It's pretty overwhelming. No matter how much I listen to and no matter how broad my tastes are, I feel like I'll always just look at most other people's top ten lists and only be able to ever recognize one album on it if I'm lucky.
I saw an interview the other day of the actor Viggo Mortensen (guy who played Strider in Lord of the Rings), and someone asked him about his book of poetry he released and his album of music he made, and about how he is able to "be" an actor as well as these other things. His answer was really simple, in that he said that when you're a child, you don't think of yourself as an artist, you just draw. You don't think of yourself as singer, you just sing. The older you get, the more people put labels and measures of success on what "great" art is, and you eventually stop doing those things cause you're "no good" at it, which is really absurd. Long before these marvels of technology and media exploded, people in tribes and people in communities just did art all collectively, and didn't think of it in this post-modern, capitalistic way. I think all people have at least some kind of creative stride in some way or another, and everyone should be able to express it. . .
It's definitely harder to emerge from this "blob", I struggle with it every day myself. You do find a lot of exceptionally talented musicians being drowned out by the "noise". Still I believe if a musician's "flower" is destined to grow tall among the grass that surrounds it, it will happen. It will happen if he or she persists, learns and adapts. No matter if it's the 70's, 80's, 90's or 2120, no matter how many out there. Yeah, times are changing, but that is how life is, that is how music is. Plus, find the positive side of this whole story! I can make high quality records at home, distributing it to the whole world basically with a "few" clicks. This is what keeps me going. There aren't too many musicians, there are too many excuses...
Laszlo H. I really love your perspective on music and it’s longevity. So often people get discouraged and think the prevailing sound is making the industry less of a haven for expression
I feel like I try way too hard and it gets to the point where I can’t even distinguish music I like and music I find mediocre because I just need to hear something I like
I blame two things: compromised music journalism outlets and PR entities. The major labels have been replaced by faux indie conglomerates. Sites like pitchfork or many of the sites owned by Buzzmedia, or the plethora of sites trying to get hits all peddle the same new music, new "discoveries" and hyped content that's acclaimed before it's even released and reflected upon. It's hard to call out, but there are artists who do the most to promote themselves via connections and not sincere musical and fan connections. It's not that mediocre music is getting too much attention, it's that aspiring artists are trying either really hard for instant fame or giving up before they find their niche musically. And now with ALL forms, styles, and aesthetics of music and artform so easily accessible, the temptation to emulate success instead of strive for uniqueness is huge. I think that's why there's a huge explosion of underground and DIY movements (tape labels, microgenres like vaporwave, resurgence of local scenes, etc.) while there's an arguably growing behemoth of predictable indie pop and rock music. It's not that there's too much music, it's that some have a unfair advantage over their peers, often stemming from aspects like being in LA or Brooklyn, paying for behind the scenes PR representation, networking to get promo and distribution. For every hyped musician there are objectively dozens who will never break outside of their local scenes or niche followings, but will nonetheless be critically acclaimed. When it comes to state of music journalism, there's a lack of a canon of what's worthy in current scenes and genres. The upside is that's there's plenty of excellent music journalists and fans out there, perhaps more than ever, you just have to dig deeper. And fans can still help hype and promote unknown artists into greater recognition organically. But the downside, and one that makes things seem worse than they are imo, is that there's a greater amount of curated fame. The ability for videos to go viral and music to spread to millions is not democratic, it's still in the upper hand of those who control major online media entities. That's the "calculable mass."
It's said that even before the digital age. You could spend your entire life from birth till death, listening to music and never hearing the same song twice and you will still never hear all the music there is to hear. That is a harrowing and sobering thought. And to think of how much there is available now in the digital age. I think that dispite the average person only liking less than 0.01 percent of the music made, that percentage will be different for every person. So in truth this is a very exciting time for music indeed
From the perspective of a visual artist of just-above-mediocre talent (by my own description), an oversaturation of fellow artists does diminish your chance of being recognized and your art appreciated. But I believe that the sole purpose of art (apart from an individual's expression) is to share with others. The more artists, the more that goal is accomplished where everyone sees/hears art. I believe the inability to display creative works as universally as you could before the internet may be troubling for some, but over saturation is not an issue. Sure an artist has less chance of being famous, what with a billion other authors, poets, musicians, sculptors, photographers, etc doing the same thing, but from a humanitarian and beholder's perspective, look at everyone's creations! Everyone is driven to express themselves to the rest of the world and we have an influx of content rushing by from everyone at high accessibility now. tl;dr - Be happy you get to see so much art.
I feel there are too many musicians but this is not bad for the listeners its the opposite, this mass of musicians make music a less sustainable career
That makes it worse for the listener. Markets thrive off of competition and making strength. If the creators are not doing well, then they cannot provide as well.
I feel like as a kid P2P networks like Napster and Kazaa showed me that there was so much music I had yet to discover be it entire genres or specific bands and yet even now as a twenty something I use this channel, the internet, my friends, and local record shops to delve even further into the fine facets of the music I love to listen to. Anthony, you have shown me music I loved as well as music I hated and I want to thank you sincerely for taking the time to share with everyone your passion.
I wish everyone played music, at least as a healthy and creative hobby. A small percentage of musicians will record music, but the hobbyists won't last long and put their instruments in the attic. The best musicians usually take years of practice and dedicate a tremendous amount of time to their craft. Yeah, it's a shame they don't get recognition as quickly, but some would say they become even better through all of that struggle. I like to think that rap music, especially, helped a lot of people realize they could be a musician. It's like a gateway music. Anyone can talk into a microphone, but to be a great rapper takes a lot of time, patience and repetition over years of practice. I like to have a little faith that the best musicians will get noticed... eventually.
+Ben Aaron But "best" is so subjective. I feel like that would be the point where you could say there is too much music, and the problems that are detailed, the "drowning out" would really come into effect.
There is A LOT of music out there, and it is hard to go through it all to find the gems, but that's what makes your channel so important Anthony - you do all that hard work for us! :)
I don't think the quality has gone down. In fact, some pretty positive things have happened! For one, music has become more individualized. There is a band out there for everyone's exact tastes. Also it's easier to be open minded about music now because the radio doesn't dictate what you hear, you can find it all on your own and be exposed to a lot more stuff!
I'll address the question in terms of media in general (as some others have done) Yes there is so much of EVERYTHING, be it music, films, comics, paintings/visual art, video games, sitcoms, et cetera, that any given individual may not truly find all of what they would probably enjoy in the given medium. I would also agree that in almost every medium, what's popular is seldom "above average," of course I'm certainly not saying that things that get popular aren't enjoyable. Rather, well in my experience, you have to "dig" to find what it is you enjoy specifically. Our digital age certainly affords this discovery. Of course things that get popular MAY appeal and pander to a specific audience or simply "play it safe" - I have nothing against this in particular, I just know I will usually enjoy something with no inhibitions, no agenda, if you will, a bit more. However, I'm a strict believer that experience is existence. All the images we see, things we hear, all the stuff we, for some reason or another, feel, is what crafts sensibilities. As such, I enjoy "taking a peek" at as much as this disgusting, beautiful thing we call life has to offer. Without the modern ability to instantly share and store and archive this that and the other, I don't think it would be as easy, so for that, I am entirely grateful. Maybe that's just my voyeuristic side showing, idk.
