My views on the music industry.

B

blacklemons

The Freeman
This is a blog I posted on my Myspace about how I feel about the music industry these days.

Tell me what you think. :)

I have been thinking about this for months, and it constantly bothers me more and more. What am I talking about? The crippling state of the music industry. I'm not talking about the problem of illegal downloading, that's another issue altogether. I'm talking about the way society views music as a whole.

This is not my usual 'anti-metal' speech. I respect... MOST metal bands, for caring about what they do, even if I don't like it.

Back in the seventies, music was about... music. Not having an image, not being hardcore, not looking cool in photographs... just music. Some of the most influential bands of all time, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Who, never had a 'look.' They did what they did best, and did it well: made honest music.

Each decade had it's standout record. With the seventies, we had The Doors, eighties showcased U2's 'The Joshua Tree,' and the nineties had Green Day's 'Dookie.' What is the standout record of our time? Soulja Boy? Rhianna? What the hell? It scares me that one day I will have to tell my children that the signature sounds of my youth were 50 Cent and The Jonas Brothers.

The reason we have no defining sound is that these days artists are far too worried about dressing in dark clothes, making it onto MTV, and being part of the 'scene.'

Stores like Hot Topic, for example, glorify that certain 'look' you must have if you listen to that type of music with their slogan 'It's all about the music'. That's completely wrong, and just shows how ****ed up kids are. If you want to dress emo, and love rap, so be it. Nobody should tell you otherwise.

This brings me to my favorite decade of all, the nineties. Everything about it was perfect. Bands like Blink-182, Green Day, and The Offspring didn't care at all what people thought. They said '**** this,' and '**** that,' and ended up writing some of the best music from that decade. That's something magical, if you ask me.

Does Coldplay have an image? No. Does Angels & Airwaves have an image? No. Does Radiohead have an image? No. These are bands that are trying to make a difference, and to start a movement within this dying industry. They write music that is abolutely honest, and true to themselves. Take any Radiohead record, for example. Clearly not meant for everyone, clearly not trying to please the masses. Now let me ask you... do bands like Taking Back Sunday and Bring me the Horizon have an image? My point exactly.

Another thing... if you think I'm crazy, and that I don't know what I'm talking about, then you try to tell me that you have never avoided liking a band because of their popularity. Bands like Good Charlotte put up with constant criticism because of how popular are. You can't tell me that Good Charlotte isn't a cool little band. Nothing amazing, nothing spectacular, but there is certainly nothing wrong with them. Along with Green Day. During their renewed popularity back in 2004, the "cool kids" wanted nothing to do with them. They were on the radio, and they were relevant. They were popular because they had just made one of the best punk rock records ever made, 'American Idiot.' If you think you can't listen to a band because of their pop-culture status, then you are a disgrace.

As mentioned before, illegal downloading is another reason that the music industry is in shambles. When was the last time you went out to a store and bought a record? Two years ago? Anyone can get anything they want, for free, from the internet. Sure, it's cool to build up a cool music library, but think of what it's doing to the artists. This is an odd time for the industry... bands are bigger and more popular than ever before, but poorer than ever before. Tom Delonge of Blink-182 fame has put thousands of his own dollars to designing a solution to this problem. It's an operating system called ModLife. It allows bands to give their music away for free, but make fans pay for everything else. Things such as music videos, podcasts, and interviews can be given away for a small charge. Maybe this is not a way to fix this problem, but it sure is a start. If you ask me, it's all about going to a store and buying an album. That's the only way I do things anymore. In all reality, there is no solution to this, besides actually buying the music.

Maybe I'm being ridiculous, maybe there just is no way to further innovate with music, maybe we are at a dead end. Maybe innovating is 'like trying to imagine color if you haven't seen it before.' This could be the way music will always be, and the music we make will never be as truly inspiring again.

I say, let's change that. Let's make something different, start something new.

So, thanks for listening to me rant. If you think I'm out of line, then you probably shouldn't call yourself a musician.

- Curtis. 'Let's start a movement.'
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I skimmed. I got that music was better way back when and that most music now sucks(beyond Coldplay and A&A and stuff you listed). I agree. 70's and 80's had some great music.
 
