Interestingly enough, I just debated someone on this topic at my job. I was born in the late mid 70's so I had a chance to experience the last great decade for radio hits, which was an awesome time to be alive. Originally, labels, although some were shady, were looking for musicians that stood apart from others. Going into the 90's, the labels settled for a sure bet on sound alike "Boy Bands" to appeal to teenage girls who's minds were impressionable & not familiar with quality music. The Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and 98 Degrees were just a few of the groups who were being pushed by corporate greed at these labels. From that time on, things really have gotten worse. The pros are you don't need a label to be a musician. The cons are you now can start a music career on a blanket platform without any criticism from professionals. The debate I had with my coworker is his theory is the "music" industry is better because more people are able to make music now. I'm in disagreement because I lived through 80's, and I know better, and I can't be dumbed down,which when it comes right down to it, there's a difference between a musician & a entertainmener who's really a personality. Yes, you're, right hurry up & bring back the 80's. It was a great time to be alive. Keep up the good work.👍
To be fair, we still have a music industry today, it is just not the same as it was before and before that. What has died is the quality of music due to so many factors. But one should not only look at the billboard charts with songs that are a copy of a copy and so on. There is still decent music around in other parts of the world but no labels are anymore willing to pay and put a band for a month in a studio to make a concept album, to write a story or to become creative. Only big artists can do that today, with very mixed outcome. And more, the listeners have been trained by the streaming platforms to decide if they like a song, and that is single not an album, in 10 seconds. There are not many people out there that are still willing to listen to a 5 min song, with an intro, and outro, hook, chorus, bridge, etc. It is also our hasty society that killed music and every artist is trying to make a buck within that broken system. Doesn't matter if it sounds shit as long as it streams. Billy Joel once said after he had hooked up with a bad producer and signed a bad deal: What is a producer? Everyone seems to be a producer but what does a producer do? He produces ... well producers.
I'm glad that the title is "The Day the Music Industry Died" because there's still so much good music out there, you just have look harder than you used to.
Which is what the POWERS THAT BE are counting on, for the average listener to work to find good music. Thats not how we grew up, and its not a good thing...look at our society today
@@DuJuanElliottMusic A hundred years ago you heard the music that a few guys were playing in your own town or you turned on the radio and listened to whatever some Soap Manufacturer thought was ok for you to hear. I think the period from the 60s -the 90s when everybody had so much art just there and 'free' to appreciate, will be seen in the future as an anomaly. I hope I'm wrong.
Meh. The industry began to die when recording companies merged into conglomerates where they no longer fostered talent but were interested in collecting artist's IP via lopsided contracts and forcing them to work with writing teams & engineers who relied heavily on formulaic songs and computer technology to edit those songs (pitch correction, time editing, auto-tune). That conglomerate not only had the industry on lockdown (everything from recording & mastering to distribution, shelf-space & airplay - to include "payola") but they also owned CD manufacturing plants which reduced the overhead drastically. Which wasn't enough because they decided to gouge the consumer not only with faux-inflated retail prices but with a price fixing scandal from '95 -2000 along with the abolition of the return policy nationwide. Dubbing had absolutely nothing to do with its demise. The supreme court already ruled that recording (on VHS) for personal use did not constitute copyright infringment, so, it was quite a stretch to suggest that CD dubbing /ripping would be any different. Ultimately, It was the conglomerate's unwillingness to re-invest into the business and the production of subpar, formulaic & trendy music that the consumer was tired of getting ripped off for.
This is why I am fascinated by music that was actually happening in this era because it is hard to find. Now we have you tube and other social media platforms to catch innovative stuff that may fall in between genres. There was (and is) brilliant and interesting music that was made that will blow our minds and we can't find it. A more popular example of music that did not fit the homogenized radio situation back then is the NY band "Screaming Headless Torsos" Amazing Rap Jazz Rock Funk Reggae and whatever they can get their hands on band that even had a MTV video to start but we missed them here. They did find an audience in other countries and have a devout if very small fan base of those of us that managed to catch their fire. But there must be other things out there just sitting on a shelf waiting to be discovered.
