doing it thinking that they will sell more, when the truth is that they will be more miserable for not selling either and also not being genuine to their real taste
I don’t say this very often, but I’m so glad that I’m old enough that most of the music I love sits on drives in a lossless format and what I don’t have that way is too old for music execs to mess with anyway. I’m sure there is good new music but frankly there’s tons more old music.
I’d also like to add that record labels had a lot more money to gamble with and risk on different artists, key changes, genres and musical experimentation and artist development. The reason for the current control is to minimize the financial risk.
if u rly think about it, melodic songs with key changes were considered generic back then, like how rap and pop is generic today. nothing rly changed tbh
There are other factors involved here too... The music quality today is dismal. Hip-hop has no more flavor and rappers today are nothing more than mutts...
Most successful indie artists just sound like the bloody top 40 anyways. People need guts and patience to listen to other kinds of music, but they're too overwhelmed and tired to listen to stuff that isn't safe pablum usually. Art commerce and culture are tied up in a nasty knot and squeezing the life out of each other.
The problem with this is that you have referenced a lot of flawed studies conducted by people who aren’t musicologists. Less key changes doesn’t equal less musical complexity similarly lower musical complexity doesn’t equal generic. Based on this arguement music was shit in the classical period 200 years ago because it wasn’t “as stylistically diverse” as the baroque period. Music is much more complicated than its value being placed in its complexity, music need to be assessed in context both historically and culturally, Marvin Gaye’s what’s going on wouldn’t be as influential today not because of some “over complexity” for modern taste but because the historical backdrop it was set against at a time of the Vietnam war, political turmoil and the death of the free love era. Imagine someone is gonna jump down my throat but seriously the “music is less complex so it’s bad” arguement has to die it just isn’t founded in any sort musicology and at worst is completely dismissive of previous eras of music through history
Someone else who thinks it’s corporations, THANK YOU. I hate seeing people think that computers are the reason. I’m probably biased because I love EDM, but there’s a difference between using computers to pump out disposable music at a fast pace vs. using computers to make music that has its own flavor, its own soul that makes it different.
this was an interesting correlation i found, so figured id try to find out why that is, lmk what u guys think. of course this is about popular major label music too!
FIRST
Thanks for this awesome documentary once again, matty it's crazy how sony is in the. Music industry when they also, made the PS1,PS2,PS3, PS4 and PS5. 😁💯
Why does it sound like the first artist to ever get signed for a pretty decent deal
You know it's not as easy as you'd think to do a key change. It really changes the feel of the song. Most people want just that one cool thing to catch onto. Key changes are seriously unnecessary for the most part unless you're trying to make theatrical classical orchestra type stuff. You're so young. Most music is in Major and there's only 6 chords unless you use the diminish but try it it sounds kinda unnecessary. Just like a key change.
It's nice to know they do these "science experiments" as if we're lab rats to them. Wtf do they want to know all this for? That computer one you told is scary. In the future they'll be able to predict everything you're about to do and that can't be good. What do they think they're God or something? Yep they sure FN do bro. Scary.
I think music will still live on for a while the underground scene still has genuine artists tryna rap, produce, and write to pursue their dream. Plus more and more artists and audiences and even genuine managers will realize how fraudulent music labels are.
yea we are seeing a huge anti label movement and its cool to see
Ad transition was so smooth
The vast majority of music is underground artist
@@mattyballzthis is exactly my music
More than likely labels will either die out or just diminish
So if the top 3 major labels practically own Spotify, they own you as an artist without even being signed to them ha! That has to be the greatest most corrupt business move I’ve ever seen.
this isnt new. RCA owned a lot of the distribution channels back in the CD days. the entertainment industry is corrupt yes but is this move corrupt? or is it just business?
@@darkskinwhite it’s both. Most “smart” business moves in this capitalistic society have to be greedy and egregious. It’s both. Still morally wrong. Financially smart
And imagine alternatives to Spotify actually exists
@@Goobebeh I don't see what's morally wrong here, lmao. It's not like they're actually taking a cut the record label would take if they signed you, nor actually getting any power over you. (artists get 70% of the revenue on spotify, while labels tend to give artists 20% of the revenue)
@@Goobebeh All a smart business move has to be is attractive to the consumers and profitable, and consumers tend to prefer moral but convenient business moves.