@Gus20090 exactly. i don't think discouraging expression is the answer to this problem. what if we discourage the next great band to not put out an album?
I love the fact that we're saturated with shit tons of music. There's so so SO many great artists out there and when you know how to find what you like, it's a wonderland of sorts.
BaconJets Oh yes, it is like a big wonderful buffet isn't it? And while we all gorge ourselves (for free too, mind you) our artists find it harder and harder to make a living.
People who create music don't just start as musicians full-time. They can have other jobs, that's not an impossible task. If those artists end up finding an audience willing to pay for their content, then it's just great news. Maybe at some point they could rely on their fans to sustain living as a music creator, but the possibility to create something in your free time will always be there as long as they allow it to be. I don't think you should get into music expecting revenues and getting rich with the snap of a finger after pushing their work outside. It's... Work, to create and be recognized. Something not all can do, and even less are willing to do.
I actually do find it hard to find music I like due to over-saturation of mediocrity and there's so much music and development going on that I constantly wish time would just stop and let me catch up, but I don't see it as too bad of a problem, it does give the incentive to try new and different things all the time and explore.
I think that the digital age makes it easier to find music. Just from your site i've found probably 4 or 5 albums i've LOVED in the past few months which is a lot for me. With this many artists it can only get better
While the whole "too much of a good thing" certainly applies to a majority of subjects, I don't believe that that is the case with music. There can never be too much music; music makes the world go round, and the more there is of it, the more people's taste in music can expand since there's more to explore.
@RaamKillah yeah, that's how i felt. i mean, i know there's more stuff out there, but there are tons of sites, tools, and people working to parse all of the stuff out there.
+GODSON Official Music From what I've heard, it's usually musicians, people related to the music "industry" and people that actively pursue lots of new music that think there are too many musicians. I'm also make music and I had a distinct feeling at one point that everybody is a musician and fewer people listen to new music. My gauge for this was that a fair number of my friends were musicians and I did not use to have that many musician friends before. The problem with my view is that it's highly subjective and skewed, over time I've just come to know more people that share my passion. I could just replace "musician" with "cyclist" and the same would be true. The quality concern for music has always been a debate, '70s or 2015, and probably will still be 2056. I know that as I grow as a musician, my expectations for my music and the music I listen to grows as well. It's natural, having been exposed to more music and a larger variety of music forces yourself to have increased expectations of music artists over time. The increased expectations lead to enjoying less new music, because fewer artists will reach your subjective set of expectations. As for art in music, I'm one of the guys that think either all music is art, or none of it is. I lean a bit towards the "all music is art" side. The associate debate of "art or product" I think is based on a false premise, all of what we think of as art has always come with some sort of price attached to it, art has always been a product, the real question is who payed the bill. I tend to gauge art-or-not based on how-well/how-much the artist worked for it and how well he managed to communicate his thoughts to me - and still the "how well he worked for it" part, which would be skills and insight into the subject matter, is highly debatable and subjective.
I agree for the most part with Fontano, but like most things, there are always the give and take reactions that takes place. I remember the hell that was my childhood, one horse village that existed in a realm far away from anything that was current or relevant. It was a different savage dark place, that made it very hard to find, or explore any new, maybe different, or artistic music. But the one thing that did happen in those days, that we seem to have lost, was when you actually found something interesting, saving your pocket money, burning in anticipation, and then finally listening to that album... you listened to it religiously. Staring into the voids of the cover art for hours on end, and imagining a world far away from where I was. And that's what i think we are losing, the romance and time we spent to familiarize ourselves with those albums, even if they were bad, you just spent your allowance on music instead of cigarettes, so you kind of had to. And that was fun. I love the fact that I now live in a time where I can explore, find and obtain different unknown avenues of music, that really appeals directly to me. I would have never imagined that I would be able to have any music I would ever want, at my fingertips. But the problem seems, that some, maybe most, explore music like it was marbles, and the bigger your bag of marbles, the more you know about music, instead of really getting to know the album for it's personality, and finding sentiment in it. It's all about the release dates, and who hears what first. So I guess what I'm saying is, search, find and explore, but we should try and pace ourselves through this journey, rather than going at it literally like a kid in a candy store thats trying to eat everything at once, because then all you will hear is a blurry mess. The fact is, there is just way to much, good and bad, music to listen through in 1 crummy human life span! And that's fine too.
No, there is not too much music. I think the answer to the question depends on not only why you're asking it but who you are. If you are asking whether or not there is too much music because quality music will be lost, the answer to that is absolutely not, in fact it means that more quality music is going to reach an audience. Think about all the potentially excellent musicians who never had the chance to have a wide audience or to really exchange musical ideas with their peers in the same vein of work, precisely because they weren't around when there was such an ease of access. Music being widely available and also common means more of a chance for the audience's tastes to be satisfied and even to change and develop. I will say that musicians are financially screwed by the huge glut of music, so for a musician, musical saturation is a mixed bag. It means more of a chance to be heard, but it is not a guarantee, and it means that many musicians are unable to make money off of the traditional model of selling albums. However, it also means that what does rise to prominence usually does so for a good reason. Keep in mind, too, that the internet has only been around for about twenty years now. As it ages, newer models of musicianship and the business of music are going to settle in, just as they settled in when record players and records became commonplace.
I sometimes feel overwhelmed when trying to discover new music because of the sheer number of new bands that have gained exposure on the internet. Prior to the digital age, it would have been very difficult to learn about and aquire the music of bands from different countries or regions unless they were very popular. But because of this globalization, I feel less and less that I will ever be able to listen to most of these artists in a true capacity. One person can only listen to so much!