I read the whole thing. While I agree that the mainstream does have a problem with the image issue their still are a great number of bands that do make innovative/inspirational music. Take a band like Streetlight Manifesto, sure no one will take the time to even go listen to a song of theirs, they make an innovative sound with their brass section while still having a punk feel and amazing lyrics. Image wouldn't be such a big deal if the Music Industry itself didn't shove it down our throats.

Another thing, about ModLife. While it's a move in the right direction, it won't last. There are systems like that already in place, such as iTunes. While ModLife won't have the user pay for the music but, pay for an interview, video, podcast, etc. that is pretty much keeping the Industry in a standstill. "Oh, I won't pay for the music which I could easily listen to for weeks but, I'll pay for an interview in which I'll watch once."
 
I don't have much time to post a long response, but I'll touch on one point for now.

The reason people don't listen to music that has become pop-culture staples is because they care about image. It's mostly not about about the music, which is why artists like Soulja Boy are popular. If this makes me a disgrace then so be it. But I think you sort of contradict yourself.

In the end if it's just about the music then you really shouldn't be ranting because you'll just listen to what you want. I also don't like the state the music is in, but in this age of the internet I have discovered many bands that I consider great. If everybody else is happy with the regular stuff on MTV or the radio then that's fine too. The people who truly love music will always just go out and look for it themselves anyways.

PS: American Idiot wasn't a great punk record, IMO. :p
 
I still buy CDs. If I can't get it locally I'll purchase it online, in the case of things like anime or video game soundtracks, or Japanese bands. ^_^ For single songs, I buy music through the Zune Marketplace all the time.

I listen to music I like, period.
 
Ouch you crippled my Jonas Brothers :(

But seriously, I was never really all that into people downloading such and such songs cause Im like if you like the artist then the least you could do is even pay 89cents for one of their songs or buy a CD. Too many times has the music that was downloaded off of shareware programs been of too low quailty cut off or, to my discovery, not the exact or actual full recording of the songs. Ive never been into buying music either but Imma start getting a lot more of it soon cause I want my artists to score big such as Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and others. Sure it will cost like 13 bucks but it is worth it.

Ive never been to stray away from something cause its popular, if anything go to it.

And I dont understand what you mean by image though ? IS that bad to care about whatever this image is?
 
I think the defining bands of the 90's were Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam. They ushered in the Grunge era and the whole "garage band" scene. Green Day represented the punk movement, started by the Ramones and the Sex Pistols in the 80's, but bands like Blink 182 and The Offspring didn't really have an impact on the industry, at least, not a positive one. In fact, I would say Blink 182 was easily one of the more "image" minded bands out there. They got a lot of radio and video play, and played some pretty derivative music. They may have typified the "pop-punk" genre, which was in stark contrast to what talented punk bands, like Green Day, were trying to do. Which is why their 2004 album received a lot of criticism, because it was more in line with the new pop-punk scene than with the roots of the genre that they emulated in the 90's. I liked that album, its actually one of my favorite Green Day albums, but I understand the criticism and think its valid.

The 90's aside, I would say "image" has gone hand in hand with music since Elvis. After he came onto the scene, and broke all the rules, record labels realized the potential in selling the musicians personality and thoughts outside of their music. I don't think that's a bad thing, until it's importance overtakes that of the actual music. But its tough to figure out who's speaking to the media because they've got something to say, and who's just trying to sell a record. And while this distinction may be an important one when determining the state of the industry, its probably not a big deal when it comes down to what music you like and what you don't like. A lot of the bands I listen to are selling me an image, even if they don't claim to. I know that, but I don't care, because I still like their songs.

I think mainstream music is in a tough spot right now, but that's because musicians who just want to make money will take a look at what other successful musicians are doing and repeat it. Its always been that way, that doesn't mean music itself is dieing or becoming stale, it just means you shouldn't be looking to MTV and the radio to find new, innovative, bands. There are plenty of successful bands out their who still make some great music. Jack White has been cranking out some excellent tunes in the last few years with The White Stripes and the Raconteurs, and Wolfmother is one band who's trying to bring good old fashioned rock into the future. Modest Mouse is truly a band that sounds like no other, and the Black Crowes have been consistently pumping out albums for some years without being picked up on the radar. Two great Canadian artists I've been listening to a lot lately have been Sam Roberts and Classified, the former being an alternative/rock band and the latter being a very talented and poetic rapper. There are still plenty of good bands out there, they might just be a little harder to find.