I agree even though it makes me sound like an old fart. There is still great music now too, but the 90’s were the end of consistent great music that lasts for decades and decades.
What makes it crazy though is THE POWERS THAT BE suppress the quality music from getting to the masses. And we both know as musicians, WE ARE THE VEINS OF SOCIETY
Please excuse the longwinded reply here, I know it's a lot to read. The 'music' never dies. It's up to humans, or any living advanced intelligent being, with a developing or developed culture, society, etc AND an atmosphere where a living intelligent being(s) can create music and harness it from the ether. I know that sounds cosmic, but it's true. Music is eternal as long as there's a planet to channel it. Music is ethereal. Now, what truly happened is that the ABILITY TO CREATE GREAT MUSIC MOSTLY DIED. There are still musicians, there are still bands, very talented human beings creating music to IT'S FULL POTENTIAL. Specifically in OUR popular culture high quality produced popular music, died, but not entirely. Speaking in absolutes like that are only emotional trigger engagement tactics in social media and other media outlets. It's borderline sensationalist really. But what has truly happened is that great popular music has been destroyed, maimed, disrespected, exploited by many whom have NO interest in music, in art, or have artistic ability, which comes from where music comes from. The pursuit in making what I've been calling it since this took over in popular music; 'half music' is based on the ardent pursuit of extreme wealth, product sponsorship and or brand creation, and overall a pursuit of the lascivious hedonist lifestyle of extreme wealth and popularity. All that WILL come crashing down as we now see. We may now be in the midst of the destruction of detrimental genre's that have pulled down and destroyed popular music. It's a multi-factored problem. It overshadows and replaces great talent, many overlooked, dropped by labels, etc. The collapse of music and who has a hand in it is not only radio programmers in conglomerate entities but music manufacturers, even the destruction of teaching, learning music in public school systems. Of which, actually develops intelligence for students to succeed in higher education even if they do NOT pursue a career in music. The removal of music not only from public schools but from family structures onto more affluent families, is a major contributor to this problem. No more garage bands. No more kids really dedicated to their instruments, woodshedding, there are NOW so many distractions. Families of a humble background have no money for a full drumset, nor the room for instruments, they are LUXURIES. So only the wealthy can have access to music instruments, studio grade gear, laptops, DAWs, studio rehearsals, lessons, you name it. The overall economy, living paycheck to paycheck, the majority of parents want "real careers" or trade work for their children, not crazy pop star dreams. And they KNOW that the rich are the ones now making pop stars out of their kids. So it's a kind of banana republic like extremes of those that can and those that can't. It's sounds harsh. But it get's harsher. Popular music started to go down the toilet in the MID to late 80s, not 90s. Beano suggests that it was post Grunge. No, grunge was part of the problem. Those that glorified detrimental genre's are also to blame in the music industry. But we cannot forget not only of course record labels, conglomerates in radio, and music, but also recording studios, and as I noted, music manufacturer's, and including BIG TECH. The public, the music buying public, many conditioned to support the destruction of music because they also wanted the lifestyle. Now it's a house of cards. Finally. We may be seeing a shift in the paradigm where music can now be channeled in it's fullest potential. We'll see.
The end of Grunge, and when Hip Hop stopped using real voices and started using the same computer driven songwriters that didn't need real musicians and instruments. DJ's stopped playing their own tunes and radio stations went corporate with the same mixes. There has been very little real spirit in the music. Most of it sounds like the same nonsense with an occasional good groove. DJ's were artists in their own right. All of that is gone.
