Do the young people of today realize they are being sold a " bill of goods" by the music industry?

Question

It isn't necessary for people to accept the poor quality of music (?) being produced today. In the last ten years, the quality of top 40 music, rock and roll, whatever genre you want to call it, has steadily deteriorated. I want to be able to listen to good music on the radio again, don't you? I know you people have strong feelings about this, so let me know how you feel. And, please, let's have decent, intelligent responses to this.

I am inviting everybody to revisit this question someday to read my comments after the vote.

Answer 1

hey, i agree. yes... good music is a matter of opinion, but quality isnt. ive always thought that MTV ruined music. after it was introduced, the appearance of the band/artist became more important than their musicianship. if its quality music youre looking for, you usually need to go back a few decades and especially avoid the pop charts. those tunes rotate through like nothing because their shallow and mean nothing. with pop its all about the image.

about the radio... im lucky i guess in that i have a few classic rock stations that i can tune into. dont get me wrong... i also like new rock too. its just that the old stuff will never be matched again. take care.

college student, age 20.

Answer 2

I'm not too sure what this has to do with us being sold a "bill of goods"...but I definately agree, music has deteriorated.

I am particularly tired of musicians "paying tribute", or "sampling" songs over and over again. Not only of older material, but some of these people are sampling THEMSELVES, a different song on the same CD. How ridiculous can you get?

And when it comes to modern hip hop, does it not tell you something about how everything sounds the same when the majority of rappers feel the need to identify themselves by name 3-4 times in each song? Not to mention all the 'featuring' songs where they're trying to appeal to as big a crossover as possible by mixing people together that have no business doing a song together (Hello? Linkin Park and Jay-Z?)

I'm sorry..I work in the music industry because I love the music, and occasionally a new song will catch my ear, but courtesy of the readio stations playing it 23 times in a day, I get sick of it within a week. I miss the days when all the DJs picked their music and were just bribed or threatended into playing stuff!!

Answer 3

while "good" is something that everyone needs to decide for themselves, i understand what you're saying. music is force fed to the masses and they're told what to think is popular and what to buy based on trends and whats fashionable at the moment.

BUT, this is nothing new. in the 90's there were a handful of "grunge" or "alternative" bands that started a chain reaction of copycats that werent the real deal. this also happened in the 80's with the "hair metal" bands. many of the first were truly into what they were doing, then they were followd by a lot of ppl that just wanted to follow the trends. in the 70's there were the "corporate rock" bands, and in the 60's almost ALL the groups were formulaic as well.

so, while i agree that a lot of the stuff out there now isnt worth listening to, the process is really the same as its always been.

Answer 4

What are you ranting about?

Music from 40 years ago and beyond is of the same quality as today's music.

Great music and poor music is being produced today.

Yes, we seem to have a lot more pop music stars, but we don't have to listen to them.

I personally like jazz and classical and can say there are many new artists making good music in these genres TODAY!

Answer 5

The radio stations that air free programming are such a minute sampling of what is available.
Their programming is based largely on the materials or artists that bring in the most money in sales, which supposedly translates to most popular. I do not think that radio stations are dictating to us, what should be popular, as they are in competition with other stations for ratings, but I do think that the spectrum of choices is limited.
My suggestion to you is to try another outlet for your musical entertainment! Satellite radio, cd's, or Ipods. Otherwise you are doomed to listen to whatever is marketed toward the folks who are spending their hard earned dough on what you consider poor quality music!

Answer 6

Realize? Of course, all of us old people have benn telling 'em for years.

Care? That's another thing altogether.

It's really difficult to argue with someone else's diminished expectations (and a world market making obscene piles of money feeding into those exact expectations), but it doesn't really matter as long as those expectations are met. My dad was a jazz musician, and hated rock as "Unschooled & ignorant". Did I care? Not at all - I liked what I liked, regardless of the artist's years of study.

Answer 7

No matter where i am, i always enjoy listening to the the Jo Wiley show on BBC radio Uk. It has a mix of new and old tracks that is to my taste. I like a lot of the bbc presenters like sara cox and Zane too. Depends on what mood or style i want to listen to at the moment.

Answer 8

"Good music" is subjective.

If you were an executive of a major label we'd still have to put up with the crap music that you "think" is "quality." I don't want to listen to your trashy idea of "good music" any more than any other guy's.

Furthermore, there is no ethical requirement demanding the industry to preserve musical nostalgia. The bottom line goal is to make money - deal with it!

Cry me a river!

Answer 9

I doubt the young people of today realize much of anything past thier own lusts and pathetic desires.