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.
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@lloydc - yes, it sure is, because RHYTHM is part of music, too. Unless you wish to discount a great deal of jazz and contemporary classical as well to be 'not music' because you can't hum it or whistle it. I really enjoyed that half-time show! 😁 |
Hello @femoore12 Gary performed at the Harrah’s Resort & Casino, Valley Center Ca. back in 2019 and was literally a stone’s throw away from where I live. Turned out to be more then a Trifecta. Someone who’s been on my list of top musicians whom I’ve waited patiently, small venue, new album tour "This Land" released earlier in the year, traveled blue highways to / from event, and last but not least ... huge fan. Besides, I thought it would compliment your throwing down of Leon Bridges ;-) Gotta love Howard and the no censorship. Perfect example is Gary’s performance of This Land when they were promoting the Bands new album. The 4 Track "The Bright Lights EP" is well recorded, highly recommended and Things Are Changin’, When My Train Pulls are Live/Solo acoustic. Side note: the album of first choice when my SR Purple’s arrived. Peace
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Let's ask a different question: Rather than ask if old music is killing new music, what if we ask "Why anything new deserves to be appreciated just because it was recently born?" I enjoy the fact that in this consumer society driven by new, new, new and how the whole purpose of Billboard and the music industry was geared around the next thing pushing a relatively "old" song off the charts drove sales - that good music doesn't fade away because of recency bias. The constant pressure that the next thing is always better than the previous great thing is great to generate desire for consumers to acquire things and keep up with the Joneses. However, when you reach a point of satisfaction whether it is your relationship with music or anything else, the need for newness fades. Even in the audiophile hobby - new may be different, more expensive, but not necessarily better. New isn't always better and the fact that we can linger in the beauty of older great music is actually a blessing that should be appreciated. I'm not apposed to new music and when I'm exposed to it I give it a try. Do I hunt for it? Probably not. But that's me. If if find a wine I like I'll keep coming back, I'm not anxious about missing out on what I haven't tried. As many have mentioned, the limited talent of performers in lieu of the shtick or the talented overshadowed by over produced digital electronics, makes it difficult to embrace new music that is not very musical. I primarily enjoy jazz - i love the old standards and the old performers. In some ways because of the longevity of their artistry. Kind of Blue is old and it is always good. I explore new jazz artists and some I have come to enjoy. Mostly because it still resonates as quality music. One of the challenges for new music is that there is so much good old music that is still new to me. When I restarted by effort to upgrade my stereo system, the added benefit I garnered the exposure to old music that was new to me. So for me "Old" music that I am hearing for the first time is the "new". From that perspective, old music isn't killing new music. Good music regardless of date stamp will always trump the bad, not matter how new it may be. Music content is not different than the rest of the content that is produced now to fill our every available minute. Video streaming - it's great to have options for streaming video. But we've all seen the number of really, truly bad content aired to fill the space. That means that there is a lot of really poor quality new stuff on the market. so when you find something really good that resonates, we gravitate toward it. The answer to the question may be: stop trying to just be new and try to be better. That will get my attention. |
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