Interestingly enough, I just debated someone on this topic at my job. I was born in the late mid 70's so I had a chance to experience the last great decade for radio hits, which was an awesome time to be alive. Originally, labels, although some were shady, were looking for musicians that stood apart from others. Going into the 90's, the labels settled for a sure bet on sound alike "Boy Bands" to appeal to teenage girls who's minds were impressionable & not familiar with quality music. The Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and 98 Degrees were just a few of the groups who were being pushed by corporate greed at these labels. From that time on, things really have gotten worse. The pros are you don't need a label to be a musician. The cons are you now can start a music career on a blanket platform without any criticism from professionals. The debate I had with my coworker is his theory is the "music" industry is better because more people are able to make music now. I'm in disagreement because I lived through 80's, and I know better, and I can't be dumbed down,which when it comes right down to it, there's a difference between a musician & a entertainmener who's really a personality. Yes, you're, right hurry up & bring back the 80's. It was a great time to be alive. Keep up the good work.👍
You are spot on my brother! I'm a seventies baby as well ,and I feel your pain these days. Thanks for that awesome insight!🙏
To be fair, we still have a music industry today, it is just not the same as it was before and before that. What has died is the quality of music due to so many factors. But one should not only look at the billboard charts with songs that are a copy of a copy and so on. There is still decent music around in other parts of the world but no labels are anymore willing to pay and put a band for a month in a studio to make a concept album, to write a story or to become creative. Only big artists can do that today, with very mixed outcome. And more, the listeners have been trained by the streaming platforms to decide if they like a song, and that is single not an album, in 10 seconds. There are not many people out there that are still willing to listen to a 5 min song, with an intro, and outro, hook, chorus, bridge, etc. It is also our hasty society that killed music and every artist is trying to make a buck within that broken system. Doesn't matter if it sounds shit as long as it streams. Billy Joel once said after he had hooked up with a bad producer and signed a bad deal: What is a producer? Everyone seems to be a producer but what does a producer do? He produces ... well producers.
I'm glad that the title is "The Day the Music Industry Died" because there's still so much good music out there, you just have look harder than you used to.
Which is what the POWERS THAT BE are counting on, for the average listener to work to find good music. Thats not how we grew up, and its not a good thing...look at our society today
@@DuJuanElliottMusic A hundred years ago you heard the music that a few guys were playing in your own town or you turned on the radio and listened to whatever some Soap Manufacturer thought was ok for you to hear.
I think the period from the 60s -the 90s when everybody had so much art just there and 'free' to appreciate, will be seen in the future as an anomaly. I hope I'm wrong.
The music industry began dying with the development of CD's with songs capable of being ripped, downloaded and shared on home PC's.
Meh. The industry began to die when recording companies merged into conglomerates where they no longer fostered talent but were interested in collecting artist's IP via lopsided contracts and forcing them to work with writing teams & engineers who relied heavily on formulaic songs and computer technology to edit those songs (pitch correction, time editing, auto-tune). That conglomerate not only had the industry on lockdown (everything from recording & mastering to distribution, shelf-space & airplay - to include "payola") but they also owned CD manufacturing plants which reduced the overhead drastically. Which wasn't enough because they decided to gouge the consumer not only with faux-inflated retail prices but with a price fixing scandal from '95 -2000 along with the abolition of the return policy nationwide.
Dubbing had absolutely nothing to do with its demise. The supreme court already ruled that recording (on VHS) for personal use did not constitute copyright infringment, so, it was quite a stretch to suggest that CD dubbing /ripping would be any different. Ultimately, It was the conglomerate's unwillingness to re-invest into the business and the production of subpar, formulaic & trendy music that the consumer was tired of getting ripped off for.
Facts
A friend of mine identified the moment of death in the UK charts was the Jive Bunny and the mastermixers No1.
This is why I am fascinated by music that was actually happening in this era because it is hard to find. Now we have you tube and other social media platforms to catch innovative stuff that may fall in between genres. There was (and is) brilliant and interesting music that was made that will blow our minds and we can't find it. A more popular example of music that did not fit the homogenized radio situation back then is the NY band "Screaming Headless Torsos" Amazing Rap Jazz Rock Funk Reggae and whatever they can get their hands on band that even had a MTV video to start but we missed them here. They did find an audience in other countries and have a devout if very small fan base of those of us that managed to catch their fire. But there must be other things out there just sitting on a shelf waiting to be discovered.
Thats what musicians such as myself do and have done for years now, and thats go over seas to where they still value real quality music
I agree even though it makes me sound like an old fart. There is still great music now too, but the 90’s were the end of consistent great music that lasts for decades and decades.