I like exposing myself to music O.o in answer to the question though, in 2015, I think that there is a lot of mediocrity in music right now. There is plennnnnnty of great music as there always will be too, but too much? i'm not sure, all I can say is that there is definitely soooo much diversity in styles that I often find myself muting a lot of music that i'm turned onto. prime example: I'm a first listen type of person. that means that I generally know how to feel about an artist after the first listen. at some point I was turned onto a group called Phoenix. I heard one song and was like hmmmm... went home heard the next one, exactly the same, rolled my eyes, on to the next one. I hate that moreso than ever before, the "mainstream" allows for people to leech from one specific formula for popularity, and then just literally replicate it 80 times over the course of a few albums and never change it whatsoever. Because people aren't asking for more than that. Uneducated musician=uneducated fans=unappreciative listeners=will go their whole life never having heard an outside jazz album, or even Kind of Blue for christs sake=ARE YOU KIDDING ME? IT"S BORING. There's a certain thread of this train of thought, that when you start to break down music this way, suddenly it seems like there's an argument that all music is shitty through that lens. That's both true and not true. Creative edge and sex/popular appeal are two very different things, not mutually exclusive, but if you look at a talentless fraud like Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, John Mayer, Taylor Swift, Hozier, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Sam Smith, etc. etc. You see a hell of a lot more reasons why they sell records because of sex than because of theoretically impressive music. I named a lot of artists so hear me out: I am one who believes in the concept of selling out. Kid Cudi has a verse that says it best from his song 50 ways to make a record: He's up inside the club, he likes to lean and rock, stands around and looks intrigued by what he saw, Now he asks me, How he can make hit songs to reach the top, there must be 50 ways to make a record 50 ways to make a record, "if you got talent and your soul cannot be bought." That says it right there: you can be popular and not sell out. or you can be talented and succumb to a paycheck and get lazy as shit. I don't care if John Mayer is a good guitarist, because I don't get to hear that quality of his on ANY of his studio albums. It's dressed up for a good night of fucking and then asks me if it looks classy, and because it gets attention I can't say no but when the lights go down I'm not going to spend any quality time with his music. This is the principle of every musician that I named, and hundreds probably thousands more: BEING a good musician, and NOT actually making good music, are not different things. Nicki Minaj is *talented* at rapping, but she's a shitty rapper. I'm so sick of this trend, instead of deciding to get lazy and suckle at the teet of mass culture, fucking pull yourself together and do it for the fucking tunes or the art or something. I realize that most of those people I named are not capable of that. And maybe their fans aren't asking for that. There is still a lot of good music to be had, the influx and definitive overcrowding of the popular tributary of it however, is OVERRUN with pathetic bullshit.
I guess there's too much in that looking for exciting stuff takes up SO MUCH of my time that I end up neglecting other parts of life (like studying), but I'd never want to change that
I don't think it really maters that much. I mean, the people who DO listen to the music that is popular or "mediocre" aren't really aware of how much music there is, and the people who are aware probably listened to this popular mediocrity and didn't really like it BECAUSE of the broadness of their horizons -- they know what's good or bad based on their own opinion as opposed to the mainstream's. By the way, nice Loma Prieta LP.
Major labels used to invest in game changers, amazing alternative sounds. Now I feel the 'safe'/ generic sound is what's being pushed heavily. Pushed into everything thus abusing the artform
You feel that way because everyone can speak their own voice thanks to the internet. For free, or without any production/label. Before the internet musicians would have to really "afford" to be out there. Now people who listen music have to do their own research. Personally as a music nerd I often feel that there not enough music to discover. I need something new and I can't find it. Meaning there's room for new musicians to create what I will like tomorrow.
I can definitely relate to this, I've mostly listened to metal but lately I've been trying to expand my musical horizon but it's kinda hard with this sea of mediocre bands.
YES, there is way too much music and way too many musicians. Almost everyone with a slight interest in music seems to be a musician, producer or DJ of some sort nowadays, and worse of all, it's never been easier to become one. You're either a successful original musician, or you're fighting to be one it seems. It's all a huge disaster.
I agree with you, but what if a person who has been invested to music for a while actually makes good music and has the capability of recording and making an album/LP. Do you think they should just stop, or do you think they should still release it, but release somewhere like soundcloud.
I haven't been keeping up with new artists the last year or so is because it is so medicore. Last album that really wowed me was Nicolas Jaar's Space Is Only Noise.
I don't think that in 20 years time I'll look back and remember one album that defined me at this point the way Stankonia or Nirvana Unplugged in NY do. There is a LOT of really amazing music out there now, many of it that I haven't heard because I'm so bogged down listening to other amazing stuff! I feel like if I sit back and kick it with one particular album that I love so much, I'll be left behind. Too much great music, life is tough.
Two things: 1) It is a great time for amateurs to be prosperous, Because right now people dont care if its good they just want unique authenticity. 2) Also I think theres something to this with all art right now and though it pains me I think its also kind of cool and is the product of intellectual cycles and evolutionary cycles morphing into access to information rather than adaption to surroundings. I'll describe it as this and it has very much risen to prominence "The art of undermining"
I kind of agree with both you and the point made in the movie. While I feel like more variety and choice is always a good thing, it has become incredibly difficult for great artists to get noticed.
@mandomtz not entirely my point. naturally, you're not going to like most of the music that's out there on the internet, however, is that hurting this industry and drowning out great art?
Anthony, once again, I think your videos are brilliant. I sometimes find myself divided about this question, but in the end, it's only my ego that wants "refinement" in music, or for my own tastes to be important or exclusive in some way. It's the part of us that wants separation, for music to belong to a certain group of people, for musicians to be a certain calibre. Instead of accepting the world, we think of how it "should be". But music is for everyone, period, and anyone can play.
I love you, man. And I love the overload of music. I love not knowing what soul-shaking music is still out there for me to discover that was created by some "mediocre" musician. Keep up the great work
I feel it's harder to stand out as well as stay on the radar with new artists coming out all the time. But I think it's a beautiful thing that with new media everyone has shot at being heard.
...which enables us to take all context and concentration out of the music listening experience. Coupled with the ease of access that illegal downloading currently enjoys, music as an industry dies...
The digital intake of media consumption can be overwhelming, and tiring. There are so many artists out there, and good ones, that are not being recognized, unable to breath underneath the heavy layer of meaningless bulk. In this world decomposers never fail to break down it's beauty.
@devonteMdavis i put lil b up there because i think he's one of the reasons there's so much music out there right now. his model functions almost purely off of being prolific.
Because there is so much music out there, I don't feel like I will ever run out of new artists to discover, I also feel like there are a lot of artists I will never find. This makes music an adventure
At the end of the day, art is more about perspective than craft. Everyone has a unique and valid perspective, and the easier it becomes for individuals to express their perspectives, the richer our cosmic experience as humans becomes, whether this is through music or any other art form. The formal aspects of music such as pitch, key, etc--things we tend to link to "quality"-- are actually secondary, and only serve to contextualize a person's expression in how they are obeyed, transcended, or abandoned.
There has always been a ton of musicians. The internet has just made it easier to discover them. I grew up in a small town with only two/three radiostations that didn't play anything I was to fond of. We didn't have a music scene or any hip people with good records. 25 years ago I would have never heard of any indie bands or even mainstream rap for that matter (lack of radioplay).
I really think it all depends on the listener's view of the sounds they like. For sure, it is important for people to recognize talented musicians, but art is also subjective. It also depends on what you want to get out of music. Most people my sister's age (15) just want music that is accessible and catchy, something they can dance or sing to. Personally, I listen to music to see what's out there and to find music I perceive as beautiful or interesting. I think it is better to have so many musicians so we can go through them and test the waters of what we like and don't like.