Like, lets be real here, if DDG was on the same level as Google everybody would switch in an instant. Most people I know tried it, realized it sucked, and then switched back to Google.
It might be illegal to pay to play your artist on the radio, but it isnt illegal to take the program director to lunch at a fancy place
That's an indirect way of bribery.
According to business ethics it’s illegal too
Does what you said even matter?
@@AmirRazan find me 1 person in jail or paying fines for it. this is how every industry operates. favor for a favor, that's just the world.
@@deehznuhhtz5053 well how could it not if it's the way things are done in every industry? 🤷♂️
Damn artists made more money back in 1904 compared to most artists today, crazy
I like more deap dive videos like this and the one about how music has been weaponised throughout history
Also, I think the role of music in our lives has changed. In the days of physical media, you paid money for an album, which meant that you could really only get value for your money out of it by actively listening to it.
In the current age of free or all-you-can-eat music + the pervasive presence of the internet in everyday life, music becomes more of a soundtrack rather than an activity. People listen to music while they scroll through social media, game, or surf the web. Interesting and unique music is not only surplus to requirements - it's a distraction. All the popular market needs is a generic, familiar sound that can be sold as a "new" song for the artist in question.
N.B. I'm not saying that music was never treated as wallpaper back in the day. I'm just theorising that the change in the way we engage with music extends beyond just the way we obtain it. The fact that, for the cost of single new CD, we can now get a month's worth of unlimited access to unlimited albums, has an inevitable devaluing effect on our perception of music and the way we interact with it; it becomes more disposable.
Like the news media, record companies want sustainable echo chambers into which they can keep pumping predictable, same-sounding bytes to keep us content and immune from thinking too much about what we're consuming. With music now as ubiquitous and as cheap as the air we breathe, and our collective consciousness now enslaved to mindless screen-gazing, we are happily complicit.
Pfft...I still buy vinyl and Cds when they're available. I don't buy singles, but the entire album. My nose isn't in my cellphone, like most of the general sheeple population. I discover music mainly here on RUclips, then if I actually LIKE what I listen to, I buy the album. And, I LISTEN to the music. Drop that needle on the record, and let the music take me away for a while. Is why I own a decent turntable and CD player (well, my 4K/Blu-Ray machine is the cd player, too). I don't listen to radio anymore, because it's all about the conglomerates. WAY too many commercials, annoying "disc jockeys" who clearly don't deserve to be on the air, and just a bland selection of music. I USED to listen to top40 (back in the 70's-90's), but in the 90's, things started going to shit. No variety, no cohesion, just an empty vacuum of vacuous, mindless and downright despicable "music".
A big part of this is DJ’ing and copyright. Can’t go 2 minutes without a stream getting cut or the entire stream getting muted. Years ago artists needed DJ’s and especially pirate radio (I’m here in the uk) to help get their music heard.
Annoying
All good points, the industry be sucking all the fun and life out of music these days. It's mind control of the masses, total BS. They stopped playing cool bands in the 90s.
To be fair, society's past 15 years (at least) have been devoid of both fun and life.
@@beingsshepherd THANK YOU. Rock on man
You just got the Critikal co-sign my guy
Which vid
where
Go look at Crtik most recent video
@@erniegarcia8393 Which video? What’s the title of the video please?
I can’t find it unfortunately
Dude you're videos are actually awesome. Your investigations ate thorough and well put, keep it up👍
The Communications Act of 96 killed music as an art, turning it into corporate formula. Started slow but now we see it in full momentum. Going to have to go with the roots of punk/hardcore(back in the early 80's) & DYI, but I expect the labels to make it near impossible.
history is being erased in front of me. rock and roll as a popular genre was the corporate formula, and the sex pistols were industry plants
@@jordanwardan7588 Agree about the Pistols, what I was referring to was bands like Black Flag(Greg Ginn starting SST Records, Dead Kennedys(Altenative Tentacles), Bad Brains, Minor Threat & other bands that didn't get the publicity that the Pistols & Ramones got. These bands didn't get signed to major labels, they did their own legwork; recording, putting together their own packages for their records & their own promoting & touring. A good documentary about it would be the movie American Hardcore(the History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986.
i like how art complexity goes from really simple to complex then back to simple. Think about it; fine arts, architecture, music etc. We go from ungabunga haha to complex musical structure to 2 chord songs
Guys singing crappy minute long songs with too much distortion in their garage -----> artful expressions of emotion and complex ideas with long songs requiring careful listening containing experimentation with technology, neoclassical elements, and extensive usage of music theory -----> guys singing crappy minute long songs with too much distortion in their garage (but faster)
Was binge watching your videos recently, love the persistence
Gonna say this there’s a lot of people making ig you could say ”different “ music but no one actually takes the chance to look them up or listen to them because they’re different. So can’t fully blame these companies when a lot of you don’t even try to explore new stuff.
