The sad state of music today

The music scene is dead.

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The music scene is dead.

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Unfortunately is correct. Music is garbage today, and it honestly has been for a while.

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if you listen to outdated boring musicians .... you should expect crappy music and shite-filled live performances

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Good music rises. There isn't anything to rise.

Every time someone points me to the depths of what's left of the indie scene, I usually just find a tired mimic of a time when music mattered. It doesn't anymore. It has been reduced to a commodity and those who still struggle to make something of themselves in it suffer from no guidance and too much convenience.

Hip-hop and its terrible offshoots have dominated music for the better part of three decades. That's just sad.

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I usually just find a tired mimic of a time when music mattered.

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That's because we don't have a monoculture anymore. Social media and the streaming revolution broke the old engine for how stars were created. There being a finite number of channels and radio stations, with limited options to "re-listen" or "re-watch" live broadcasts, it meant that even if you weren't a fan of a given genre, the biggest stars of each main genre were known to the overwhelming majority of the population. Even if you never listened to rock music, you knew who Kurt Cobain was. Even if you hated rap, you knew who Biggie and Tupac were. You could be a country music baw, but you'd still know all of the words to "I Want It That Way" by The Backstreet Boys. The biggest stars were heard by everyone, not just the fans of their own genre.

The monoculture was destroyed in the late 2000's. As such, the ability of the big record labels to create new superstars that everyone knows became severely diminished. Everyone is subdivided into their own little subculture bubbles, and those bubbles don't really interact with one-another. You can become a star in your bubble while being completely unknown outside of it.

For example, XXXTentacion and Lil Pump were HUGE in their scene, but most people in the U.S. still had no idea who they were because they didn't listen to the same genre. Hot Mulligan is the hottest new band in their bubble, but someone who doesn't listen to punk and emo would never know who they are and never hear their songs.

The big stars that command the big money at arena shows and headline festivals like Coachella are the last remnants of the mono-culture. Acts like Paramore, MCR, Drake, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Katy Perry, etc are the ones commanding those prices because they are the last generation of true pop culture superstars.

I mean, the closest thing the "new" machine has been able to create to a genre-crossing "superstar" since the death of the monoculture is Lizzo or maybe Doja Cat. Even then, it's extremely easy to never ever hear them or their music.

A lot of those aging superstars are still awesome, but a lot of them have gotten complacent and boring.

This lack of the ability to make superstars has had a major chilling effect on the ability to create new innovative genres. The big transitions in what was popular was mostly driven by these big, larger than life charismatic bands coming in like a meteor and destroying what came before. However, the acts of the past basically can't be killed now because there is no engine by which the next generation music can kill the dinosaur. Instead, bands are basically being corralled into the same subgenre boxes that people are being corralled into. Anything that doesn't fit in the box simply is never heard.

This results in stagnation because every band is trying to appeal to some sort of niche that was created decades ago. There are some truly incredible songwriters and musicians operating right now, but the envelope-pushers aren't being rewarded for it.

Harry Styles was part of One Direction. One Direction blew up at the very end of the mono-culture as well. They might, legitimately have been the very last monoculture band.

Tell me again why we want superstars?

There is a lot of good music being made today. You just won’t find it on radio or tv and you have to hunt for it. It’s out there.

Crown Lands- Context: Fearless Pt. I

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Because without new superstars, music has no ability to drive pop culture, innovate, or create distinctive soundtracks to history.

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Like I thought, no reason.

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boomers and gen-xers on the internet will endlessly gripe about how all new music sux while never listening to anything except classic rock fm radio.

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Who the frick cares? Oh, you do.

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Without the ability to create superstars, record labels become incredibly risk averse when it comes to locating and investing in rising talent. As such, talent that could have become inspirational and leave an indelible mark has to do all of it themselves.

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Sounds like corporate label speak.

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Sounds like corporate label speak.

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It’s both good and bad for artists. In the past, artists struggled to get noticed by labels, who would then take over the business side of things so the artists could focus on performing and songwriting.

Today, artists can, and must, do everything themselves. They can’t just write, record, and perform music. They need to put out multiple short form videos PER DAY, they have to be their own blogger, videographer, sketch comedian, tour manager, booking manager, graphic designer, merchandiser, etc while spending literally hours per day on social media interacting with fans and chasing down networking contacts to grow their followings and give them opportunities to succeed.

As a musician in a crappy little local band, I probably spend 5 times as much time on things that have nothing to do with practicing, writing, or performing music for my bands as I do on those core functions.

It’s sorta like how back in the old days, household chores were so time-intensive that one needed a spouse at home just to maintain it. Over time, as technology reduced the amount of time and effort required to get all those chores done, we started seeing dual income homes. People could have a job and maintain their home, but that didn’t mean that they actually worked less or even really came out ahead financially. It just meant they now had a lot more jobs to do and were less focused on what once was their core business.

I wish I was good enough that I made enough money from music to pay good people to do all of the jobs that I have to struggle through doing just to keep what little I aspire to going.

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labels, who would then take over the business side of things so the artists could focus on performing and songwriting.

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in other words, come up with ways to rip you off.

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Today, artists can, and must, do everything themselves.

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