The Future of Music...

...this thread has produced a variety of responses: thoughtful, valid, invalid, opinionated, bizarre, ignorant, irrelevant.
Sadly, some members think these opinions are based upon Paul McCartney’s statements.

Why didn’t the OP just create a thread based solely upon his own opinion?

 

Yikes. There is a lot wrong with this. Maybe some homework is in order.

 

What McCartney is actually saying the future of live music is in danger. He didn't mention anything regarding one genre of music being better than another. That would surprise me, since he doesn't seem like a old fuddy duddy like the OP. McCartney's statement was taken out of context and used to foster some kind of alternate agenda. Click bait, not cool.

 

Because some might here actually care about McCartney's opinion. If the OP had simply stated that he wanted to suck up some bandwidth by airing his personal and non-factual opinion regarding a genre he doesn't care for and obviously knows little about, it would clearly be the sort of thread that would get largely ignored or Gorted. Twisting McCartney's actual viewpoint lends this bogus thread some semblance of credibility that it doesn't rate.

But you already knew that.

D.D.

 

Yeah, especially when Macca was talking about spaces where live music gets played.

 

I think the dangers break down like this...

1. Live Music on a Small Scale...
McCartney's point about people not supporting music at the smaller level is a valid point. Musicians need to start somewhere but if there are fewer venues offering musicians a chance to play that could be a problem in their development. It also could indicate a disinterest in live music generally which eventually could actually hurt even established artists as younger fans find other entertainment more enjoyable and perhaps aren't given the opportunity to experience live music as often.

In Boston, a town with tons of musicians and one of largest music schools it the world, there certainly have been venues closing. At the same time there are other venues opening so perhaps it's a push. It does seem to me though that the age of people going out to see music on a local level has increased. At the same time though there are probably more young people playing music and there are all sorts of opportunities for them to be in bands or play in some way through all the various youth programs etc. So maybe that will mean in the coming years the crowds will get younger again. So at this point at least in Boston I don't think this is a major issue currently. The bigger issue is that...

2. Regional success is no longer a stepping stone...
Decades ago a band could potentially have regional success playing a club circuit and maybe even having a regional hit that would be played on various radio stations. They could be signed to small regional labels. Musicians could use that as a stepping stone to get national attention and adds from radio stations in other parts of the country and larger label interest. There are groups that spent nearly their entire careers as regional bands which could still be seen as successful. Now fewer radio stations are even given the latitude to play anything not approved by some national corporate office. And younger people probably are spending more time streaming or getting their music through other means anyway. Big investors like major labels or would be managers, etc. then don't seem to even look for regional success anymore probably because...

3. There is less money to be made overall
While undoubtedly there are lots of people making lots of money in music it seems to be much less in actual sales of recorded music. And while there are touring acts that do well, there are probably fewer than in the past. So if that is true then it stands to reason that investors looking to profit from music are going to show signs of ...

4. Risk Aversion
Probably one of the things that made the golden age of rock'n'roll so golden was the fact that the 'suits' had little idea what was going on in youth culture or why one thing would hit and another wouldn't. That created a situation where all sorts of weird stuff was tried or groups were given a chance. That lead to some pretty interesting music and an appetite for the next big thing.

Today I don't think it's a leap to say that there are very few people taking any chances at all. In fact there is more weight given to perfection than nearly any other aspect of music. Thanks to the success of singing competition shows the term 'pitchy' is now common language. Virtually no new music is done without a click/time code. Music is less written these days than it is manufactured... whether that be the pop writing teams (such as that Swedish hit factory), beat makers, top liners... or even in rock and country where music relies so much on formula over invention. That doesn't mean that it can't be good or even great music. What it does mean though is that there will inevitably be less variation and overall music as a pop cultural force will remain more static. Is it a stretch to say that a pop record from 2008 is virtually indistinguishable from a pop record in 2018? Or at least compared with 1958 to 68. Or 68 to 78. 78 to 88.

To me that is a risk for the future of music because:
a) music no longer is a touchstone for it's times. - making it less important or vital
b) music becomes boring generally - people could always be entertained by music but maybe become less passionate about it as a form of entertainment
c) it becomes so formulaic that virtually anybody can do it

SO.... I agree from the perspective of someone old enough to remember when things were very different that the future of music is in danger. But that's only in comparison with the past. I don't think there will ever be a time when music loses all it's power. And you never know when things are going to suddenly change. Or maybe things don't and maybe that's ok too. There are still things out there that are interesting. There is all the old music out there... some of which I've still yet to dig into. And there are still local bands doing it down the street worth checking out. So I guess I'm not too worried.

 

??
you can listen to anything its all available. i mean it wasn't written to be listened to in 50 years, it was written to be played and made money from immediately. pop music was always meant to be throwaway. that's not to say you cant love it, or listen to it forever. it just wasn't designed for that overall. saying that doesn't take away any pleasure from it, or ruin listening experiences. i listen to Hendrix a lot, but i doubt he thought anyone in 2018 was going to listen to him.

 

I listen to all the music i bought when i was younger and still love good old prog rock and nearly all other genres but i am very excited by so many new bands that i hear nearly every day. I have not been well since Xmas and i have listened to new bands every day thanks to the heads up from my kids. Loving it. I am optomistic for the future!!

I am usually a pessimist by the way