Continuing I think the internet supports a more versatile take on music for the individual due to the variety of music and the the sheer size of available music. I also think without it no one [..]
There has always been loads of music BUT accessibility has changed. It feels over-whelming because you can literally sit in the same spot in front of your PC or mac & get the latest, le second its out
What I think this documentary signals about our Chaotic Age is that it'll become a hell of a lot harder for those of us who care to make an impact, though as the internet changes, this might change.
I do love the over-abondance of music.Because no matter what I feel like listening to, I know that there's something hidden somewhere that I haven't heard and that's going to be an amazing listen.
Depending on your definitions of EDM, there's FlyLo, Anstam, Martyn, Zombi, Burial, Hudson Mohawke, Blawan, Modeselektor... Don't confuse dubstep and brostep and you'll find a lot.
well said, Anthony. I agree 100%. I feel that 9 times out of 10 the music/bands I'm reccomended by blogs, hype blogs in particular sucks. It's just an overwhelming saturation of medoctrity.
I don't think there will ever be enough. I think that there were always be a demand to hear something different or something that invokes a certain a feeling that hasn't really been approached before.
All of these new people give you different types on sounds and ideas, and with it being on the internet now as long as people talk about certain artist you will hear a variety of music.
That's totally up to each individual listener. I think that while there are a great number of musicians out there, listening to what I like and when I get bored with it venturing out into the musical ether is a good system for me.
It's a blessing to be able to find so many musical artists so easily. Saying there's too many musicians is not logical to me. You don't say that for movie producers, painters, poets, writers etc.
I like the variety of music, as it means that I have a song to fit any mood or occasion. However, I know that it can be difficult for smaller musicians to get their work out there, simply because they are a little drowned out.
I follow a couple of labels fairly closely, and they inform my decisions about what to get and who's up and coming(Basick, Earache, Roadrunner mainly) But yeah, too many musicians not getting heard.
Record labels don't guarantee quality but there are way too many musicians. I feel like it's just a side affect of being someone who's actively searching into modern music to feel overwhelmed though.
I think it's a great thing that art is becoming socialized, that its creation isn't just something that a special nobility class of people participate in but really accessible to everyone.
It sucks for classically trained musicians like myself. I can't stand when I meet people who think they're the next "big thing" after only doing music for a week.
It's never hard to find new music to love. At times, the sheer amount seems daunting. The realization that I'll never listen to as much music as I would like is depressing. However, I'm entirely happy thatg there is always new music to be found.
I think there are waaay too many singers as evident by the thousands of people waiting to enter these singing competition auditions at every city. It's to the point where its a cattle call. Literally anyone can sing and even with limited ability can find sort of niche. So that's why today it's not just about singing but about other things like image. True artists can't shine anymore.
I feel like there is too much music sometimes... I am afraid of all the great music I am missing sometimes... Like there is an album that is completely me that I know nothing about
Its really hard to fall in love with the music nowadays, albums are so cheap, free e.p.'s and mixtapes everywhere, i do get overwhelmed. I don't think there's too much, the rate output is just intense
Ehhh. I don't find it harder to find music I love. There's still lots of awesome music! But sometimes I do feel like there's just too much to handle... but that's sort of a good thing.
I would say the information age provides for more efficient localization of music scenes, whilst seeing to the demise of the international profitable machine we're bombarded with on the radio.
Labels had too much control pre-digital. There is still an obvious threshold in what separates mediocre artists from great artists, simply having more of them hasn't changed this in the slightest.
The best part about the internet is that it always gives me something new. I mean, I'm the guy that loves all music, so it's always a treat to delve into something new, good or bad. But that's just me
The over saturation of metalcore style bands is at an all time high but this might be a better thing to help push the genre into a new direction. People honestly just get sick of hearing the same sound after a while. However, I am still thankful for all the constantly new music that is readily streamed and easy to find with various places such as needle drop.
There is no "too much." The adventure of discovering new music is an amazing process that's fun and is linked to self-discovery. It's supposed to be a dense world. Otherwise it'd be too easy.
I feel overwhelmed a lot. Yea, I listen to a lot of music, but I had to give up reading a lot of books and keeping up with mainstream movies not to mention comics, manga, or art. It's a big give and take with keeping up with media and actually being a productive human being. Hell, podcasts of any major genre take a large amount of time to absorb. As a guy who absorbs music really slowly I can't keep up sometimes.
I think the huge amount of music we're exposed to is a good thing. Just sometimes I wonder what music will define this time period when people look back decades from now.
i dont find there to be too much music. i may not wish to explore all of it, but whenever i do feel like exploring, there will be plenty options to explore, there will always be something different to listen to. to run out of new music would be tragic
@Gus20090 also, what happens when mediocre musicians actually start getting really, well, good. it's not like great musicians are just born. people don't come out of the womb playing piano.
i feel like more mediocre music is being accepted.i catch myself asking why i like music i do now, something i never used to do nor felt like i had to maybe music is evolving as well,i am not too sure
agree completely. there is no way to consume all the music out there being released but what you can do is go to places like tnd to sift through what's good and what isn't.
90% of albums you review i don't like. That is to be expected though - and i've always been picky. There is a lot of saturation, but when you find an album you really like, it is gold.
It's pretty overwhelming. No matter how much I listen to and no matter how broad my tastes are, I feel like I'll always just look at most other people's top ten lists and only be able to ever recognize one album on it if I'm lucky.
I saw an interview the other day of the actor Viggo Mortensen (guy who played Strider in Lord of the Rings), and someone asked him about his book of poetry he released and his album of music he made, and about how he is able to "be" an actor as well as these other things. His answer was really simple, in that he said that when you're a child, you don't think of yourself as an artist, you just draw. You don't think of yourself as singer, you just sing. The older you get, the more people put labels and measures of success on what "great" art is, and you eventually stop doing those things cause you're "no good" at it, which is really absurd. Long before these marvels of technology and media exploded, people in tribes and people in communities just did art all collectively, and didn't think of it in this post-modern, capitalistic way. I think all people have at least some kind of creative stride in some way or another, and everyone should be able to express it. . .
35TCK ..."Viggo Mortensen (guy who played Strider in Lord of the Rings"
..."some kind of creative stride"
whoa.
Stfu what this dude said was cool
35TCK That really got me thinking. Thanks for sharing it!
great comment, very true
35TCK thanks for helping me struggle with this feeling inadequacy distracting me from my passions. Fucking thank you.
good music will always find an audience.
Joseph Pish exactly
HAHAHAHA, no.
hard disagree. if anything, the good stuff USUALLY stays underground, with a few rays peeking into the mainstream.
Well, often every style gets AN audience.
@roy_for_real true, but not always a large one. just look at pirate metal (which is, in fact, a real genre).