Like once people here stuff that’s different y’all trash them like streamers who do music reactions etc..they literally follow what their chat says or the other way around.
The one thing that opened me up to "different" music the most was when I finally got the appeal of extreme vocals. There are so many amazing songs that I would have previously dismissed as just screaming
Absolutely. I could never dismiss harsh vocals. Amorphis, Insomnium.and tons of other great bands use them.
Thank you for explaining this. I have observed the same phenomenon and it’s sad that these companies do this. This is why I use SoundCloud and spend tons of time combing through underground music.
8 tracks is also good for finding new music.
Last time I remember a song by popular star was prised for a key change was Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga, it peaked at #15 back in 2016, a year of hip-hop and rap
This is like the disco era. The labels think they can manufacture the hot sound of the moment and find that formula. And then sell it to people are sick of it and repeat
That’s the history of the music industry overall lol
@@elm1230 And the history of art or even movie industry, you just find a new golden egg chicken, then it becomes formulaic and generic cashgrabs like MCU movies or even before that with comedy and action, now it's time for videogame film adaptations.
The sad thing is, there's no modern equivalent of a Disco Demoltion night to shake things up.
And this has been a problem far longer than when disco was at its peak.
I remember when my mom and I would go to Sam Goody at the mall to buy the latest CDs. Oh it was a treat. I still have them I still collect CDs. What a time to be alive in the ‘90s. Used to love going to Hastings too and I had to buy the CD maxi singles that usually had bonus tracks and remixes.
just wanna say, would love to see you do a video on the Max Martin machine-he's been a major influence on pop music all sounding the same. (ironically, no disrespect to him, he's insanely talented at what he does…but what he does is formulaic.) love your channel man!
Is he some label guy or producer or something ?
@@mattyballz big-time producer-I think he’s got his own imprint (MXM/Maratone comes to mind?) but just to give you an idea-“…Baby One More Time” was his first big hit. he was indispensable to Britney’s earlier career; he spawned Benny Blanco, Rami Yacoub, Dr. Luke (ugh), Ilya, and MANY others under his wing. seeing a deep dive from you would be awesome, even if I’ve studied him enough for a lifetime 😂 he’s got a sonic “footprint” that’s instantly recognizable once you make the connection. his latest fave to work with is The Weeknd-co-produced Blinding Lights (and most of that album), Starboy, Can’t Feel My Face, etc. etc.
@@mattyballz oh, one more thing while I’m here (these are just ideas I’d make videos on, but you have a way better platform and I love your onscreen presence)-if you ever feel like making a vid on the diff between a sample and an interpolation…watched an “[x] songs you didn’t know sampled other songs” vid (easy to find lol) and something about people not getting the difference got way under my skin 😂 petty, yes-something I think you could explain eloquently? also yes!
interesting ill check it out, also I made a video about sampling but not quite what ur saying. ill consider it fs
@@mattyballz max Martin is Dr Luke's ex production partner
can you do a video on "how corrupt greed is ruining video games" ? solid video bro
i mostly cover music rn, but maybe in the future if i ever branch out
Make sure you actually like and share the music of your favorite independent artists. At this point its not just about supporting them, its about combatting this BS!
Great vid as always bro! also up until about 5 minutes ago I thought your name was "meatyballz". I'm surprised and slightly disappointed that it's not
lmaooo thank u man
The basis of all entertainment marketing is if you convince people something is already popular it will inevitably become popular.
I wasn't aware of the study you showed towards the end of the video, but it's a great confirming example of this.
