If you think the music industry sucks, when do you think it started going downhill? - General

In my school's film class, I'm making a documentary on the current state of the music industry to show how it has declined in recent decades. I certainly have my opinions but I'd like to hear some others as well. What would you say?

Yes it is definitely going downhill, alot and quickly. Maybe 2007 - 2008 in my opinion.

It never went downhill IMO. People are just being edgy and not liking the popular music nowadays.

I know what you mean, its the same as the games industry, There used to be a sense of duty to make the music have a meaning or a message in its words, now the pop music making companies realize they can sing about absolute shit and it will be bought by millions because they market it at idiots. Lets be honest, anyone who thinks Nikki Minaj's "Music" isnt ear rape doesn't realize they have the ability to "not like" something and like whatever they want. the point is, if you market your music at idiots they are going to buy it if its good or not so why put the extra effort in to make it good when you can release 5 bad songs in the time it would take to write one good one. /rant

It's never gone downhill. Tastes have changed, that is all. In fact I'd say the industry has become better, with less barriers to entry than before thanks to the internet and things like viral marketing. New genres (like Dubstep, if that's your thing) have been introduced which have added to the variety we can listen to, and there are tonnes of really good artists today like the Killers and 360. There's this argument I've noticed where people will post lyrics to some new pop hits which are pretty repetitive and use it as "proof" that the industry has gone shit, but pop music decades ago was just like that as well. I know there is one song on the tip of my tongue from the 70's or 80's but I can't remember its name.

The music industry hasn't changed at all. People just choose to romanticise music from older decades and demonise modern music.

[QUOTE=Viper1204;40599831]I know what you mean, its the same as the games industry, There used to be a sense of duty to make the music have a meaning or a message in its words, now the pop music making companies realize they can sing about absolute shit and it will be bought by millions because they market it at idiots[/QUOTE] one single genre doesn't equal an entire music industry

I'm not sure that the music industry has necessarily gotten worse on average, so much as the current generation seems worse since it's... well, the [i]current[/i]. We get to experience all the good and the bad smashed together for recent releases, while only the songs from past generations that still pop up are ones which [i]earned[/i] a spot in someone's memory one way or another. I mean hell, way back when Queen got their asses kicked on the charts by things like [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9nE2spOw_o]this[/url]. But who got a spot in the halls of cultural immortality when all was said and done?

I think times are actually pretty good for the music industry. It's easier nowadays for small independent musicians to get noticed on the internet. Hipsters are always super-willing to start rooting for a little guy nobody else has heard of. If they're really good, they get recognized by slightly broader audiences, then the hipsters forsake them, but they move on to new things. It's a lot easier now to find a wide variety of musicians and genres, and people are always trying radical new things, hoping to be the start of some crazy new fad, or to just found a new genre. But even if that's not your thing, the top 40 will always be there

I think you just need to look harder. Nowadays, there are so many artists and so many styles that it just takes longer finding your style.

[QUOTE=Loofiloo;40603392]I think times are actually pretty good for the music industry. It's easier nowadays for small independent musicians to get noticed on the internet. Hipsters are always super-willing to start rooting for a little guy nobody else has heard of. If they're really good, [b]they get recognized by slightly broader audiences, then the hipsters forsake them[/b], but they move on to new things. It's a lot easier now to find a wide variety of musicians and genres, and people are always trying radical new things, hoping to be the start of some crazy new fad, or to just found a new genre. But even if that's not your thing, the top 40 will always be there[/QUOTE] I've literally never seen that happen, the majority of fans who have been supporting an artist for so long are happy that the artist is being recognized on a wider scale.