It's definitely harder to emerge from this "blob", I struggle with it every day myself. You do find a lot of exceptionally talented musicians being drowned out by the "noise". Still I believe if a musician's "flower" is destined to grow tall among the grass that surrounds it, it will happen. It will happen if he or she persists, learns and adapts. No matter if it's the 70's, 80's, 90's or 2120, no matter how many out there. Yeah, times are changing, but that is how life is, that is how music is. Plus, find the positive side of this whole story! I can make high quality records at home, distributing it to the whole world basically with a "few" clicks. This is what keeps me going. There aren't too many musicians, there are too many excuses...
Laszlo H. I really love your perspective on music and it’s longevity. So often people get discouraged and think the prevailing sound is making the industry less of a haven for expression
I do kind of find it hard to find stuff I like
#relatable
same
I feel like I try way too hard and it gets to the point where I can’t even distinguish music I like and music I find mediocre because I just need to hear something I like
I get desperate pretty much
Ross Meyer Im in the same boat
I blame two things: compromised music journalism outlets and PR entities. The major labels have been replaced by faux indie conglomerates. Sites like pitchfork or many of the sites owned by Buzzmedia, or the plethora of sites trying to get hits all peddle the same new music, new "discoveries" and hyped content that's acclaimed before it's even released and reflected upon. It's hard to call out, but there are artists who do the most to promote themselves via connections and not sincere musical and fan connections. It's not that mediocre music is getting too much attention, it's that aspiring artists are trying either really hard for instant fame or giving up before they find their niche musically. And now with ALL forms, styles, and aesthetics of music and artform so easily accessible, the temptation to emulate success instead of strive for uniqueness is huge. I think that's why there's a huge explosion of underground and DIY movements (tape labels, microgenres like vaporwave, resurgence of local scenes, etc.) while there's an arguably growing behemoth of predictable indie pop and rock music.
It's not that there's too much music, it's that some have a unfair advantage over their peers, often stemming from aspects like being in LA or Brooklyn, paying for behind the scenes PR representation, networking to get promo and distribution. For every hyped musician there are objectively dozens who will never break outside of their local scenes or niche followings, but will nonetheless be critically acclaimed. When it comes to state of music journalism, there's a lack of a canon of what's worthy in current scenes and genres. The upside is that's there's plenty of excellent music journalists and fans out there, perhaps more than ever, you just have to dig deeper. And fans can still help hype and promote unknown artists into greater recognition organically. But the downside, and one that makes things seem worse than they are imo, is that there's a greater amount of curated fame. The ability for videos to go viral and music to spread to millions is not democratic, it's still in the upper hand of those who control major online media entities. That's the "calculable mass."
joshuatxuk This should be a top comment. I, as a musician and music fan, agree with you on a 100%.
It's said that even before the digital age. You could spend your entire life from birth till death, listening to music and never hearing the same song twice and you will still never hear all the music there is to hear. That is a harrowing and sobering thought. And to think of how much there is available now in the digital age. I think that dispite the average person only liking less than 0.01 percent of the music made, that percentage will be different for every person. So in truth this is a very exciting time for music indeed
From the perspective of a visual artist of just-above-mediocre talent (by my own description), an oversaturation of fellow artists does diminish your chance of being recognized and your art appreciated. But I believe that the sole purpose of art (apart from an individual's expression) is to share with others. The more artists, the more that goal is accomplished where everyone sees/hears art. I believe the inability to display creative works as universally as you could before the internet may be troubling for some, but over saturation is not an issue. Sure an artist has less chance of being famous, what with a billion other authors, poets, musicians, sculptors, photographers, etc doing the same thing, but from a humanitarian and beholder's perspective, look at everyone's creations! Everyone is driven to express themselves to the rest of the world and we have an influx of content rushing by from everyone at high accessibility now.
tl;dr - Be happy you get to see so much art.
I feel there are too many musicians but this is not bad for the listeners its the opposite, this mass of musicians make music a less sustainable career
That makes it worse for the listener. Markets thrive off of competition and making strength. If the creators are not doing well, then they cannot provide as well.
Kaan Ra agreed
Allmywhat You sound like you like the chainsmokers. If you love competition so much go live in Qatar.
I feel like as a kid P2P networks like Napster and Kazaa showed me that there was so much music I had yet to discover be it entire genres or specific bands and yet even now as a twenty something I use this channel, the internet, my friends, and local record shops to delve even further into the fine facets of the music I love to listen to. Anthony, you have shown me music I loved as well as music I hated and I want to thank you sincerely for taking the time to share with everyone your passion.
I wish everyone played music, at least as a healthy and creative hobby.
A small percentage of musicians will record music, but the hobbyists won't last long and put their instruments in the attic. The best musicians usually take years of practice and dedicate a tremendous amount of time to their craft. Yeah, it's a shame they don't get recognition as quickly, but some would say they become even better through all of that struggle.
I like to think that rap music, especially, helped a lot of people realize they could be a musician. It's like a gateway music. Anyone can talk into a microphone, but to be a great rapper takes a lot of time, patience and repetition over years of practice.
I like to have a little faith that the best musicians will get noticed... eventually.
+Ben Aaron But "best" is so subjective. I feel like that would be the point where you could say there is too much music, and the problems that are detailed, the "drowning out" would really come into effect.
Axle Redacted yeah
There is A LOT of music out there, and it is hard to go through it all to find the gems, but that's what makes your channel so important Anthony - you do all that hard work for us! :)
I don't think the quality has gone down. In fact, some pretty positive things have happened! For one, music has become more individualized. There is a band out there for everyone's exact tastes. Also it's easier to be open minded about music now because the radio doesn't dictate what you hear, you can find it all on your own and be exposed to a lot more stuff!
I'll address the question in terms of media in general (as some others have done)
Yes there is so much of EVERYTHING, be it music, films, comics, paintings/visual art, video games, sitcoms, et cetera, that any given individual may not truly find all of what they would probably enjoy in the given medium. I would also agree that in almost every medium, what's popular is seldom "above average," of course I'm certainly not saying that things that get popular aren't enjoyable. Rather, well in my experience, you have to "dig" to find what it is you enjoy specifically. Our digital age certainly affords this discovery.
Of course things that get popular MAY appeal and pander to a specific audience or simply "play it safe" - I have nothing against this in particular, I just know I will usually enjoy something with no inhibitions, no agenda, if you will, a bit more.
However, I'm a strict believer that experience is existence. All the images we see, things we hear, all the stuff we, for some reason or another, feel, is what crafts sensibilities. As such, I enjoy "taking a peek" at as much as this disgusting, beautiful thing we call life has to offer. Without the modern ability to instantly share and store and archive this that and the other, I don't think it would be as easy, so for that, I am entirely grateful. Maybe that's just my voyeuristic side showing, idk.
whats so goddamn funny at the start of all your shows?