Let's not forget about when it was found out that alot of Spotify Lofi-HipHop playlists had brand new artists with no followers showing up, all being able to be traced back to a big music company/label
thank you soulja boy for saving the music industry
He started the industry
You broke this down to a T. I personally don't think labels are bad, people just need to understand how they work so they won't feel cheated IF they sign. Lalels made too much money over the years so it ain't no way to really stop their influence but if you work with them make sure u get what u want
Love this video! You have a great catalogue, amazing job! 👏🏾
Corporate greed ruins many things
6:50 You know about Stray Kids? They are one of the few KPop groups with full creative control over their music.
I like how you edited in the sound bytes
It gave it a documentary style that kept me watching
This segment is DOPE!!!! Gives an independent artist HOPE!! What an encouraging way to end, you've said what I've been FEELING deep in my heart all along.🙏🏾 Originality will ALWAYS beat AI for real and intelligent people....can't say much for easy to be led, synthetic, microwave people. To each his own. 🤘🏾
I was waiting for you to reference the Ed Sheeran video where he points out. The majority of songs can be played in the same key.
That’s why I mainly listen to music made before 2000, and I still like buying hard copy CDs at my local record store.
Always remember, just because something is popular doesn’t mean that it’s good..
And often stuff that is really good isn’t all that popular...
Yep
What is good?
Believe it or not, there are set parameters for good and bad music, it not simply “good if someone likes it”, because there are people with bad taste that unbeknownst to them are unaware of how bad their taste actually is because they’ve never been introduced to good.
Good music is an acquired taste, just as playing good music is an acquired skill.
So for me in my opinion, good music isn’t easy, it’s ineffable and takes examination.
Easy, simple music can be fun and sell to a lot of people, but that doesn’t make it good, it just makes it catchy.
Art isn’t always art, some times it’s kitsch, and a person’s bad taste in something doesn’t make that something good, it just means they objectively have poor taste...
@@theoneandonlyoni you still haven’t answered
I believe I have answered, and you still haven’t let my answer sink in..
"lack of respect for copyright" lol.
Copyright itself was always an egregious law. It's music possessed as property, when music was always a social and cultural phenomenon.
We've always shared it for free socially, long before the internet.
Yeah!
Copyright must be abolished absolutely
YES! This makes so much sense!
I've said for years that good music stopped being made at the turn of the century. Now I see there's actually data which proves this and explains why. *THANK YOU!*
This is why I like indie music. Popular music does sound the same to me.
Michael Jackson spoke out and warned us about this exact thing
And sadly got killed for it
Underground will always be where the unique organic creative Artists mold themselves and build confidence. It's all about finding creative ways to get new music out. The Labels follow the streets. More online platforms must be built so the listeners have access to new unsigned music while paying the creators.
Imagine The new physical music scene
Where artist don’t have an internet presence and instead build a community where the art can thrive worldwide
With a new listening format that backs away from streaming and in the direction of tape or vinyl or something entirely new.
If you wanna know the scene or the artist, check out the magazine (yeah a magazine!)
Or television or someone who decides to post stuff about it (just to get the word out digitally)
The goal is to get people back to living their lives and going out to make memories, make it not impossible but a bit more of the grind to listen and make music. Imagine some new underground scene that is actually making new waves and genres and experiences! Can we really have the next nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Tupac or Motown experience if all of our artist and listeners refuse to go out and live!
Make it so much more fun and enticing that people will look away from their phones to go enjoy some amazing moments!
Don’t get me wrong I love the digital ease of music nowadays, but there is something beautiful in the blood sweat and tears of some driven music lovers making songs for the sake of the art and not just greed and popularity.
That would be cool, since the physical world of music is lacking nowadays
This vid was dope MatBallz. I neva even know bout this
This has been super prominent since the early 10s club era. A song that’s very underwhelming at first could become one of your favorites because of repeated exposure to it.
Everything that is supposed to draw people in and what these software programs predict people will enjoy I absolutely hate.
Pop music is the way it is because record labels got greedy and piracy plus streaming services were the justifications they used to get greedy. Genres that favor a vocalist such as Pop and Hip-hop are less expensive to produce they would share the profits to one artist rather than five artists in a Metal or Funk band. While the rest of the studio musicians are paid a regular salary, or a commission. However, even Pop and Hip-hop seemed to have reduced in quality because they are often depending on the same studio DJ/songwriter to work with who knows how many artists.
The major record labels have always controlled what gets pushed to the mainstream. I think the difference now is that less and less people are seeking out music through other means. For decades, you were exposed to other artists and genres if you went out to buy music. Even the most casual music fan would at least hear or see something besides what had been pushed to them via radio.
