Music General : Why Is New Music Dying?

Why Is New Music Dying?

Check out the entire article (I'm just pasting some of it)
https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/is-old-music-killing-new-music


All the growth in the market is coming from old songs. 200 most popular tracks now account for less than 5% of total streams.

Consider these other trends:

The hottest area of investment in the music business is old songs—with investment firms getting into bidding wars to buy publishing catalogs from aging rock and pop stars.

The song catalogs in most demand are by musicians in their 70s or 80s (Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, etc.)—if not already dead (David Bowie, James Brown, etc.).

Even major record labels are participating in the shift, with Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music, and others buying up publishing catalogs—investing huge sums in old tunes that, in an earlier day, would have been used to launch new artists.

The hottest technology in music is a format that is more than 70 years old, the vinyl LP. There’s no sign that the record labels are investing in a newer, better alternative—because, here too, old is viewed as superior to new.

In fact, record labels—once a source of innovation in consumer products—don’t spend any money on research & development to revitalize their businesses, although every other industry looks to innovation for growth and consumer excitement.

Record stores are caught up in the same time warp. In an earlier day, they aggressively marketed new music, but now they make more money from vinyl reissues and used LPs.

Radio stations are contributing to the stagnation, putting fewer new songs into their rotation, or—judging by the offerings on my satellite radio lineup—completely ignoring new music in favor of old hits.

When a new song overcomes these obstacles and actually becomes a hit, the risk of copyright lawsuits is greater than ever before. The risks have increased enormously since the “Blurred Lines” jury decision of 2015—with the result that additional cash gets transferred from today’s musicians to old (or deceased) artists.

Adding to the nightmare, dead musicians are now coming back to life in virtual form—via holograms and deepfake music—making it all the harder for a young, living artist to compete in the marketplace.



I'd like to add that it's worse than the numbers show

Many older people don't use streaming to listen to music. I talk to a LOT of people (just like here), and many still play their records, and others I know took their CDs and burned/digitized them into mp3's (some flac) so they can move them wherever and never have to purchase them again.

Simple answer: 60/70s > last 40 years, and it's no contest….

People can accidentally come across any kind of music on YouTube, and even the young people aren't going to deprive themselves of pleasure, despite the dumb pejoratives, like calling a 22-yr old a "dinosaur" (which happened today)

https://www.scribd.com/document/382737647/MortSahlFan-Song-List

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

I thought maybe you wrote it but then seeing a list of stuff the writer covered not one thing is on MS so I know it isn't you.

"Please vote to preserve the unique character of Warren…" - Robert Duvall

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Why Is New Music Dying?
Technology killed real music. Everything now is enhanced and tweaked. It's like musical photoshopping and has no real life, heart or soul.
Bottom line. - It sucks.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Exactly… Computers doing all the work. Auto-tune means you don't even have to know how to sing, the computer just "corrects" it, since so many of the top singers can't sing in tune. It's why they lip-sync in concert. And then you have "drum machines".

Music is supposed to come from humans and their souls, not machines. Remove the humanity from art, and it becomes just another product.

Luckily, even with over 5,000 mp3s, I keep finding great music from the 60/70s on YouTube alone.

https://www.scribd.com/document/382737647/MortSahlFan-Song-List

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Despite popular opinion Auto-tune is pretty essential in sound engineering whether the artists needs it to sound good or not, it’s necessary for the music to be radio friendly. I don’t think the use of auto- tune by producers is an indictment on any artist’s ability to sing.

"You had me at Elk Tartare"
-Erin Wotherspoon

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Yessss. I agree, even techno music that came out the mid nineties was great because it was new,exciting and had energy. Most music now has to much shitty covered over by heavy electronic sampling, generic dance beat and some of it is even depressing sounding.

Gone

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

I wish he would have named some of those supposedly good new musical acts that are being ignored by the music industry.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

The music industry is dead like Mart Sohl.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

don't know him, but I know they killed Dag, one of the greatest diplomats.

https://www.scribd.com/document/382737647/MortSahlFan-Song-List

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Because music is getting dumber, well simpler and less complex. They proved it scientifically a few years back.
Less chance of being surprised, that moment of wonder you used to get when you heard something truly wonderful.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

It is easier for young people to get famous by becoming a social media influencer than learning an instrument and making music.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Exactly. "Video Killed The Radio Star", too.

https://www.scribd.com/document/382737647/MortSahlFan-Song-List

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Because there just isn't much left to do musically that hasn't been done already.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Listened to this today as I relaxed in my recliner. Go to 6:08 to where Matt starts breaking down why music is dead in this century.



Bing.. Wobbledy wobble, wo-wo-wobble, wobbin'
https://vocaroo.com/1hz4nrSop8zd

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

I just listened to about 5-10 minutes.. Guy made some good points. I'll have to check out his channel.

Thanks!

https://www.scribd.com/document/382737647/MortSahlFan-Song-List

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

👍

Bing.. Wobbledy wobble, wo-wo-wobble, wobbin'
https://vocaroo.com/1hz4nrSop8zd

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

What the hell you mean? Music is at its pinnacle, just listen to this talent 😅😅


Gone

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

You DOM!



😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

I want to listen to it, because of the pic and the title, but I can't. Maybe 2023.

https://www.scribd.com/document/382737647/MortSahlFan-Song-List

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

New shit all sounds the same. No creativity, no talent. This is what happens when you try to shut your daughter up with a webcam instead of hugs.

Too fucking young to even look at. Tits of a 13-yr old.

The only shit that wasn't fucking shit was a 5 second computer generated melody at the end of the video.

https://www.scribd.com/document/382737647/MortSahlFan-Song-List

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Too fucking young to even look at. Tits of a 13-yr old.

Finally. A man with no pervdo intentions.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

No big surprise this same gal also sells her bathwater on the internet. Moreover, this chick clearly can't sing for shit as evident by the painfully obvious use of autotune.

Yes, this is really me.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

The hottest technology in music is a format that is more than 70 years old, the vinyl LP
Is that true? Isn't the action on TikTok, YouTube, and SoundCloud? He's right that the labels aren't doing anything. All the new music that people listen to is self-published by the artists who might get a record deal later.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Cause it sucks, big time! Duh!



😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 🤨 Let's go, Brandon! 🤨 Try that in a small town.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Maybe people found better things to do like being active and socializing.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Every time a person bitches and moans about new shit, a starving child in Africa dies from Ebola. New movies suck. New music sucks. New TV shows suck. New people suck.

People have been bitching about the same shit for centuries. When rock music started there was people that thought it wasn’t any good. Same thing for when jazz and bebop and what have you started.


It’s a cycle of brain dead people who are incapable of stepping the fuck back and looking at things with a neutral perspective. There’s still good new music, people. The problem is that it’s different than what you grew up listening to.


Thank you all for listening to my Ted Talk.

I live. I die. I live again.

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

There's absolutely no denying the obvious fact that commercially successful music nowadays is complete garbage compared to the 60's to 90's.

Thank you for talking to me

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

Because it sucks!

Re: Why Is New Music Dying?

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