@Gus20090 exactly. i don't think discouraging expression is the answer to this problem. what if we discourage the next great band to not put out an album?
I love the fact that we're saturated with shit tons of music. There's so so SO many great artists out there and when you know how to find what you like, it's a wonderland of sorts.
BaconJets Oh yes, it is like a big wonderful buffet isn't it? And while we all gorge ourselves (for free too, mind you) our artists find it harder and harder to make a living.
People who create music don't just start as musicians full-time. They can have other jobs, that's not an impossible task. If those artists end up finding an audience willing to pay for their content, then it's just great news. Maybe at some point they could rely on their fans to sustain living as a music creator, but the possibility to create something in your free time will always be there as long as they allow it to be.
I don't think you should get into music expecting revenues and getting rich with the snap of a finger after pushing their work outside. It's... Work, to create and be recognized. Something not all can do, and even less are willing to do.
Timber Sellick Exactly
These Question and Comment series are fucking fresh dude... love em!
I wish I could filter out all the mediocre shit because trying to find more music is kind of a difficult task
There are key words you can use to filter out shitty bands being promoted.
I actually do find it hard to find music I like due to over-saturation of mediocrity and there's so much music and development going on that I constantly wish time would just stop and let me catch up, but I don't see it as too bad of a problem, it does give the incentive to try new and different things all the time and explore.
There is no such thing as too much music.
I think that the digital age makes it easier to find music. Just from your site i've found probably 4 or 5 albums i've LOVED in the past few months which is a lot for me. With this many artists it can only get better
While the whole "too much of a good thing" certainly applies to a majority of subjects, I don't believe that that is the case with music. There can never be too much music; music makes the world go round, and the more there is of it, the more people's taste in music can expand since there's more to explore.
@RaamKillah yeah, that's how i felt. i mean, i know there's more stuff out there, but there are tons of sites, tools, and people working to parse all of the stuff out there.
the answer to this question, is YES.
but it's not a bad thing.
+GODSON Official Music "too many" means bad, you just gotta find a reason why it is *too* many.
Too much or too little of anything is always bad, no?
+GODSON Official Music From what I've heard, it's usually musicians, people related to the music "industry" and people that actively pursue lots of new music that think there are too many musicians. I'm also make music and I had a distinct feeling at one point that everybody is a musician and fewer people listen to new music.
My gauge for this was that a fair number of my friends were musicians and I did not use to have that many musician friends before. The problem with my view is that it's highly subjective and skewed, over time I've just come to know more people that share my passion. I could just replace "musician" with "cyclist" and the same would be true.
The quality concern for music has always been a debate, '70s or 2015, and probably will still be 2056. I know that as I grow as a musician, my expectations for my music and the music I listen to grows as well. It's natural, having been exposed to more music and a larger variety of music forces yourself to have increased expectations of music artists over time. The increased expectations lead to enjoying less new music, because fewer artists will reach your subjective set of expectations.
As for art in music, I'm one of the guys that think either all music is art, or none of it is. I lean a bit towards the "all music is art" side. The associate debate of "art or product" I think is based on a false premise, all of what we think of as art has always come with some sort of price attached to it, art has always been a product, the real question is who payed the bill.
I tend to gauge art-or-not based on how-well/how-much the artist worked for it and how well he managed to communicate his thoughts to me - and still the "how well he worked for it" part, which would be skills and insight into the subject matter, is highly debatable and subjective.
+Paul-Adrian Stoleriu (Paul Spades) great answer
I agree for the most part with Fontano, but like most things, there are always the give and take reactions that takes place.
I remember the hell that was my childhood, one horse village that existed in a realm far away from anything that was current or relevant. It was a different savage dark place, that made it very hard to find, or explore any new, maybe different, or artistic music. But the one thing that did happen in those days, that we seem to have lost, was when you actually found something interesting, saving your pocket money, burning in anticipation, and then finally listening to that album... you listened to it religiously. Staring into the voids of the cover art for hours on end, and imagining a world far away from where I was.
And that's what i think we are losing, the romance and time we spent to familiarize ourselves with those albums, even if they were bad, you just spent your allowance on music instead of cigarettes, so you kind of had to. And that was fun.
I love the fact that I now live in a time where I can explore, find and obtain different unknown avenues of music, that really appeals directly to me. I would have never imagined that I would be able to have any music I would ever want, at my fingertips.
But the problem seems, that some, maybe most, explore music like it was marbles, and the bigger your bag of marbles, the more you know about music, instead of really getting to know the album for it's personality, and finding sentiment in it. It's all about the release dates, and who hears what first.
So I guess what I'm saying is, search, find and explore, but we should try and pace ourselves through this journey, rather than going at it literally like a kid in a candy store thats trying to eat everything at once, because then all you will hear is a blurry mess. The fact is, there is just way to much, good and bad, music to listen through in 1 crummy human life span! And that's fine too.
No, there is not too much music. I think the answer to the question depends on not only why you're asking it but who you are. If you are asking whether or not there is too much music because quality music will be lost, the answer to that is absolutely not, in fact it means that more quality music is going to reach an audience. Think about all the potentially excellent musicians who never had the chance to have a wide audience or to really exchange musical ideas with their peers in the same vein of work, precisely because they weren't around when there was such an ease of access. Music being widely available and also common means more of a chance for the audience's tastes to be satisfied and even to change and develop. I will say that musicians are financially screwed by the huge glut of music, so for a musician, musical saturation is a mixed bag. It means more of a chance to be heard, but it is not a guarantee, and it means that many musicians are unable to make money off of the traditional model of selling albums. However, it also means that what does rise to prominence usually does so for a good reason. Keep in mind, too, that the internet has only been around for about twenty years now. As it ages, newer models of musicianship and the business of music are going to settle in, just as they settled in when record players and records became commonplace.
I completely agree with you
I sometimes feel overwhelmed when trying to discover new music because of the sheer number of new bands that have gained exposure on the internet. Prior to the digital age, it would have been very difficult to learn about and aquire the music of bands from different countries or regions unless they were very popular. But because of this globalization, I feel less and less that I will ever be able to listen to most of these artists in a true capacity. One person can only listen to so much!
I like exposing myself to music O.o
in answer to the question though, in 2015, I think that there is a lot of mediocrity in music right now. There is plennnnnnty of great music as there always will be too, but too much? i'm not sure, all I can say is that there is definitely soooo much diversity in styles that I often find myself muting a lot of music that i'm turned onto.
prime example: I'm a first listen type of person. that means that I generally know how to feel about an artist after the first listen. at some point I was turned onto a group called Phoenix. I heard one song and was like hmmmm... went home heard the next one, exactly the same, rolled my eyes, on to the next one.
