Sir Swagalot

9mo

I know this topic has been beaten to death for quite some time now and I know many of you will probably not read this thread because of that in mind, but I honestly don’t care. I need this outlet to express how I feel because I’m tired of holding back my reservations and concerns that I’ve had regarding not just music, but us as consumers.

For the past 100 years, music labels and execs have essentially curated the soundtracks to our lives. Whether it was through the radio, TV, or CDs, we were all tuned in to what’s going on because they were the sole providers of what we listen to and we were forced to consume it (aka MONOCULTURE). While that sounds kinda dystopian like (and in some ways it was im ngl), personally I see it as a way of relatability and community. When we are restricted, we are forced to deal with what we got and make something out of it. It’s through discussion and exchanging of ideas within those confines that ignites that creative spark within us.

However, that spark has been put out thanks to streaming and social media. I’ll be the first to admit that if it weren’t for streaming, I wouldn’t be 1/10th of the music nerd that I am today. I started using Spotify when I was 11 back in 2011, back when you needed a Facebook account to use it. I was playing musical instruments and buying CDs at that point in my life so some sort of musical foundation had already been established in me. Through my young and curious mind, I was able to discover whole new worlds of genres and sounds because I grew tired of hearing the same s*** for the 2000th time. Why limit myself to CDs and a 2GB iPod Shuffle when I have the whole world at my fingertips?

That lack of a limit is what has destroyed the creative mind. When you look back on the music of yesteryear decade by decade, you start to notice a trend of drastically different sounds because PEOPLE got f***ing tired of hearing the same ol s***. Nowadays, society has become more self-absorbed and general discourse regarding anything with substance is trite; the system has taught us that differing opinions in an individualistic world will make people defensive and hostile. Many artists are scared to experiment or go out of their comfort zone because the people can make or break their career with just reactionary tweets. We’re too busy focusing on getting a dopamine rush rather than truly appreciating and digesting the art that has been provided to us.

We live in a world where a peasant can become a prince in a matter of minutes, yet the crown is always being moved from head to head without any sense of direction because we ourselves don’t know what we want. I'm just honestly scared for the future...for the people who didn't know (or just completely forgot) what it was like to listen to music before the streaming age.

KOL Meezy Mestizo

9mo

Putting on my English TA hat to grade this essay

For the past 100 years, music labels and execs have essentially curated the soundtracks to our lives. Whether it was through the radio, TV, or CDs, we were all tuned in to what’s going on because they were the sole providers of what we listen to and we were forced to consume it (aka MONOCULTURE). While that sounds kinda dystopian like (and in some ways it was im ngl), personally I see it as a way of relatability and community. When we are restricted, we are forced to deal with what we got and make something out of it. It’s through discussion and exchanging of ideas within those confines that ignites that creative spark within us.

Not exactly, what the music industry had a chokehold on was the means of production, you needed industrial equipment to make vinyls, cassettes, and CD's en masse. Since the same people that owned the equipment decided who got to be pressed on it, this created the gatekept structure of the industry. Mind you, independent labels existed, people made mixtapes of their favorite music, and radio was not the oligarchy that it is today

However, that spark has been put out thanks to streaming and social media. I’ll be the first to admit that if it weren’t for streaming, I wouldn’t be 1/10th of the music nerd that I am today. I started using Spotify when I was 11 back in 2011, back when you needed a Facebook account to use it. I was playing musical instruments and buying CDs at that point in my life so some sort of musical foundation had already been established in me. Through my young and curious mind, I was able to discover whole new worlds of genres and sounds because I grew tired of hearing the same s*** for the 2000th time. Why limit myself to CDs and a 2GB iPod Shuffle when I have the whole world at my fingertips?

Not quite, the advent of affordable and reliable home recording equipment and digital distribution services meant that people could record and distribute their own music without a record label. Social media and streaming catalyzed this by making it possible to build a following and virality without relying of physical media.

That lack of a limit is what has destroyed the creative mind. When you look back on the music of yesteryear decade by decade, you start to notice a trend of drastically different sounds because PEOPLE got f***ing tired of hearing the same ol s***. Nowadays, society has become more self-absorbed and general discourse regarding anything with substance is trite; the system has taught us that differing opinions in an individualistic world will make people defensive and hostile. Many artists are scared to experiment or go out of their comfort zone because the people can make or break their career with just reactionary tweets.