I also just wanted to address what you said about buying an album versus downloading music. There are other (better) ways to support a musician than by buying their album, a good portion of which goes to record companies who don't make the music at all. Paying for concert tickets is a good example, and buying direct from the artist via merchandise or what have you is a good idea too. In fact Radiohead, a band you know well, recently cut out the middle man on their latest album by selling it directly through the internet. But the catch was that no one had to pay for it, it was a free download, and they accepted donations for it. In the end they said they made as much money on this album as on their previous ones, the difference being all of it went to them, the artists, not some guy in a suit who's trying to sell the next image. Trent Reznor followed suit with his latest NIN album (something incredibly different, possibly too much so) citing similar results. Buying cd's from a store will not be the major revenue for artists in a few years, digital distribution will change that. And that's a good thing. Thanks to it a band called The International Noise Conspiracy from Sweden found an audience, not in their homeland or in most of Europe, but in North America. They don't sell their cd's in stores, but at whatever show they're playing, and actually encourage their fans to get other people to download their music for free. That way they can make enough cash touring internationally to support their band, and not worry about dealing with some record label. Even looking at Rock Band and Guitar Hero, the way in which we hear about, buy, and experience music is changing. Purchasing a cd at full price in this day and age is outmoted, and not nearly as supportive of the scene as you might think.

I think you raise some good points, and this is definitely a discussion I would like to continue. I think you have pointed out a few legitimate problems with the industry, but I think you've blown some of them out of proportion, and have failed to provide solutions to other problems. You say "Let's start a movement," I would be interested in hearing what the first step would be. Where do think the industry needs to go in order to rejuvenate music?
 
I read Stealth's entire post...mind = blown. Especially 'cause he brought up Wolfmother. I'd respond to you more in depth, but I don't have the patience.
 
stealth toilet said:
I think the defining bands of the 90's were Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam. They ushered in the Grunge era and the whole "garage band" scene. Green Day represented the punk movement, started by the Ramones and the Sex Pistols in the 80's, but bands like Blink 182 and The Offspring didn't really have an impact on the industry, at least, not a positive one. In fact, I would say Blink 182 was easily one of the more "image" minded bands out there. They got a lot of radio and video play, and played some pretty derivative music. They may have typified the "pop-punk" genre, which was in stark contrast to what talented punk bands, like Green Day, were trying to do. Which is why their 2004 album received a lot of criticism, because it was more in line with the new pop-punk scene than with the roots of the genre that they emulated in the 90's. I liked that album, its actually one of my favorite Green Day albums, but I understand the criticism and think its valid.

The 90's aside, I would say "image" has gone hand in hand with music since Elvis. After he came onto the scene, and broke all the rules, record labels realized the potential in selling the musicians personality and thoughts outside of their music. I don't think that's a bad thing, until it's importance overtakes that of the actual music. But its tough to figure out who's speaking to the media because they've got something to say, and who's just trying to sell a record. And while this distinction may be an important one when determining the state of the industry, its probably not a big deal when it comes down to what music you like and what you don't like. A lot of the bands I listen to are selling me an image, even if they don't claim to. I know that, but I don't care, because I still like their songs.

I think mainstream music is in a tough spot right now, but that's because musicians who just want to make money will take a look at what other successful musicians are doing and repeat it. Its always been that way, that doesn't mean music itself is dieing or becoming stale, it just means you shouldn't be looking to MTV and the radio to find new, innovative, bands. There are plenty of successful bands out their who still make some great music. Jack White has been cranking out some excellent tunes in the last few years with The White Stripes and the Raconteurs, and Wolfmother is one band who's trying to bring good old fashioned rock into the future. Modest Mouse is truly a band that sounds like no other, and the Black Crowes have been consistently pumping out albums for some years without being picked up on the radar. Two great Canadian artists I've been listening to a lot lately have been Sam Roberts and Classified, the former being an alternative/rock band and the latter being a very talented and poetic rapper. There are still plenty of good bands out there, they might just be a little harder to find.