What makes it crazy though is THE POWERS THAT BE suppress the quality music from getting to the masses. And we both know as musicians, WE ARE THE VEINS OF SOCIETY
How would you know when the music since then haven't had decades to be able to endure yet
@@caleb281 45 isn’t old enough yet?
The art of songwriting disappeared. Forever. It's that simple.
I agree, today..especially in pop music, its mostly word salad
@@DuJuanElliottMusic the main word being "I"
Bollocks your just NOT listening it’s still out there you are NOT looking hard enough…Lucy Spraggan, Rhodes, Haevn, Hollow Coves….just to name 4
@@RogerMelodicMusic sorry I was talking about 'songs' 🤣
Please excuse the longwinded reply here, I know it's a lot to read.
The 'music' never dies. It's up to humans, or any living advanced intelligent being, with a developing or developed culture, society, etc AND an atmosphere where a living intelligent being(s) can create music and harness it from the ether. I know that sounds cosmic, but it's true. Music is eternal as long as there's a planet to channel it. Music is ethereal.
Now, what truly happened is that the ABILITY TO CREATE GREAT MUSIC MOSTLY DIED. There are still musicians, there are still bands, very talented human beings creating music to IT'S FULL POTENTIAL. Specifically in OUR popular culture high quality produced popular music, died, but not entirely.
Speaking in absolutes like that are only emotional trigger engagement tactics in social media and other media outlets. It's borderline sensationalist really. But what has truly happened is that great popular music has been destroyed, maimed, disrespected, exploited by many whom have NO interest in music, in art, or have artistic ability, which comes from where music comes from.
The pursuit in making what I've been calling it since this took over in popular music; 'half music' is based on the ardent pursuit of extreme wealth, product sponsorship and or brand creation, and overall a pursuit of the lascivious hedonist lifestyle of extreme wealth and popularity. All that WILL come crashing down as we now see. We may now be in the midst of the destruction of detrimental genre's that have pulled down and destroyed popular music.
It's a multi-factored problem. It overshadows and replaces great talent, many overlooked, dropped by labels, etc. The collapse of music and who has a hand in it is not only radio programmers in conglomerate entities but music manufacturers, even the destruction of teaching, learning music in public school systems. Of which, actually develops intelligence for students to succeed in higher education even if they do NOT pursue a career in music.
The removal of music not only from public schools but from family structures onto more affluent families, is a major contributor to this problem. No more garage bands. No more kids really dedicated to their instruments, woodshedding, there are NOW so many distractions. Families of a humble background have no money for a full drumset, nor the room for instruments, they are LUXURIES. So only the wealthy can have access to music instruments, studio grade gear, laptops, DAWs, studio rehearsals, lessons, you name it. The overall economy, living paycheck to paycheck, the majority of parents want "real careers" or trade work for their children, not crazy pop star dreams. And they KNOW that the rich are the ones now making pop stars out of their kids.
So it's a kind of banana republic like extremes of those that can and those that can't. It's sounds harsh. But it get's harsher. Popular music started to go down the toilet in the MID to late 80s, not 90s. Beano suggests that it was post Grunge. No, grunge was part of the problem. Those that glorified detrimental genre's are also to blame in the music industry.
But we cannot forget not only of course record labels, conglomerates in radio, and music, but also recording studios, and as I noted, music manufacturer's, and including BIG TECH. The public, the music buying public, many conditioned to support the destruction of music because they also wanted the lifestyle. Now it's a house of cards. Finally. We may be seeing a shift in the paradigm where music can now be channeled in it's fullest potential. We'll see.
The end of Grunge, and when Hip Hop stopped using real voices and started using the same computer driven songwriters that didn't need real musicians and instruments.
DJ's stopped playing their own tunes and radio stations went corporate with the same mixes.
There has been very little real spirit in the music.
Most of it sounds like the same nonsense with an occasional good groove.
DJ's were artists in their own right.
All of that is gone.
@drvee1983 this is true 👍
1988 after BAD for me.
truly authentic music went away after the 80s for sure