Submitted by coolguysteve21 t3_yapfoo in Music
DoctaMario t1_itcapb8 wrote
Producer/songwriter working in the industry here.
To be fair, it's always been bad, but I'd argue it's actually better than it used to be because knowledge about it is out there more than it used to be and there are more possibilities for making a living now that you have streaming platforms like Spotify out there.
Back even as recent as the 90s, if a major label didn't like you, chances are you weren't going to have a career. Now you can book your own tours (assuming you even need to tour what with people now being able to build audiences online), sell you own merch, and keep all the money for yourself. If you sell 10,000 copies of a $10 CD (people like these as souvenirs) on your own, that's $100k that goes into YOUR pocket. So while you don't have as many big stars now as we used to, musicians that would never get signed still have the potential to get out there, find an audience and actually make a living off their music. Florida Georgia Line was doing so well independently that it was actually a pay cut for them when they signed to a major label.
As for concerts, that's always been the same. The artist sets the price and Ticketmaster is there to absorb the blowback as they have always been. Springsteen and Blink 182 have older audiences that are more established and they know those folks will pay whatever they're asking if they want to be at the show badly enough. So I can't blame them for charging what they do, especially now since album sales are non-existent, if their audiences are willing to pay.
_90s_Nation_ t1_itcb78a wrote
Don't you think it's better when things were more controlled, though?
Like... You could name a roster of pop acts from each decade. Like you can name a sports team, or WWE's top guys.
Now, there's an oversaturation of people. Which in turn gives no major stars, or makes it harder for major stars to be sold or consumed by people.
Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo, already seemed to have fazed out. After one hit, basically.
Bieber was the last one I can remember who was like... Major. Like Katy Perry, Rhianna, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Adele etc.
None of the Millenial stars have been replaced by copies. Or even a similar thing.
Mind43dom t1_itcjfug wrote
No I don’t think it’s better, the focus on one artists popularity and suppression of access to the other millions of artists is not a reason to go back to the heavy gatekeeping of the industry.
Let’s also not forget even the period you’re taking about for every major like Bieber there were thousands of 1 hit wonders who went nowhere.
Like everything in life, holding onto what was a horrible system that endeavoured to destroy the artists they promoted for the sake of nostalgia is not the way forward.
Record labels were selling the artist on the idea of Fame, not buying them for their talent or music. Artists had their egos fed and bank accounts robbed.
People are also far more connected than ever before and people can find new artists with ease, the music industry does not need major artists, the music industry is evolving as people evolve and our connected world evolves and more unique artists create their own platform. The public is the arbitrator of the success.
The current system is on a much better projection for the artists than ever before. Now an artists can go viral on tiktok and distribute their music globally with no record label.
_90s_Nation_ t1_itcjqs0 wrote
I never said it was about one. I said there was a roster, that consistently had songs in the charts around that time. Those stars haven't been replaced.
Mind43dom t1_itcmf7j wrote
I don’t see any negatives to the current evolution of the industry. I am all for seeing the end of rosters.
ytinasxaJ t1_itcjs5u wrote
Completely disagree that this is a bad thing
roflcopter44444 t1_itdrkhg wrote
>None of the Millenial stars have been replaced by copies.
This is for a number of reasons.
a) the next generation is more diverse in terms of musical choices so there aren't huge all encompassing acts that can speak for entire swathes of a particular generation. This is actually a good thing because there is more musical choice for listeners as well as artists have more freedom to explore different sounds rather than try and fit an industry template. Thats why you see more mixing of genres today, if you do listen to a lot of artist interviews from the 90s, 2000s a common theme is that when they wanted to take a risk and try to go a different way than the "industry trend" the labels would push back a lot and sometimes hold their contract over their head so that the artist would do what they were told.
b) the metrics have changed, due to different ways of consumption If an artist songs are huge on a platform like tiktok or soundcloud none of the traditional music metrics actually captures that
c) the fact that younger people are using different form of media also affects the coverage of those artists in traditional media. Why would a top 40 station play music geared to 15-19 year olds when hardly any of them listen to radio.
If you are heavily reliant on getting your music from traditional forms of media you aren't really going to see any of the newer acts coming up.
DoctaMario t1_itcjv7j wrote
Is IS still very controlled, at least at the major label pop/country level. Pop acts are super curated but you also have the counterbalance to that which is journeyman Americana acts like John Moreland who are also able to make a living. People's tastes have splintered so we aren't forced to listen to top 40 radio anymore, which is why there are fewer "big stars" than there used to be. I prefer a music industry where we have more choice of what to listen to, and with how good recommendation algorithms are, it's easier than ever to find something you like.
I don't think many of the millennial stars have been around long enough to be replaced, and I actually think Billie Eilish is on an upswing. She's one of the few people most can agree is a star so she'll likely be getting a big promo push.
_90s_Nation_ t1_itckdt8 wrote
They're not controlled or promoted properly, because no-one knows anyone. You couldn't name like... 4 really popular singers now.
Dua Lipa and BTS,yes. Maybe. Even that - They're not shoved in our face like Britney or Backstreet Boys, Beieber etc were
Beyonce is still having hits in the top 40 and she was going when I was about 16. I'm now 30.
DoctaMario t1_itcmdla wrote
Beyonce, Britney, BSB all got in under the old paradigm before things really changed though. They'll always be stars because they came up when stars were still a big thing.
I think labels are smart enough to know that promoting Dua Lipa to people who listen to rock or 90s country is just flushing money down the toilet and that because the radio isn't as ubiquitous as it used to be, people can stay in their own backwater and be completely unaware of what's going on in other genres if they want to. Nobody knows anyone in the top 40 but that cuts both ways, as people who listen to top 40 probably don't know the people these other folks listen to.
_90s_Nation_ t1_itcmtrp wrote
I can't really follow you.
There's no household names. Is what I'm saying. Everyone knows Michael Jackson.
In 70 years, no current popstar will be remembered.
DoctaMario t1_itcoe2o wrote
Simplest way I can put it is, people's listening habits have changed and there's more to compete with music now in terms of entertainment so big stars are going to be fewer and far between. If Michael Jackson came out now, he'd have the same recognizability issues Dua Lipa has. More choice=less ubiquity=less big stars.
_90s_Nation_ t1_itcpbiz wrote
You're exactly right, which is what I'm saying.
Music is just not as big as it used to be.
TFFPrisoner t1_itd3d8i wrote
The Weeknd? Harry Styles?
_90s_Nation_ t1_itd3hkz wrote
They're old, though.
Again... I'd say more millenial targeted.
TFFPrisoner t1_itd3xep wrote
Styles is as old as Bieber, both were teen stars but Styles seems to have increased his appeal whereas I haven't heard much from Bieber recently.
The Weeknd is a bit older but didn't get famous (at least in Germany) until later than Bieber.
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