I also just wanted to address what you said about buying an album versus downloading music. There are other (better) ways to support a musician than by buying their album, a good portion of which goes to record companies who don't make the music at all. Paying for concert tickets is a good example, and buying direct from the artist via merchandise or what have you is a good idea too. In fact Radiohead, a band you know well, recently cut out the middle man on their latest album by selling it directly through the internet. But the catch was that no one had to pay for it, it was a free download, and they accepted donations for it. In the end they said they made as much money on this album as on their previous ones, the difference being all of it went to them, the artists, not some guy in a suit who's trying to sell the next image. Trent Reznor followed suit with his latest NIN album (something incredibly different, possibly too much so) citing similar results. Buying cd's from a store will not be the major revenue for artists in a few years, digital distribution will change that. And that's a good thing. Thanks to it a band called The International Noise Conspiracy from Sweden found an audience, not in their homeland or in most of Europe, but in North America. They don't sell their cd's in stores, but at whatever show they're playing, and actually encourage their fans to get other people to download their music for free. That way they can make enough cash touring internationally to support their band, and not worry about dealing with some record label. Even looking at Rock Band and Guitar Hero, the way in which we hear about, buy, and experience music is changing. Purchasing a cd at full price in this day and age is outmoted, and not nearly as supportive of the scene as you might think.

I think you raise some good points, and this is definitely a discussion I would like to continue. I think you have pointed out a few legitimate problems with the industry, but I think you've blown some of them out of proportion, and have failed to provide solutions to other problems. You say "Let's start a movement," I would be interested in hearing what the first step would be. Where do think the industry needs to go in order to rejuvenate music?
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First of all, I would like to say thank you for giving an honest response, and not being a **** about it. That's not how things roll on Myspace.

I don't have much time, but I would like to touch on Blink-182 being image based. They simply didn't care. Sure, they dressed punk, but they didn't use it to sell records.

And Green Day's "American Idiot" was criticized because it was different than any of their past records. It was excellent, and people were too busy listening to Simple Plan and 50 Cent to realize just how brilliant that album was.
 
this is hilarious, it always goes against the groups that I liked at one time or another, I though Simple Plan was and are quite ince.
 
Starrynite said:
this is hilarious, it always goes against the groups that I liked at one time or another, I though Simple Plan was and are quite ince.
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Well I think that's actually part of the point; listening to music you like whether other people do or not. Listening to music based on image usually implies that you don't actually like the music; you just listen to it because everyone else does. Or, conversely, you don't listen to certain music because no one else does.

Take for example, Miley Cyrus. Some people have heard her music and honestly just don't like it. But I'm sure there's also people who have never listened to it and yet still dislike her because she's from Disney or some other reason. And then there's people who do like her, and they don't care what other people think.

And that example can be used for pretty much any singer or band.
 
I certainly dont listen to music cause everyone else does, there are just some genres that I honestly dont like, I will listen to a song or two from a suggested artist to see how they are and such. I wont close myself off because such and such is from this or because 32 million people listen to them.
 
On Mai's points: Reason I don't like Miley Cyrus at first was the image, and the 80 thousand 9-year-old girls freaking out over her, and the grotesque over-merchandising that I have to look at every day. Now that I've heard her sing, I can honestly say that I don't care for her voice. She is marketed as alternately a "rock star" (see Hannah Montana: Living the Rock Star Life DVD) and a "pop star" (see Hannah Montana: Pop Star Profile DVD) but she sounds more like a country singer, and a poorly trained singer at that. Maybe I've had too much vocal training to simply let that quality of singing go without it irking me that it's popular and on the radio and that people think THAT sounds good. I don't know. Just from my high school I know at least 30 better singers than Miley Cyrus, but none of them had famous dads so they have very little chance of their talents being enjoyed my a wider audience of people. And really that is the main thing that irks me about it.