That still happens with hard core music lovers, because they still go to the record store and they still go see smaller artists who are on their way up. The casual music fan doesn't have to go to the record store anymore, because all the music is available for free right on their device. So they play what was pushed their way, then the services push more of that to them because that's what they listened to.
In short, I think that because people are talking to each other less about music, it leads to less diversity in what the average fan is exposed to. So the popular stuff ends up sounding more and more the same because all data shows that that's what people want to hear.
I like this vid quite alot. One problem that I have with most top songs is that they have weak messages and are purely just the catchyness. IMO songs should be considered as a story or a message that you could relate or learn about and not cause it has good sounds. Most of these rappers and singers are barely understood in any car radio. It's actually about how much you push music into people's faces at any costs.
Cry about it
That’s why you gotta search for underground artists like myself! But there’s waaaaaay more talented people than I out there. Definitely worth the search 💯🔥
Great music finds your ears, not the other way round.
@@beingsshepherd That’s confirmation bias. Great music can’t always reach you if you don’t have a network to spread it. You can make the best music in the world but it only matters when people find it. So many great songs are lost in the music world
@@dieselclockwork Great works either lead or _ride_ significant cultural movements.
So such thing has emerged in over 20 years.
I give Hip Hop another twenty years, and then it will die down. It will have the same fate as rock music. Rock music reigned for about sixty years, then when the early 2000s ended rock music die out mainstream wise.
A good chunk of the problem comes from the public and how the "product" is "consumed".
Why do all these people think we need to spend 80% of the video going through history before answering the question
Right? I thought the same. I guess you and I are the minority here judging by the comments. He didn't start answering the question until around the 8 minute mark, with only three minutes left of the video.
@@felipehernandez-pedroza8288 it’s madness!! I was 5 minutes into the video before I realised he hasn’t even brought up the question yet. Couldn’t believe it.
Nice video! You seriously have a lot of potential my friend! I wish you great amounts of happiness and success! :)
Saw your video on Danny Wolf and have been binging your videos since… great content 🤝
All these new songs sound like the commercial ones
Clue is in the name, music industry it's the industrialisation of art.
It's not made for art's sake, it's made for money's. And now they can't sell records via gatekeepers because the internet exists (yes their still struggling to get over that fact) it has to be the most efficient process possible. It's Henry Ford all over again, only paint the cars black because black paint dries 4 minutes faster. Only use these 4 chords, melodies and key words because that's the MVP, minimum viable product, least effort quickest for most short term sales.
Again the clue is in the name. It's a product from the corporate industry, not music from an artist.
Theres plenty of original art out there, but you won't find it on a major record label.
That's why I distinguish between the terms "music industry" and "music scene"
10:20 that's my experience with playboi carti songs , I hated most of his songs when I hear it 1st time , then after hearing multiple times I love em ( not all ) .
Theres a scientific explanation for that, and it has something to do with your brain getting used to the unfamiliar sounds, meaning in theory, any and all music can be comsumed
Your channel is blowing up congrats !
Yo penguiz0 gave you a shoutout in his new video. Keep it up you going up^^
That song Wake me up when it's all over was covered within a year of it's release, got airplay like the first one...I think that says it all, out of millions of choices they pump out an extremely similar track with a different singer and make even more than the original did...all within months. I always thought that learning to play well, write well, adapt and keep it interesting as a whole would be enough....maybe not for notoriety but to have a band...
However, people have truly changed and that includes the musicians. For me RUclips is the only place I listen to music now, and I like the idea of having some commentary on bands available. I do wish there were some channels more critical of sell out bands (cough cough RHCP/Metallica) who showed the other choices of that age like Fishbone, Living Colour, Prong....there was so much more than what survived the 90s other than sell outs sucking the corporate rock nipple...
And again, the entire counter culture of that era has now descended into a bunch of stale cynical clichéd cliques, Perry Ferrell, Les Claypool and even Pumpkins seem like the elitist latest fad, and they act accordingly as lap dogs, regurgitating their glory era yet in select seating venues like a domesticated and submissive failure to the point of embarrassing themselves.
