Things You Love / Hate About the Current Music Industry and Landscape

[redacted statement]

User @iAlwaysSingLive coming through with the threads today. 

 

The good:

• Textless album covers (since you can see the artist and title digitally anyway) - idk, I just like it better that way. 
• Shorter songs and albums (to maximize streams) - there's a lot of albums and songs that I don't listen to as much as I'd want to because they're on the longer side. I prefer albums to be under 45 minutes and songs to be under 4 minutes and 30 seconds long. Also, a lot of artists used to have those super annoyingly long outros and interludes that were part of the songs (for example, Justin Timberlake's discography), bleh.
• Anyone can make it / the rise of indie artists - the power of social media let's up-and-coming artists self-promote and hit it big without the push of a major record label.
• Music is cheaper and much more accessible (due to streaming services) - having the ability to create a 10 000 song library in like an hour and listen to new releases as soon as they come out is a blessing. 

 

The bad:

• Unnecessary and inauthentic remixes (to game the charts) - I just think it's really pathetic, and the remixes usually do nothing for songs in terms of making them any better. The fact that you can record your part at home, send it over e-mail, slap it on to a song and call it a day is ridiculous to me. It makes for really inauthentic and soulless collaborations.
• Annoying bonus tracks (because no one buys CDs, and they have to get the revenue back somehow) - this has always been a thing, but it's annoying AF.
• Droplet singles - I'm an album person.

 

[Roxxy]

16 minutes ago, iAlwaysSingLive said:

Anyone can make it / the rise of indie artists

On the contrary, I don't see this as good. I don't like it. I don't like irrelevant artists because they tend to suck.  of course, i'm not saying everyone is bad. Of course there are some good ones. But let's be real, really, how many really good indie artists are there? Probably only 20% are good. 80% are basic wannabes.

I love that artists are more connected to their fans than ever before - with the help of social media and they're using technology to experiment with giving fans a different kind of experience. I like that.

And I hate streaming. Period. I just hate it. I feel like the experience is not as satisfying as owning music. I don't like the idea of relying on something / someone for your music. Like, imagine if I didn't actually own albums, and Spotify or all of the streaming platforms suddenly disappeared. What am I gonna do then? Right?

[Blackout2006]

The good:

- Hip-hop and rap will be slowly dying this decade (and will probably have a hard death around the mid 2020s)

- 70s-Early 00s techno and synth pop is getting popular and more popular every month. It seems it will be the dominating genre of this decade (hopefully)

- Disco is on a full-set revival this year. Albums like Chromatica and Future nostalgia; and songs like say so and adore you are popularizing and rising the genre.

- Even tho this year sucked bad, 2020 music has been really good and a great improvement 

- Vinyls have become very popular among the music community

- Textless album covers: some album covers (like future nostalgia) don’t need a title, as the album cover speaks for itself. If the album cover is bold and strong enough, it is needn’t of a title. Plus, it adds a alternative twist to the cover.

- Shorter Albums

The Bad:

- Crappy rap and hip-hop music. 

- Under appreciation of albums: the singles are just the starters, the main course is the album. Streaming has made it so easy to just stream a song

- Untalented rappers being hyped-up like as if they are Eminem, Tupac 2.0s 

[FullyDattAndDatt3full]

I personally think that there are many songs that are not very uplifting. There are many depressing negative songs and even negative dance songs. They just don't raise my vibration. I know this might be an unpopular opinion.

[Jordan Miller]

Love love love this topic. Featured on the homepage! @iAlwaysSingLive 

[Jordan Miller]

3 hours ago, iAlwaysSingLive said:

• Anyone can make it / the rise of indie artists - the power of social media let's up-and-coming artists self-promote and hit it big without the push of a major record label.

Yes, but with that means far more competition. So the ones who do "make it" had a lot more noise to breakthrough.

[Jordan Miller]

3 hours ago, iAlwaysSingLive said:

• Textless album covers (since you can see the artist and title digitally anyway) - idk, I just like it better that way. 

Agree! I'm a huge fan of typography so #JusticeForFonts 

[redacted statement]

1 minute ago, Jordan Miller said:

Yes, but with that means far more competition. So the ones who do "make it" had a lot more noise to breakthrough.

That's true. Plus, the industry is very saturated right now, so the rotation of artists is much quicker these days too - they're more disposable (in a way). Double-edged sword. 

3 minutes ago, Jordan Miller said:

Agree! I'm a huge fan of typography so #JusticeForFonts 

Wait, no - I think album covers without text are a good thing. 

[redacted statement]

42 minutes ago, QZeusLiquorQ said:

I personally think that there are many songs that are not very uplifting. There are many depressing negative songs and even negative dance songs. They just don't raise my vibration. I know this might be an unpopular opinion.

It's true, and I've noticed that as well. But a lot of people seem to like it. Everyone is 'depressed' these days, so I guess it's relatable. 

[redacted statement]

1 hour ago, Blackout2006 said:

- Hip-hop and rap will be slowly dying this decade (and will probably have a hard death around the mid 2020s)

I don't think rap music is bad in general, but I agree that a lot of it has become unbearably bad these days. Like, the topics a lot of them rap about are so toxic and dull. 

[redacted statement]

3 hours ago, Roxxy said:

On the contrary, I don't see this as good. I don't like it. I don't like irrelevant artists because they tend to suck.  of course, i'm not saying everyone is bad. Of course there are some good ones. But let's be real, really, how many really good indie artists are there? Probably only 20% are good. 80% are basic wannabes.