And I am one of those people who still buys CDs. If I like an artist I will go out and spend the money to support them. This is the same for every medium that I enjoy, I am anti-piracy and very pro-copyright protection. I will read scanlations of manga but you can bet that once the manga hits the US I will purchase it to support the artists I like. If I download music I do so via a pay service, in my case Zune Marketplace, and if it isn't available I will buy and rip the CDs myself so I can have them on my MP3 player.

If I like an artist and they make it big, I don't accuse them of "selling out" and stop liking them because now everyone knows their name. Nelly Furtado has a song in which she says "You like me til you hear my **** on the radio" and I feel like a lot of people are that way. I have all of her CDs and bought them all on the day they came out, so I've been following her since I lived in New York. (I've been in CA for over 7 years.) Her style changed and who she works with changed, and I read a review of her latest CD, Loose, when it was released that basically said if you liked her on Whoa Nelly and Folklore you won't like this CD, it's too different, she sold out, and I won't be buying her next one. To me I usually don't drop an artist because they get popular and their sound evolves. That's harsh. If you gave it a chance and honestly don't care for it then fine, but just because someone gets popular is no reason to abandon them.

(I should listen to myself sometimes ... heh. Mai knows what I mean.)
 
So many points to touch on, so little time. I'll have to spread out my posts then.

First off, about Green Day's American Idiot. I personally thought the album was OK. A good Green Day album, but nothing special. What really turned me off to that album was that it was EVERYWHERE!! I could not get away from it and it ended up annoying me more. So that's why I didn't like it. Had I not been bombarded by this album, I might have grown to like it, but I was never really given the chance. Now it has become completely unlistenable to me.
 
Hey Mai and Starry. I just want to clear this up. I'm not saying that you can't listen to those bands. I am also a fan of Simple Plan, and Good Charlotte. What I'm saying is that it's just wrong to listen to them because of how they look, and I know that's not what you are doing. Unfortunately, a lot of people do.
 
I read the whole article and I must say that you're dead right. Todays music is becoming more and more generic all the time. It has no soul. It is probably a bigger problem than the RIAA itself which is a huge problem. These two things are what led to music downloading. Mediocre music and high prices. Why buy the whole album when you only want one song and can get it for free? It's simple really. I actually just got done to listening to Viva La Vida, Coldplay's new album and it's great. One of the very few I can say that about these days.

Edit: Hines, here's another new one I really liked. It's not like Coldplay and certainly not Radiohead but I thought it was great. You might want to check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/Day-Brave-Brendan-James/dp/B0017I1FRQ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1218848584&sr=8-1
 
Coldplay, Angels & Airwaves and Radiohead.... these are the bands we should be looking up to. None of them have that "look" that so many bands do. Tom Delonge of Angels & Airwaves often goes on stage in jeans and a polo shirt! No makeup, no jewelry, no nothing. Just a few guys on a stage doing what they love. Like Stealth said, Radiohead did something very unique with their most recent album. They allowed fans to choose what they wanted to pay for it. Surprisingly, they made a lot of money this way. Of course, they also released a hard copy version to be sold in stores a little later. Still, its things like what Radiohead did, and what Angels & Airwaves is doing with Modlife, that may help shape what the music industry will be in the coming years.

Although not a fan of Radiohead or Coldplay, I can't help but respect what they are doing and how they are doing it. They are the true innovators of our time.
 
To help the image thing, I'd like to point out that Coldplay doesn't give their music to ads and whatnot, because they don't want the message lost. So they've turned down Doritos and Gatorade and stuff.
 
fhqwhgads said:
To help the image thing, I'd like to point out that Coldplay doesn't give their music to ads and whatnot, because they don't want the message lost. So they've turned down Doritos and Gatorade and stuff.
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Great point. AVA actually made a documentary titled "Start the Machine_" which detailed the breakup of Blink-182. More importantly, it goes out of its way to show Tom Delonge as an drug addicted, egotistical maniac, and he was. The film shows that he quite clearly regrets thing he has done in the past, and shows just how honest and pure their music is. This was an excellent move for the industry, to me at least. It shows an indepth look at how bands are not just about fame and money, and have deep, dark problems inside.
 
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