I hate that moreso than ever before, the "mainstream" allows for people to leech from one specific formula for popularity, and then just literally replicate it 80 times over the course of a few albums and never change it whatsoever. Because people aren't asking for more than that. Uneducated musician=uneducated fans=unappreciative listeners=will go their whole life never having heard an outside jazz album, or even Kind of Blue for christs sake=ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
IT"S BORING.
There's a certain thread of this train of thought, that when you start to break down music this way, suddenly it seems like there's an argument that all music is shitty through that lens. That's both true and not true.
Creative edge and sex/popular appeal are two very different things, not mutually exclusive, but if you look at a talentless fraud like Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, John Mayer, Taylor Swift, Hozier, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Sam Smith, etc. etc.
You see a hell of a lot more reasons why they sell records because of sex than because of theoretically impressive music.
I named a lot of artists so hear me out:
I am one who believes in the concept of selling out.
Kid Cudi has a verse that says it best from his song 50 ways to make a record:
He's up inside the club, he likes to lean and rock,
stands around and looks intrigued by what he saw,
Now he asks me,
How he can make hit songs to reach the top,
there must be 50 ways to make a record
50 ways to make a record,
"if you got talent and your soul cannot be bought."
That says it right there: you can be popular and not sell out. or you can be talented and succumb to a paycheck and get lazy as shit.
I don't care if John Mayer is a good guitarist, because I don't get to hear that quality of his on ANY of his studio albums. It's dressed up for a good night of fucking and then asks me if it looks classy, and because it gets attention I can't say no but when the lights go down I'm not going to spend any quality time with his music.
This is the principle of every musician that I named, and hundreds probably thousands more:
BEING a good musician, and NOT actually making good music, are not different things.
Nicki Minaj is *talented* at rapping, but she's a shitty rapper.
I'm so sick of this trend, instead of deciding to get lazy and suckle at the teet of mass culture, fucking pull yourself together and do it for the fucking tunes or the art or something. I realize that most of those people I named are not capable of that. And maybe their fans aren't asking for that.
There is still a lot of good music to be had, the influx and definitive overcrowding of the popular tributary of it however, is OVERRUN with pathetic bullshit.
I guess there's too much in that looking for exciting stuff takes up SO MUCH of my time that I end up neglecting other parts of life (like studying), but I'd never want to change that
4:20
MegaCnlSanders hahaha that's what weed is
the weed number!
It's possible music is just too accessible now, it's devalued.
I don't think it really maters that much. I mean, the people who DO listen to the music that is popular or "mediocre" aren't really aware of how much music there is, and the people who are aware probably listened to this popular mediocrity and didn't really like it BECAUSE of the broadness of their horizons -- they know what's good or bad based on their own opinion as opposed to the mainstream's. By the way, nice Loma Prieta LP.
Our faith
Major labels used to invest in game changers, amazing alternative sounds. Now I feel the 'safe'/ generic sound is what's being pushed heavily. Pushed into everything thus abusing the artform
You feel that way because everyone can speak their own voice thanks to the internet. For free, or without any production/label. Before the internet musicians would have to really "afford" to be out there.
Now people who listen music have to do their own research. Personally as a music nerd I often feel that there not enough music to discover. I need something new and I can't find it. Meaning there's room for new musicians to create what I will like tomorrow.
I can definitely relate to this, I've mostly listened to metal but lately I've been trying to expand my musical horizon but it's kinda hard with this sea of mediocre bands.
YES, there is way too much music and way too many musicians. Almost everyone with a slight interest in music seems to be a musician, producer or DJ of some sort nowadays, and worse of all, it's never been easier to become one. You're either a successful original musician, or you're fighting to be one it seems. It's all a huge disaster.
I agree with you, but what if a person who has been invested to music for a while actually makes good music and has the capability of recording and making an album/LP. Do you think they should just stop, or do you think they should still release it, but release somewhere like soundcloud.
I haven't been keeping up with new artists the last year or so is because it is so medicore. Last album that really wowed me was Nicolas Jaar's Space Is Only Noise.
I don't think that in 20 years time I'll look back and remember one album that defined me at this point the way Stankonia or Nirvana Unplugged in NY do. There is a LOT of really amazing music out there now, many of it that I haven't heard because I'm so bogged down listening to other amazing stuff! I feel like if I sit back and kick it with one particular album that I love so much, I'll be left behind. Too much great music, life is tough.
Two things:
1) It is a great time for amateurs to be prosperous, Because right now people dont care if its good they just want unique authenticity.
2) Also I think theres something to this with all art right now and though it pains me I think its also kind of cool and is the product of intellectual cycles and evolutionary cycles morphing into access to information rather than adaption to surroundings. I'll describe it as this and it has very much risen to prominence "The art of undermining"
I kind of agree with both you and the point made in the movie. While I feel like more variety and choice is always a good thing, it has become incredibly difficult for great artists to get noticed.
@mandomtz not entirely my point. naturally, you're not going to like most of the music that's out there on the internet, however, is that hurting this industry and drowning out great art?
Anthony, once again, I think your videos are brilliant. I sometimes find myself divided about this question, but in the end, it's only my ego that wants "refinement" in music, or for my own tastes to be important or exclusive in some way. It's the part of us that wants separation, for music to belong to a certain group of people, for musicians to be a certain calibre. Instead of accepting the world, we think of how it "should be". But music is for everyone, period, and anyone can play.
I love you, man. And I love the overload of music. I love not knowing what soul-shaking music is still out there for me to discover that was created by some "mediocre" musician. Keep up the great work
Anthony hasn't changed a bit. Love this guy.
Keep doing you man.
I feel it's harder to stand out as well as stay on the radar with new artists coming out all the time. But I think it's a beautiful thing that with new media everyone has shot at being heard.
...which enables us to take all context and concentration out of the music listening experience. Coupled with the ease of access that illegal downloading currently enjoys, music as an industry dies...
The digital intake of media consumption can be overwhelming, and tiring. There are so many artists out there, and good ones, that are not being recognized, unable to breath underneath the heavy layer of meaningless bulk. In this world decomposers never fail to break down it's beauty.
I like there being so much music, because you're always stumbling upon cool new things.
@devonteMdavis i put lil b up there because i think he's one of the reasons there's so much music out there right now. his model functions almost purely off of being prolific.
theneedledrop lil b is stinky
So glad you made this blog...I've been telling people to watch it for a couple weeks now!
Because there is so much music out there, I don't feel like I will ever run out of new artists to discover, I also feel like there are a lot of artists I will never find. This makes music an adventure
At the end of the day, art is more about perspective than craft. Everyone has a unique and valid perspective, and the easier it becomes for individuals to express their perspectives, the richer our cosmic experience as humans becomes, whether this is through music or any other art form. The formal aspects of music such as pitch, key, etc--things we tend to link to "quality"-- are actually secondary, and only serve to contextualize a person's expression in how they are obeyed, transcended, or abandoned.
