Why Does All Music Sound the Same; An Explanation

I was expecting somebody to mention the generation gap in music. "In my day, etc"...lol.
There were always cookie-cutter songs with the same hook played on top 40 radio and the like. The record labels were thriving and all that mattered was to get radio play and have their songs on the Billboard charts, resulting in sales.
Today there are so many outlets for music to be heard. Bands can even produce their own music, play it on the internet/YouTube and create buzz. Record labels are hurting financially and have resulted to tactics whereby to make a song a hit, the same writers and producers are hired to use their formula on multiple artists to sell their product.

Similar to the "old days" where there was also a formula used to produce hit songs, but now the control and manipulation seems tighter before a track is released. Focus groups are even used to decide which will get airplay.

And thanks to the internet and streaming, more music of different genres is available. There is so much variety, we're not stuck listening to the "same sounding music" which is targeted at a certain demographic.

Tony1954, thanks for the tip on the YouTube video. V interesting stuff 

I think a lot of folks are focusing too much on the title and not the content of the OP’s post and the link he provided. The point is that pop music is being produced in a formulaic fashion the likes of which have not been seen before, much the way a team of suits and scientists figure out the next new hamburger for McDonald-King to sell.

Yes, there were always industry pressures to keep songs short and make them sound like the most recent hit. But things are more ’advanced’ than that now.

As to what our parents said about music: well, they were often right. Elvis was vulgar, Ozzy was disturbing, Kiss was disgusting and a lot of it does/did sound the same. My slightly racist father (r.i.p.) also immediately identified Led Zeppelin belting out of my bedroom as ’black’ music. It was years before I realized he was right and that hearing that in their music was the ultimate compliment......even though he did not intend it.

Anyway, I find it remarkable that my two kids (24 and 27 years old) like and listen mostly to what I listen to. They disdain pop. My daughter likes some pop country, for which I give her a hard time. They think Van Morrison and Sam Cooke are heroes.

+1 n80