We lost everybody in the last 15 years, Jackson, Prince, Bowie and Cornell...it's like a revelation of age would have made them dangerous to the 'plan' and they had to go...murder? No necessarily, there's ways to do things that that can destroy the soul and then you just wait. Music is shit and movies have taken the place of fandoms...the production is massive, new shows almost weekly and films that boast billion dollar revenues. Entertainment has changed and meaningful words are far detached from singers, they give all the speeches to a man in blue tights carrying a star and striped shield.
Whataworld.
:30 it's not even corporate greed,they've always been greedy preferring money making hits than quality.
A very very simple, and very very reliable metric to remember, and it’s very very easy to remember is this: if it is overwhelmingly popular, it’s garbage. Simple as that. And this works with everything, music, restaurants, candidates….everything.
If something is a true quality find, it has a very small following and is an acquired taste.
Just shows how easy people are to manipulate and control and make money off. I actually refuse to listen to the most popular music, I find it boring anyway.
there are no key changes in top 40 music (other than at least two very popular songs) because of................... corporate greed ok what
The reason key changes has been on the decline is not because pop music has become less complex. Key changes in widely popular music throughout the 80s and 90s, with the exception of some world inspired was mostly there, because in power ballads and rock music at the end of the song, there was a repeat of the chorus, sometimes the bridge and in some cases even on verse or a variation of a verse, where the singer could then show off their vocal range, by singing the song at a higher key, that wasn't an octave jump (that would have been staying in the same key).
So while the history of the key-change may have indicated more complex song writing, it wasn't throughout the 80s and 90s. Music styles come and go, and the power-ballads and Rock music, were on the decline in the late 90s early 00s.
Making music in the computer doesn't make making key-changes harder, one could argue it is easier than ever.
Shorter songs though, can be an issue for re-introduction of the key-changes, as it can become quite messy, with key changes in a short song.
And when it comes to the complexity of pop music, some of Beatles biggest hits, are not complex pop-songs at all. Som simple pop songs, is actually a part of the pop history, since long before the internet.
And many modern pop songs are rather complex when it comes to the production.
I would not say that songs sound the same. I would say, that there is a bigger variation right now, than in many years, because at this point, when it comes to pop, there is no clear defining genre at the time. There are a few EDM up-tempo popsongs, at the charts, 90s inspired light rock songs, some rather complex K-pop songs, weird songs, re-imaginations of songs of the past, a bit of latin....
The people that typically say that all songs sound the same, are middle age men, and they do that in every generation. Sometimes those middle aged men, get their students or children to think the same, som there is a cohort among young people that repeat the same talking points and typically prefer to listen to older music, and occasionally indie artists (that may or may not be inspired by older music).
although several of your points make sense, you act as if the internet has changed nothing in terms of music. the internet certainly has made music less profitable. why would you expect music to be on the same quality level pre vs post internet when we as a society invest less in music today?
Great info bro!
Music as an art form is underground. It will always be there, just harder to find. Music to make money (generic, no talent, no depth, no meaning, no risk, all the same) will be the normal from now on.
I love how he used a video of Changbin being calmed down by their manager 😂
Changbin is a part of Stray kids and 3racha
He’s also a producer
Finally! A video where the lack of key changes in songs was called out and highlighted
I have a classical music background (performance, composition and live performance). I generally do not listen to ANY TV or RADIO since 1990ish. I got very angry when we were "told" to have this or that service piping music at a high volume by the top mucky-muck's of corporations. I ripped out the sound systems in every place that I worked. Also, got fired. But I did find out that our sales were skyrocketing AFTER I ripped out the sound systems. Many times they wanted us to "play" the music above the live TV feed in echoy rooms (I was a General Manager for Airport Consessions). I have also noticed the "similarity" of most music since the 1960's. I also am a Church musician and found the same issue with the music. I like to call it the Burt Bacheratization of all music. Many musicians are also employees of a certain three letter agency (something that you all can venture into and it is well documented). I have picked out Bacharach's "Do you know the way to San José?" in Church Music, Pop Music, Rap, Ska, Reggæ. Not just a few notes - but the whole thing. It seems as if his (Bacherach's) catalogue of works had been produced by people that specialize in Mind Control and other tawdry manipulation. Pieces were probably written by a "team" NOT Bacherach - he was merely the presenter of the Tome. From Wikipedia: " Burt Freeman Bacharach (/ˈbækəræk/ BAK-ə-rak ( May 12, 1928 - February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music." Most of his music library gained instant skyrockets to the number 1 spot for many weeks on the Billboard Charts. Hmmmmm ...I wonder...?