This is a bit of an absurd paragraph on multiple levels
looking at the progression of music in the last 10 years, we still see and hear progression. The last five years have been the growth of rage, hyperpop, plugg and a bazillion other microgenres, with mainstream artists cribbing from them. Not to mention, we're seeing teenagersmaking songs on bandlab, literally just with their phone, so i don 't buy the "no limitations" statement.

As for your statement on experimentation its an armchair generalization, I can point you to Lil Yachty making alt rock, drake making house, and Denzel Curry making a live album as recent examples of experimentation, and that's just within Hip Hop

We’re too busy focusing on getting a dopamine rush rather than truly appreciating and digesting the art that has been provided to us.

Dopamine mythos, please read

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/dopamine-fasting-misunderstanding-science-spawns-a-maladaptive-fad-2020022618917

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/feb/03/dopamine-the-unsexy-truth

C-, please see notes

BRAVE

9mo

A lot of us are actual musicians so you have to keep that in mind when you see these discussions. It’s not just fans caring too much about something trivial, it’s musicians that care about the art who wanna have discussions about the general state of things

rustcohlestan

9mo

it’s ironic that streaming was supposed to (and it did for a little bit) save the music industry, and now more and more it seems like it’s killing the music industry.

to artists not being paid enough on streaming platforms, killing tastemakers, having 24/7 access to whatever we want to listen to (which is both good and bad), idk man it seems like streaming, while it inherently did some good, is honestly a double edged sword that is slowly killing culture in general not just music 🤷🏾‍♂️

rustcohlestan

9mo

it’s ironic that streaming was supposed to (and it did for a little bit) save the music industry, and now more and more it seems like it’s killing the music industry.

to artists not being paid enough on streaming platforms, killing tastemakers, having 24/7 access to whatever we want to listen to (which is both good and bad), idk man it seems like streaming, while it inherently did some good, is honestly a double edged sword that is slowly killing culture in general not just music 🤷🏾‍♂️

rvi

9mo

I don't agree with the idea that the average music consumers today are all just tuned into something totally different. finding music through social media and algorithms is different than radio/tv/etc. but it's not just shooting people into millions of directions, lot of people are still getting directed towards the same s***. and the social aspect of music is still huge and people largely are still listening to what people in their social circle are.

and yeah music nerds like us can listen to tons of different s*** and seek out whatever, but music nerds of the past also werent limited to just what was being pushed the hardest on radio/by labels etc. are less inclined to listen to albums they bought

there are negatives of streaming (payment is the big one) but I don't think that's one of them. I think there are a ton of positives too, it's just a different age

DARE IZ A DARKSIDE

9mo

I think you are dead on with the lack of limitations and barriers-to-entry stifling creativity. The lack of scarcity in music, and the removal of centralized mediums which provided us with a shared cultural consciousness, all hurt the inertia to create larger-than-life stars and collective excitement in the culture as well.

On one hand, it's everything we've ever wanted: no moneyed gatekeepers forcing you to listen to this or contort yourself for marketability, infinite access to music, infinite access to the lives of our favorite artists. Even though it is cool that we've achieved this kind of decentralization in some ways, it's very deflating at the end of it all -- there's no scarcity or shared experience anymore; there's no rushing to the record store to buy the latest Hov record after a two month long release build-up, there's no MTV Rock N Jock with f***in Method Man and Redman playing basketball against Leonardo DiCaprio randomly anymore, and there's nothing tying us all together in a satisfying way. Even this forum is one of the last refuges of the 'old internet' and, in fact, the old way of discussion and communication in general.

On the other hand, we're all just kind of in our own little vaults now, listening to our self-reinforcing playlists and individually curated streams with very little in common between us. Who's the hottest rapper out now? Who's getting burn on the billboard? I don't know; I don't ever have to hear them now unless I specifically seek them out

insertcoolnamehere

9mo

popular. music. dictates. the. landscape. you. f***ing. dumbass.

that's been the norm since like the 1940s. You're just posting to post at this point lol.

BRAVE

9mo

A lot of us are actual musicians so you have to keep that in mind when you see these discussions. It’s not just fans caring too much about something trivial, it’s musicians that care about the art who wanna have discussions about the general state of things

saint dot edumist

9mo

”A lot of us are actual musicians”

saint dot edumist

9mo

dude up there mentioned drake making house, denzel incorporating live instrumentation and yachty making “””alt rock””” as “””experimentation””” in hip-hop

someone tell god to come get me please man lmao