There has always been a ton of musicians. The internet has just made it easier to discover them. I grew up in a small town with only two/three radiostations that didn't play anything I was to fond of. We didn't have a music scene or any hip people with good records. 25 years ago I would have never heard of any indie bands or even mainstream rap for that matter (lack of radioplay).
I really think it all depends on the listener's view of the sounds they like. For sure, it is important for people to recognize talented musicians, but art is also subjective. It also depends on what you want to get out of music. Most people my sister's age (15) just want music that is accessible and catchy, something they can dance or sing to. Personally, I listen to music to see what's out there and to find music I perceive as beautiful or interesting. I think it is better to have so many musicians so we can go through them and test the waters of what we like and don't like.
Continuing I think the internet supports a more versatile take on music for the individual due to the variety of music and the the sheer size of available music. I also think without it no one [..]
There has always been loads of music BUT accessibility has changed. It feels over-whelming because you can literally sit in the same spot in front of your PC or mac & get the latest, le second its out
What I think this documentary signals about our Chaotic Age is that it'll become a hell of a lot harder for those of us who care to make an impact, though as the internet changes, this might change.
I do love the over-abondance of music.Because no matter what I feel like listening to, I know that there's something hidden somewhere that I haven't heard and that's going to be an amazing listen.
There are too many people trying to be musicians....BUT I believe real talent always shines through in the end.
Depending on your definitions of EDM, there's FlyLo, Anstam, Martyn, Zombi, Burial, Hudson Mohawke, Blawan, Modeselektor...
Don't confuse dubstep and brostep and you'll find a lot.
"too much is never enough" -MTV Slogan 1982
I find so much music that I'm not even sure what I like when I hear it.
well said, Anthony. I agree 100%. I feel that 9 times out of 10 the music/bands I'm reccomended by blogs, hype blogs in particular sucks. It's just an overwhelming saturation of medoctrity.
I don't think there will ever be enough. I think that there were always be a demand to hear something different or something that invokes a certain a feeling that hasn't really been approached before.
@shotgunjoe it's true. i think the documentary was quick to assume most people doing it expected a career out of it, too.
All of these new people give you different types on sounds and ideas, and with it being on the internet now as long as people talk about certain artist you will hear a variety of music.
That's totally up to each individual listener. I think that while there are a great number of musicians out there, listening to what I like and when I get bored with it venturing out into the musical ether is a good system for me.
It's a blessing to be able to find so many musical artists so easily. Saying there's too many musicians is not logical to me. You don't say that for movie producers, painters, poets, writers etc.
I like the variety of music, as it means that I have a song to fit any mood or occasion. However, I know that it can be difficult for smaller musicians to get their work out there, simply because they are a little drowned out.
I follow a couple of labels fairly closely, and they inform my decisions about what to get and who's up and coming(Basick, Earache, Roadrunner mainly) But yeah, too many musicians not getting heard.
Record labels don't guarantee quality but there are way too many musicians. I feel like it's just a side affect of being someone who's actively searching into modern music to feel overwhelmed though.
I think it's a great thing that art is becoming socialized, that its creation isn't just something that a special nobility class of people participate in but really accessible to everyone.
It sucks for classically trained musicians like myself. I can't stand when I meet people who think they're the next "big thing" after only doing music for a week.
I love the fact that I go on onto Spotify, make a few clicks, and listen to a song from a band I don't know. I get to listen to new sounds everyday.
It's never hard to find new music to love. At times, the sheer amount seems daunting. The realization that I'll never listen to as much music as I would like is depressing. However, I'm entirely happy thatg there is always new music to be found.
I think there are waaay too many singers as evident by the thousands of people waiting to enter these singing competition auditions at every city. It's to the point where its a cattle call. Literally anyone can sing and even with limited ability can find sort of niche. So that's why today it's not just about singing but about other things like image. True artists can't shine anymore.
I feel like there is too much music sometimes... I am afraid of all the great music I am missing sometimes... Like there is an album that is completely me that I know nothing about
Its really hard to fall in love with the music nowadays, albums are so cheap, free e.p.'s and mixtapes everywhere, i do get overwhelmed. I don't think there's too much, the rate output is just intense
Ehhh. I don't find it harder to find music I love. There's still lots of awesome music! But sometimes I do feel like there's just too much to handle... but that's sort of a good thing.
I would say the information age provides for more efficient localization of music scenes, whilst seeing to the demise of the international profitable machine we're bombarded with on the radio.
Labels had too much control pre-digital. There is still an obvious threshold in what separates mediocre artists from great artists, simply having more of them hasn't changed this in the slightest.
The best part about the internet is that it always gives me something new. I mean, I'm the guy that loves all music, so it's always a treat to delve into something new, good or bad. But that's just me
Woah, woah, woah, that Offspring album rules.
I don't think there's more music being made nowadays, we're just aware of most of it.
The over saturation of metalcore style bands is at an all time high but this might be a better thing to help push the genre into a new direction. People honestly just get sick of hearing the same sound after a while. However, I am still thankful for all the constantly new music that is readily streamed and easy to find with various places such as needle drop.
There is no "too much." The adventure of discovering new music is an amazing process that's fun and is linked to self-discovery. It's supposed to be a dense world. Otherwise it'd be too easy.
thank you based anthony
white flame is truly a mixtape that will go down in history
I feel overwhelmed a lot. Yea, I listen to a lot of music, but I had to give up reading a lot of books and keeping up with mainstream movies not to mention comics, manga, or art. It's a big give and take with keeping up with media and actually being a productive human being. Hell, podcasts of any major genre take a large amount of time to absorb. As a guy who absorbs music really slowly I can't keep up sometimes.
I think the huge amount of music we're exposed to is a good thing. Just sometimes I wonder what music will define this time period when people look back decades from now.
Sometimes I feel like there might be too much music abound, but then I remember that's the beauty of it all.
there's never enough music
A lot of music requires some time and effort to understand. Sadly the majority won't give most records the benefit of the doubt anymore…
i dont find there to be too much music. i may not wish to explore all of it, but whenever i do feel like exploring, there will be plenty options to explore, there will always be something different to listen to. to run out of new music would be tragic
@Gus20090 also, what happens when mediocre musicians actually start getting really, well, good. it's not like great musicians are just born. people don't come out of the womb playing piano.
i feel like more mediocre music is being accepted.i catch myself asking why i like music i do now, something i never used to do nor felt like i had to maybe music is evolving as well,i am not too sure
I believe that i would have never found many of my favorite bands if it weren't for the internet. Internet has done an amazing thing for bands
agree completely. there is no way to consume all the music out there being released but what you can do is go to places like tnd to sift through what's good and what isn't.
90% of albums you review i don't like. That is to be expected though - and i've always been picky. There is a lot of saturation, but when you find an album you really like, it is gold.
The fact that I'm always going to local New Orleans shows and listening to local punk bands. Its a whole different thing