The music industry doesn't suck. It is what it is like any other industry...the bottom line. The listener actually sucks. If you're too naive of a consuming listener, you deserve to be manipulated. Educate your ear and become a more savvy/sophisticated listener. Otherwise don't complain.
Secondly, the integrity of the "artist" in many of these cases would have to come into question as well. Make your money. Make all the money you can. But don't complain that the music and the industry sucks when you've willingly participated in the saturation and proliferation of mediocre at best 🎵🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵.
This video does more right than wrong, I thought it was just another piece talking about how modern music is the same, while glorifying the past.
Thankfully, you aren't as daft as Thoughty2, and just fanticise the past. Because Music even in the 60s was formulaic, from Record Labels.
Don't forget even for every Beatles, there were month going by with generic hits, that we don't remember because they were so forgettable. So I think it's good to disntiguish that record labels, have always been pumping out rubbish that will "sell". I'm sure you're aware as you researched for the video.
Lastly to reiterate, for the most part, I liked the video, it's pretty much Thoughty2's one on music, but better in every way so lol.
i saw his vid as i was about to finish this one haha, but i agree. i saw in some articles that labels let artists experiment more back in the day, but i could be totally wrong
So what you see today IS NOT HIPHOP. Plenty of Hiphop in the 90s had change ups and key changes. What they are doing now is some brain dead nonsense and I’m tired of our culture being associated with it
shoutout the key change on All You Do by Magdalena Bay , thats a great moment
Great content man✨️👌🏽
Another way the industry is controlled, independent artists get kept out of the Spotify Playlists. I heard it from others, and now experienced it myself. The distributes will drag their feet submitting your track to spotify to ensure you are no able to submit with the 4 weeks spotify asks for to be considered for their playlists. My last submission I submitted 2 months in advance and it still did not get processed in time.
Not sure if the distributors have struck a deal with the labels, or if they are just getting an ego trip playing god with peoples dreams. But it seems way to many people to be saying the same thing for this just to be a mere coincidence.
Heard of multiple distributors all behaving like this. (i wont mention any names at this time)
All songs that I hear in stores, gyms, grocery stores, etc sounds like a jet engine starting up, then it has this climax thing and a drum machine type sound. Every song sucks sooooo bad!!!
Back in the days I thought listening to hours upon hours of song of storms would drive one insane. Today I switch on the radio and the first song doesn't even need to finish in order to wreck my sanity. Like pop music today is always a different mix of the exact same topics words, even rhythms. Like there is no single song that stands out. Nothing that catches one's attention. Just one giant, homogenous blob of sound.
Another banger video . Keep it up king
This was such a good breakdown!
100k subs right around the corner, bro.
it burns when i pee
Go and get it seen by a doctor.
Real 💯🔥🗣️
hope that gets better bro
You must’ve got it from the toilet seat.
It jumped right up, and grabbed your meat.
Only fax
Hi, so all this is correct, but there's also more. I'll try and keep this short but it could do with a 10min video.
Music, like any media such as film or art, is based on tension and release.
Imagine a string bend on a guitar. It starts in tune, then goes out until it becomes in tune again on another note. It's tension then release. Similar, a melody is a note going in and out of harmony with it's based chord.
Music can have a variety of this but a good example is jazz, with it's large array of chords and scales, has a huge amount of tension where as pop music has very little. This makes pop music very easy to consume.
This combined with modern life and psychological human desires to seek comfort makes the problem even worse.( Image, most humans would rather sit on the sofa than hit the gym).
It's complicated and needs an entire essay to explain but metaphorically Listening to jazz is like hitting the gym and listening to pop music is like sitting on the sofa eating chips!
The same thing can be seen in movies. An artsy indie Korean film is like jazz and your marvel super hero films are like the chips and sofa.
What's great though, is that both are great. Going to the gym all day is not healthy and neither is the sofa but a great balance is perfect.
Sometimes it's great to stretch the mind and sometimes you just want to have fun!
