Why Does All Music Sound the Same; An Explanation

Music is all about dynamic range. Nothing else matters. So you’re right! It all sounds the same.

There may be more similarity in how pop recordings and even most recordings in general are produced these days, especially if the target is radio play, but they still do not all sound the same. That’s just another untrue extreme generalization.

Some are done much better than others and there are many differences.

So yes the dynamics may all have more similar characteristics than in the past but some are still done really poorly, others quite well, and everything in between.

No doubt the actual content of pop music these days is very similar in a desperate attempt to appeal to a broader and more diverse audience than in the past  as are the cookie cutter "artists" that perform them.

Many recording artists work in top-class studios with talented engineers and the result is an excellent mix. The product is then sent to the mastering engineer as a digital file. This is where the compression and loudness happens. We're talking about pop music, rock, rap, any mass produced genre headed for airplay.

There are exceptions, of course, where the artist is powerful enough to make the decisions on the post-production of their music. ie, Neil Young.

I agree with Geoff in situations where the record label is calling the shots.

No doubt the actual content of pop music these days is very similar as are the cookie cutter "artists" that perform them.

Agreed. But some of my favorite bands who fall into the alternative or progressive genres are still subject to the same type of high compression mastering.

BEing the devil’s advocate...

Another interesting aspect of modern recordings is that the focus on loud bass makes accurate reproduction on a home system at higher volumes more challenging than ever. Any traditional under-powered system won’t have a chance at accurately delivering what is there at louder volume like the recording is designed for FBOFW. If it can though the results might have some unique appeal even for audiophiles.
Shouldn’t any true hi end system be able to reproduce any recording accurately, including very loud ones?  The easy solution in many cases these days is a good quality powered sub which was unheard of 40 years ago.


Also if one takes a sound meter (try an app on your smartphone) and measures the background noise in many rooms of their home, they might be shocked. The background noise in my family room which is directly above my furnace in the level below and opens up to the kitchen and all the appliances running in there is shockingly high!

Background noise levels in cars are out of sight. So thank god for recordings that are actually louder than the background so one might actually be able to hear them in cases like that.


Most people do not have a sound proofed listening room at home these days. I’m lucky I actually have at least one out of many that I was able to make that way when the house was built.