Mainstream music, a joke?

Just found this.. now I'm worried.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAsse4Fui4E&feature=related"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAsse4Fui4E&feature=related

 

Electronic dance music or EDM is beginning to emerge into mainstream music, which in my opinion is great and hopefully soon there will be some changes made to what is being frequently broadcast over the radio.

Today's definition of mainstream music is more often than not terrible hip hop or dance tracks consisting of a generic backbeat and a cheap synth pad (or a sample from an existing song) complete with singers/rappers (or what they'd LIKE to call themselves) bitching about partying, fortune and sex, and you wonder why our younger generation are growing up so fast and striving to be what is now considered 'cool'.

Eventually this type of music WILL get played so damn much that it will eventually run itself into the ground. Unfortunately, these particular genres and styles of music have now shaped mainstream music which is one of the reasons why it is so difficult for small bands or artists to emerge into the industry and receive recognition for their work.

Also look at the development of technology and the target market for that technology. When Tapes were made Vinyl was out, when CD's were made Tapes were out, when computers and file sharing came into existence which made it easier for us to get our hands on the music we wanted WHEN we wanted it, what happened to CD's? Sure, they still have record stores and CD/DVD stores but technology is outsmarting this method of distribution.

And what is the common age bracket for internet users? Younger or older people? Would you find men and women who grew up in the 1950's or 60's surfing the web or Itunes for music more often than you would find a younger person surfing Itunes or the web for music? It's pretty obvious, I spent my last year in college TYPING and SURFING the web in order to complete research assignments, screw books - same thing.

Back to mainstream music..When a song is made to be catchy and repetitive with a banging backbeat that will get a YOUNGER audience up and moving or walking down the street and finding it's stuck in their head there's a high chance it's gonna get brought up in conversation or better yet it's gonna grow on someone that listens to it for the first time.

Take that annoying "shots" song for example. Why does everyone know it? Cuz all that damn LMFAO band shout repeatedly in the song is "SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS!" complete with the 'bangin' backbeat' I was just talking about. The younger gen are bound to get up and dance to this track esp. when the majority of an outgoing, social teenagers life is based on clubbing and 'partying'.

Back to technology, technology is growing with new generations which is why younger people are more often than not found using it as oppose to older people. Computer > Internet > File Sharing > Target Audience > Younger people. When LMFAO gets over a million hits on YouTube and is shared all over the internet and played on the radio and on MTV and has received alot of attention it is bound to get up there with all the charts and of course what we are calling all the 'mainstream' music.

Furthermore, remember as decades go by styles/genres come in and styles/genres go out. Maybe in another 20 years music will be made up of nothing but electro house, dubstep and the occasional rock song + many 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's tracks played on other stations so older generations can 'reminisce' or still 'enjoy' listening to the radio. Music may have lost its soul and also its passion but sometimes it all comes down to the fact that it SELLS and gets ATTENTION from not just one person but thousands or even millions.

I could agree with you and say yes, it is a joke. But no one's gonna listen to me, no one's gonna change what they play on the radio for one person against a million others who are digging the music that I dislike. And think about this too, what you grew up on is what shaped you and your life, so of course you're not gonna dig modern music as much as others may dig it. Even I myself, am passionate about my music and would much rather hear something else on the radio but it's just something we have to put up with until someone puts out a killer track that sends mainstream music down another street...

 

oh ive heard of this 'genre'...

i wonder who goes to their concerts

 

Cheers! I have often thought about that...bands that start out and have wicked albums, only to turn to what sells, losing the path to creative freedom they could of gone to...I have to wonder if they're still as happy making music after all the "business" side of it. I like to make music, for myself, and others that appreciate it.

 

It really wouldnt be fair for me to comment on this music today- - I dont listen to enuff of it to call it a joke>> but I cant even begin to compare it to the sounds and artists from my era- -

 

yeah man interpol are epic and much better than a lot of these so called 'amazing' old bands

 

It's costs the average record label three to four hundred thousand dollars just to launch a new artist, a lot of that going to pay off radio stations. The average radio listener will just take what's spoon-fed to them by the marketing-driven playlists. When Madonna signed with Live Nation, that solidified the new paradigm shift. The labels are dead and therefore so is the path they once provided. The new model is complete independence with the artist at the center of the wheel and the spokes being merchandising, fanbase, catalog, social media, concerts, etc and they all have to work together to make the wheel go around. The biggest irony and hurdle being you still need a hit single to jump to that next level and that brings us back to the radio.