I grew up in the 1970’s. I have noticed that the music industry cut the soul out of what artists created. Songs became more and more generic. Boy bands, Girl bands and disco. Then Rap. Great singers and guitarist were no longer promoted. That individual creative style was done away with. People like Hendrix, Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Gilmore were no played on the radio in the 1980’s except on some small hard to find FM station. Then those stations were purchased by large corporations and their new line-up was run. They decided if you didn't like Cyndi Lauper or Madonna you must not be hip or just too old. I think even today ganster rap
is controlled by corporate bosses. They promote that the artists are wild and uncontrollable raw talent but I think they are actually told give off that vibe if you want to be rich. Corporations are not only programming whats being played, they are now programming peoples brains.
there's even more diversity in the 2010's .. I think everything REALLY sounds the same now.
I wonder if the music from today will even be talked about or remembered years from now
And i also wonder what if someone just made a super catchy, unique song... It'd probably really take off... hence why there were soooo many one hit wonders back in the day
No one ever emailed eachother songs. That's crazy talk.
We all used our own lime wire or whatever client at the time
music that has key changes are not generic, but music that doesnt is generic............................ ???
I've written 40 good ass songs in the past 2 years and they are all based on original piano melodies I came up with. There will always be real songwriters and real musicians doing real shit in the world. Ai hasn't been thru the struggles and triumphs I've been thru and therefore can't see me when it comes to depth/ feeling. My songs will be known by the mainstream at some point, word to ya'lls mamas on that. Lol
Cope
Music started to suck after 95 that's when boy bands became popular and mass produced music was born.
bro Im so confused that people actually think like this. I know youre just s posting but people legitimately think large record labels dictating popular music is a new thing when the diametric opposite is true
This fire brudder🔥
Love the vids dawg
What's sad though (regarding independent artists these days) is that independent artists are more likely to create just more bland and samey music as corps push because they think that is what sells, thereby perpetuating the trend. The artists themselves end up adopting the same business-oriented mindset as the record labels use because in order to be successful monetarily, they seemingly have to.
That’s absolutely true. I’m a music producer and a lot of my clients come with these kind of thoughts. What they don’t realize is that the cake is for a few ones, and that there is even more competition doing this kind of music because a lot of artists are doing it thinking that they will sell more, when the truth is that they will be more miserable for not selling either and also not being genuine to their real taste
I don’t say this very often, but I’m so glad that I’m old enough that most of the music I love sits on drives in a lossless format and what I don’t have that way is too old for music execs to mess with anyway.
I’m sure there is good new music but frankly there’s tons more old music.
I’d also like to add that record labels had a lot more money to gamble with and risk on different artists, key changes, genres and musical experimentation and artist development. The reason for the current control is to minimize the financial risk.
if u rly think about it, melodic songs with key changes were considered generic back then, like how rap and pop is generic today. nothing rly changed tbh
There are other factors involved here too...
The music quality today is dismal. Hip-hop has no more flavor and rappers today are nothing more than mutts...
where does your family liive
Most successful indie artists just sound like the bloody top 40 anyways. People need guts and patience to listen to other kinds of music, but they're too overwhelmed and tired to listen to stuff that isn't safe pablum usually. Art commerce and culture are tied up in a nasty knot and squeezing the life out of each other.
I have alot of respect for artists that are independent. They get blackballed. They have to pay for promotion. And they need an organic audience
this is a great video title, i wonder who helped come up with it 😎
snooze out here ghost writing titles
Gotta be honest your videos are fire
The problem with this is that you have referenced a lot of flawed studies conducted by people who aren’t musicologists. Less key changes doesn’t equal less musical complexity similarly lower musical complexity doesn’t equal generic. Based on this arguement music was shit in the classical period 200 years ago because it wasn’t “as stylistically diverse” as the baroque period. Music is much more complicated than its value being placed in its complexity, music need to be assessed in context both historically and culturally, Marvin Gaye’s what’s going on wouldn’t be as influential today not because of some “over complexity” for modern taste but because the historical backdrop it was set against at a time of the Vietnam war, political turmoil and the death of the free love era. Imagine someone is gonna jump down my throat but seriously the “music is less complex so it’s bad” arguement has to die it just isn’t founded in any sort musicology and at worst is completely dismissive of previous eras of music through history
Someone else who thinks it’s corporations, THANK YOU. I hate seeing people think that computers are the reason. I’m probably biased because I love EDM, but there’s a difference between using computers to pump out disposable music at a fast pace vs. using computers to make music that has its own flavor, its own soul that makes it different.