Is Old Music Killing New Music?


I ran across this Atlantic magazine article on another music forum. It asks the question if old music is killing new music. I didn't realize that older music represents 70% of the music market according to this article. I know I use Qobuz and Tidal to find new music and new artists for my collection, but I don't know how common that actually is for most people. I think that a lot of people that listen to services like Spotify and Apple Music probably don't keep track of what the algorithms are queuing up in their playlists. Perhaps it's all becoming elevator music. 

Is Old Music Killing New Music? - The Atlantic

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When the younger music shows some talent it is found. Christone "Kingfish" Ingram and Quinn Sullivan come to mind instantly. For me new music begins in the 1980's, that should give a perspective on how selective I am.

I would ask what that 70% number represents. If it represents sales then I believe it. The young generation listening through their phone or $10 bluetooth speaker’s do not purchase music. They are content listening to what ever the server spins next. This is the issue when you start to reference a percentage, you can make it mean anything you want by omission of how you got there. Weather forecasters will will tell us their is a 40% chance of rain. Why not tell us their is a 60% chance it won’t rain? Because we would not check back again and again to see if it will rain snd they have commercials to show us.

@yyzsantabarbara ,

Thanks!  I’m still not into streaming yet, but I still enjoy hearing new and new to me music.

All the best.

JD

@aewarren 

New music is killing new music.

My first thought too. 

The monotony. The simplicity. The same three chords over and over again. The way almost all cars look the same because of aerodynamics for gas mileage regulations, and SUVs and trucks all look the same for utility is the way music has become. It's very formulaic. Songs are now written by committee, so they're dumbed down to a common denominator. It amazes me that you need seven writers to come up with the same old three minutes of "boots and cats" computer-generated rhythm overlaid with fake auto-tuned vocals. And don't get me started about rap, which is much more literature than music, and even more monotonous.