 

sorry, man, just needed a rant.

 

I knew some folks into pornogrind and I always thought it was crap but that's pretty much the point. Those type of people take pride in how non-musical it is.

In regards to this topic, I just avoid the radio and all music TV as much as I can. The mainstream doesn't give a shit about real songwriting, they don't care about skilled musicianship. All they want is something they can read in the tabloids and a soundtrack to go along with it. I mainly just listen to metal and old school rock so mainstream acceptance doesn't happen with all the bands I listen to but the 70's and 80's were somewhat kind to the music I like but that went downhill in the very late 80's with the rise of third tier glam bands. Grunge, for lack of a better term, wasn't much better. Alice in Chains are the only band I liked out of it and if they weren't from Washington, no one would ever call them that. IMO, they are the last good mainstream rock band. After "grunge" got phased out, what began to pass as Rock just got more watered down and castrated for the rest of the 90's and 00's. At this point, it seems as though Rock has fallen out of fashion and I don't mean Green Day or whatever, that's pop music. Luckily, there's the underground and there's still good stuff out there today but you have to really dig for it. I'm sure that applies with all music. I will admit, it would be nice if quality bands could sell out a potsmoke filled arena and go over the top like they use to.

 

Mainstream music is shit because it's about reaching the lowest common denominator.

On the other hand, there's all sorts of music available online so it's not like it's being shoved down your throat anymore.

On the other hand, I can't think of too much rock or pop music that isn't a lot of bullshit anyways.

 

I don't really give much thought to mainstream popular music as I avoid the t.v and the crappy stations on the radio. But there is a lot of good older stuff and even good recent stuff availible today, you just have to dig for the good new music.

 

Its not a very funny one, but it sure does appear to be some kinda sick joke.

 

i'm just glad that there are places like H.F. where people like yourselves can sit and talk about the music scene like youre doing here. It opens ears and minds to many different forms of music...you all have turned me on to some things that i never would have heard about otherwise...so keep talkin' and thank you...

 

In my opinion most of modern music, especially mainstream one, lacks the soul and passion that once was mandatory for a song to break through. Now big music corporations just release a shitton of shit just to keep the $$$ rolling. They promote theyr crap on the radios, because well, they own the radio stations . And since almost half of the world listens to radio while driving to work, they plant theyr crappy music inside people heads, because they make the songs real catchy. If you have only been exposed to modern mainstream music, then you arent able to expect that there is something better out there. Sure there are some songs (1 song of 500) that actually is worth listening to.

 

Yes... But I'm not laughing.

 

The OP is right. Mainstream music is a joke, and it's because record labels and CEO's only care about the money and the return on their investment, they don't care about the music, talent, emotion, none of that

Thank God the internet is here and we have indie music which is changing the whole game and has basically made record labels and Corporate white-collars obsolete.

Indie artists can now get their music directly to the fan without "the middle man"

Support the indie scene..support real passionate music

I am a indie musician myself, here is a link to my work

www.majesticmastermind.tumblr.com

 

fuck the modern day corporate music industry

 

It seems all kinds of music is appreciated in one form or another. Not all the stuff on the radio is bad, just 90% of it lol

 

Indeed..... FUCK EVERYTHING MODERN!!!!!

ITS ALL FUCKING GARBAGE TODAY!!!! (flat screen TVs,etc)

 

There's never been a time when "mainstream corporate music" or whatever the hell you want to call wasn't crap. Most people don't particularly care too much about music, they just want something to dance to, play in the background, whatever. Are radio stations crappier than they use to be? Yeah probably with the consolidation of them, but it's irrelevant over the fact the internet has opened up the possibility for a person to listen to far, far, far more types of music than independent radio stations were ever able to provide.