I love that artists are more connected to their fans than ever before - with the help of social media and they're using technology to experiment with giving fans a different kind of experience. I like that.

And I hate streaming. Period. I just hate it. I feel like the experience is not as satisfying as owning music. I don't like the idea of relying on something / someone for your music. Like, imagine if I didn't actually own albums, and Spotify or all of the streaming platforms suddenly disappeared. What am I gonna do then? Right?

I respectfully disagree with your first point (as evidenced by my signature). I meant "indie" in the broadest of senses (independent artists too, of course, but that also includes anything that's alternative and not mainstream). There's so many amazing indie pop artists, and not giving someone a chance just because they're "irrelevant" is kind of silly, ngl. 

Do agree with the second point, though. Some people should have their phones taken away (Demi and Iggy), but it's definitely a good thing overall. Wish more singers had YouTube channels. Imagine Britney doing weekly vlogs or something. 

As for streaming, I disagree as well, but I totally see where you're coming from. It's just down to personal preference.  I haven't checked, but I wouldn't be surprised if I had over 1000 albums in my Apple Music library. Often, I just scroll through it and look at the pretty album covers. To me it still feels like a collection even though I don't actually own any of the music. 

[redacted statement]

@Roxxy, don't forget that most critically acclaimed artists and albums are the "irrelevant" ones. Go through any "best albums of 20XX" list and see how many artists you recognize. 

[Shadow.]

I dislike how lazy the industry is now especially pop music. everything is so easily accessible that music isn't really a hard hitting event for me anymore. sure i like some new artists but I haven't really came across anyone that i've been super into what they're doing because it feels like all artists follow the same promo schedule; drop a single/video>album>tour and repeat. also, i don't pay any mind to charts anymore but one thing i noticed is that it seems like there is little to no variety in the styles of music you see on top 40 music. i'm going to sound like "that person" but it literally all sounds the same to me  

i do appreciate how easy it is to find new music and discover genres i maybe wouldn't have paid attention to in the past and i also agree with your point about indie artists, most of them are so much more deserving of success than popular "artists" nowadays 

 

[Roxxy]

1 hour ago, iAlwaysSingLive said:

Often, I just scroll through it and look at the pretty album covers. To me it still feels like a collection even though I don't actually own any of the music. 

I FRIGGIN RELATE TO THIS.

That is ME to a T. Looking at all of the album covers.  I feel so proud everytime I go through them.  Like, "Roxxy gurlll... you did good."  But it is important to me to have them. I have this weird fear of always preparing for an apocalypse or for whatever. I have Netflix and stuff but I still download movies and series and keep them saved on a harddrive for emergencies like a calamity or a catastrophe or nuclear bomb exploding or a government shutdown or a coup d'état - and internet won't be available for an hour or two or for a whole month, like I have to have entertainment stuff prepared not just for me but for people / anyone, so we can all survive the apocalypse. It applies to music as well. I'm paranoid like that. I always want to be prepared.

[Towelney]

6 hours ago, Roxxy said:

And I hate streaming. Period. I just hate it. I feel like the experience is not as satisfying as owning music. I don't like the idea of relying on something / someone for your music. Like, imagine if I didn't actually own albums, and Spotify or all of the streaming platforms suddenly disappeared. What am I gonna do then? Right?

I don’t really have an issue with streaming. Actually, the first album I bought was “Future Nostalgia.” 

[Roxxy]

18 minutes ago, Towelney said:

Actually, the first album I bought was “Future Nostalgia.”

Thank you for the sales. 

[Isla]

I think my main gripe is the fact that the current climate doesn’t really allow rock bands to chart as well as they used to.

Also not a fan of SoundCloud/mumble rappers.

[Spicechinodiva]

Two things.

 

I see CD's joining vinyl and cassette tapes as just collector's items.

 

Eventually the target exclusive will stop, like nobody is even bothering to buy the lady gaga exclusive to get the bonus tracks. It will stop, cos the money isn't there anymore.

 

I do see spotify eventually becoming paid only. 

 

Literally everything they said they were against Streaming exclusives, Unlimited library,  Podcasts and such. They all turned around and embraced them.

 

They will embrace a paid only version to. 

 

I see Albums that we grew up with getting remastered and expanded.

 

I also see artists who are blueprints like Madonna, Janet, etc. When they die, I doubt people will embrace. It's already evident that the current generation don't care for the artists before their time. 

[Stefani]

Pretty much everything. In particular, I hate streaming. I yearn for the days when iTunes used to be relevant, not like now where a song can top iTunes for almost a whole week and still not make the BB Hot 100 if it doesn't have a ton of streaming points to go along with it.

I also hate how easy it is for songs to debut at #1, especially in the case of songs that involve a washed up artist clinging to a more relevant artist for a hit (you know specifically who I'm talking about).  Remixes should also not count towards the charts. It's been a problem for ages, but Billboard refuses to put an end to such cheap tactics. 

[redacted statement]

3 hours ago, Stefani said:

Pretty much everything. In particular, I hate streaming. I yearn for the days when iTunes used to be relevant, not like now where a song can top iTunes for almost a whole week and still not make the BB Hot 100 if it doesn't have a ton of streaming points to go along with it.

Remixes should count as separate songs, period.  I don't see why iTunes should dictate anything, though. I mean, the sales on iTunes are pitiful, and the charts are supposed to reflect what's popular. And what reflects what's popular? Right, streaming.