Music is an art form that has been entertaining the masses for as long as time itself.
Thousands of genre’s and artist have left their mark in history, and this has resulted In
many unique sounds and styles emerging onto the music scene. There is a clear
progression of sound when you take a look back and notice how the musical instruments
have changed, and the different ways that we produce music have also changed quite
significantly. As the world has moved deeper into the electronic generation, we find that
music has also taken the same direction as well. From electronic synthesizers, DJ mixing
equipment, and computer software programs, the shift into the electronic realm for music
has been clear, and more and more artist are emerging into the music scene thanks to
these countless amounts of newly emerging elements of music creation. According to Mark
Prendergast, Author of The Ambient Century , “New music no longer needs to shout loud to
impress. It could do so quietly through the beautiful textures of new super sound
technology.” (4). Any individual can now create music. Anyone today can turn on their own
personal home computer And find an infinite library of different sounds, samples and
effects.
As the world has embraced the rise of electronic music production, other forms of
media has done all it can to promote and advertise new and upcoming artist. The
publicity has been very rewarding for many artist and its easy to see that certain
artist have risen to the top in terms of fame thanks to the advertising and promotions that
recording labels will almost always provide. But an issue has arisen recently, which is that
the rise of popular media has led to a decline in quality of todays popular electronic music.
The media is causing a decline in quality electronic music. The media is focused on
making money and doing so by using an individual who is promotable and will bring public
interest. And this in itself is actually fine! Any recording label or promotional advertiser
will need to be able to support themselves in their business. And doing what they are doing
is how its done. The problem that we see now, however, is that these companies are more
focused on the artist image, as opposed to the actual talent and originality of the artist
themselves. This is especially evident in the electronic music genres of today. When taking
a look at some of the earlier examples of electronic music, we see that there was quite a bit
of variety. Early house artist like Yazz and Joe Smooth, trance artist such as Paul Oakenfold
and Robert Miles, and dubstep artist such as Skream and Benga, all had very unique sounds
that clearly differentiated from one another and not only was it unique, but it was also very
good. But what has happened in at least the last 15 years, is that recording labels have
grown to completely take over and dictate what becomes popular and what is considered
to be “good music”.
There was a shift where originality was no longer rewarded as much as it should be.
Recording labels and advertising companies became more focused on money than the
music itself and started to pick and choose what the trend followers would want. People
are followers, and they will find themselves liking the things that others like quite often.
The people behind these recording labels know this, and they will put out and create
whatever kind of sound the guy before them got popular with. When taking a look at what
is popular today, and what we will hear on the radio in cars passing by, or on the MP3
players of kids in schools, its easy to hear that much of the music sounds almost exactly the
same. It seems that the current trend is to take house influenced beats, a hard bass line, and
generic overused synths, all behind a singer or rapper who often doesn’t even make their
own lyrics. And sadly, quite often, can’t even really sing and instead will rely on auto-tune
and vocal filters to make them sound like they have singing talent. “When you listen to
Britney Spears, what you are hearing is the sound of a mouse being moved around a screen,
not the sound of a human voice pitching.” (Ian Shadwell, Modern Music Is Rubbish). And all
of this is what seems to be popular today. “Modern day music, has two sides. Junk and not
junk. Junk sells, and is what you hear when you tune your radio to any popular radio
station.” (Has Modern Music Lost It’s Meaning?” Matt Mckay.)
Why are people liking this type of music? If it is all so commercial and generic, why
don’t people go and seek out the artist who aren’t being controlled by the popular media
and advertising of today? Clearly there must be more out there. Like mentioned before,
people will like what others like, and especially follow along with big names that are
popular icons in today’s age. This is why these large companies will push an artist into
the public eye who others will want to follow. Thus, people will follow that artist, and
follow artist with the same music styling, and due to the hype that the artist receives
thanks to everyone else and advertising, people won’t find other unique and good music
unless they really are trying. And most people won’t because they want to fit in with others
choices so they don’t feel out of place. This results in artist without originality and talent at
the top of the charts and making the most money, and artist who have original and unique
sound with a large amount of talent end up in the background, unable to achieve the
publicity and recognition that they truly deserve. All because the big companies on top
don’t find those particular artist marketable. It seems obvious that the impact of the
recording industry and advertising media has had a negative affect on the music of today.
The artist who deserve to be recognized are barely making it and the individuals who have
almost no talent but can put on a good show or look good in a music video are getting
everything, which is completely unfair and it’s been a progressing movement for many
years. If we want to see the original and talented artist rising to fame and getting the
recognition that they deserve, people need to stop trying to follow the crowd and start
being their own selves and liking what they truly like regardless of what others might
think. It’s the modern media working with the individuals who follow along with hype that
is causing this downfall in quality and what is popular and successful. Good electronic
music is still out there, but relying on the big recording labels to find It is not a good idea.
People need to support the underground electronic artist if we want to continue to see
original and unique music in the music world. The generic electronic blend that has been
rising to the top is horrible, and when listening to this sort of music, you can tell that there
is no emotion and real effort put into these productions. This even applies to instrumental
productions as well. Many of the instrumental tracks put out today that get popular are
allot of overly repetitive beats and synths with no depth. Yet because of the modern media,
these sort of tracks rise to fame.
The music industry has always been a complex business, and its been the reason for
many artist’ rise to fame. But it seems clear that while this proves to be beneficial for some,
it ends up hurting others, and the ones that end up being hurt are the ones who deserve the
fame, and the ones who acquire fame are the ones who don’t deserve it at all. Money has
become the priority of the modern media. Its become the sole focus, and the screen which
the industry views everything through. They were at one time very helpful for the world of
music and bringing real artist into the light. But the modern generations have changed the
world, and the music industry with it. There is still a bit of good quality productions out
there, but it takes a real love for good music to go out and find it. Within the realms of what
lies within the modern music industry, you will find nothing but repetition without heart
and passion. You will find a generic sound that appeals to those who want to fit in. And you
will see that by supporting these big names as such, it supports those without talent and
heart, and hurts those who truly have a passion and love for what they do. It hurts the
individuals who will spend their time creating a new synth sound instead of using an
already produced and overused version, the ones who are creating their own beats instead
of using a generic stock beat, and the ones who will spend months on end finding
inspiration from their lives, finding the things that drive them to do what they do and to
create what they create, instead of throwing something quick and catchy together for the
sake of making money. The rise of popular media has led to a decline in quality of todays
popular electronic music, and for most individuals, this is easy to see.
Do you agree with this?
