Why is modern music so awful

[bermudagold]

;...the average song has gone from 4 min to 2 min 15 sec...that leaves little room for evocative prose or movements through song structure...basically an often-vacuous affirmational mantra encapsulated in a catchy hook,

not sure if i got the point?...the first video says unavailable in US...second song has actual instrument performances including a solo

The first one is motley Crue. They're both brain-numbing dirges with simplistic juvenile lyrics and plodding, obvious music. Essentially vacuous affirmational mantras encapsulated in catchy hooks

ok...got it...yeah i never said vapid pop music didn't exist in previous eras...I was merely seconding and extending the quoted poster's point that the changes are quantifiable and material irrespective of any value judgment on whether the majority perceive the changes as good or bad

[empphryio]

You can say it's subjective but there are changes which have been quantified. "Popular" music no longer has bridges or key changes. And it's been quantified that the melodies have become greatly simplified. Furthermore big record companies no longer sign bands. Again, quantified. T

exactly...changes are real...it's just as intellectually lazy to write it all off as nostalgia and sentimentality from get off my lawn old fogey stogeys...
another example is because of attention span of gen z fueled by the popularity of micro vlogging in Vine which evolved into the ubiquity of tik tok across all generations;...the average song has gone from 4 min to 2 min 15 sec...that leaves little room for evocative prose or movements through song structure...basically an often-vacuous affirmational mantra encapsulated in a catchy hook, over a central 4/4 groove bed...no intro, bridge, key change, tempo/time sig change, outro...so songs are converging towards jingles, which is perfect for advertisers as they are often pre-made with product placement deals to serve double duty as ready made commercials

how rare is the instrument solo in a song now?,...or the 7 min jam songs from artist and genres as diverse as prince to grateful dead?...how rare is the concept album, with streams, downloads, and virality necessitating a focus on singles?

Yes. They're afraid they'll click skip to the next song so no time for intros.

Definitely a bunch of google hits quantifying a drop off in song length.

And how can you have a solo when the artist doesn't play anything (or barely can play)? You don't want to put too much focus on the session musician.

[Bunny_boy]

If vapid shit music existed previously along side stuff that wasn't vapid shit, then that holds for today.

There seems to be a bit of a consensus that modern songs are becoming more simplistic. That's just corporate pop stuff, which is just a consumer product as always.

One could do this the other way round by comparing the output of SAW or PWL to Still House Plants, Noname, Hypergal, or Mariam Rezaei

[Bunny_boy]

ok...got it...yeah i never said vapid pop music didn't exist in previous eras...I was merely seconding and extending the quoted poster's point that the changes are quantifiable and material irrespective of any value judgment on whether the majority perceive the changes as good or bad

I think I've approached your comments from the wrong angle. Yes, as an impartial observation, I can totally see that.

[bermudagold]

@Bunny_boy....no worries

for discussion two examples from current pop landscape
Dua Lipa...she was introduced to a Warner Music A&R by a trusted "tastemaker" in his personal circle..."she had nothing" yet in endeavors of music...he said he was willing to sign her before hearing any music at all because of her unique wardrobe, look, charisma, and "energy" when she first walked into the room he was in and commanded everyone's attention....so she debuts with ambassador deals signed for versace, yves st laurent, mulger, and puma

sabrina carpenter was another graduate from the disney kids' tv school, mentored by miley cyrus...her current hit "espresso" is apparently stitched from 4 spice loops, something AI could easily do now...it has deals with Alfred coffee, menotti's coffee, and blank street coffee supposedly before song was released...each deal is exclusive for a geographic region...sabrina posted on all socials for fans to post pics of themselves enjoying her signature coffees for all brands...same with her signature coffee ice cream flavor from Van Leeuwen ice cream

is this music as an artistic endeavor,...or an industrial factory designed for commodity marketing of consumer goods?

[BertKoor]

One (old) picture tells the full story.

[Bunny_boy]

V Slae? That Prince's connection to Ballroom?

[stoopicus]

There is a lot of sh!tpop. There used to be much sh!tpop. Next year, there will be sh!tpop that is measurably different than today’s sh!tpop.

On the other hand, I again assert that there is more good music being made today than at any point in history. It’s just using different distribution channels and needs to be sought, it’s not spoon fed to you any more. AOR is dead.

[enCiphered]

Maybe the problem isn't with the music itself, but with how it's consumed.
It's easy to criticize modern music for being formulaic or lacking depth, but I think it's more about how the industry has shifted. Algorithms and streaming services now influence trends more than ever, which can homogenize the mainstream sound. However, innovation is still thriving in niche genres. It just requires digging deeper than what's fed to us. Music is more accessible than ever but it's about how we choose to explore it.
And remember that in the past, albums were an immersive experience. You’d sit down, listen from start to finish, and engage with the music fully. Now, music is often used as background noise, competing with endless distractions. This changes how we perceive its depth and creativity. If we treated modern music with the same focused attention, maybe we'd discover a lot more complexity and artistry than we realize.

The other thing is how our brains perceive modern music. As we age, our brains become less receptive to new sounds, favoring familiar patterns instead. What sounds innovative to younger audiences might just feel repetitive or uninspired to those with a more established musical 'palette.' So maybe modern music isn't worse. Our brains are just wired to prefer what we grew up with.

[empphryio]

(For myself as this issue has bothered me a long time)

As to why record companies are now following the shit business model I previously explained, it's pretty much a monopoly now. Three companies own 70% of the global market share.
Universal Music Group - 32%
Sony Entertainment- 21%
Warner Music Group - 17%

To review, the following has all been quantified concerning the music which charts:

1. Bands are no longer signed
2. Melodies use fewer notes
3. Bridges are gone
4. Key changes gone
5. Massive decrease in song length
6. Increasing music company monopoly

There's always been bad music. There have always been record companies forcing artists to make tripe. It's just gotten a lot worse. Again, the above has all been quantified. It's not based on anecdotes.

I do not think this is entirely subjective. You can't dismiss all the above to just getting old.

Yes. Of course there's still good music out there. There's 8 billion people alive. Of course some are still making good music. It's just far far less likely to chart. Far far less likely to be heard.

The first thing that could be done is much stronger anti-monopoly laws. This ultimately is the same problem over and over again.
A few companies own everything and start putting out a bad product. The government does nothing about it because these companies are too powerful to go against.

[Bunny_boy]

Would be interesting to gauge the age ranges on this thread.

A good chunk of my friends only listen to music from our teenage years, or music that sounds incredibly similar to it.

While I definitely would not be able to provide evidence that I've got John Peel's attitude towards bands, the idea of not seeking out new sounds is ludicrous to me.

While I think albums are a valid (& necessary?) art form, remember that a lot of dance music and electronic music was released in a singles-only environment. Something like BCD by Basic Channel is just a hotchpotch of tunes, not a conscious effort to ape guitar bands (it is an amazing record though!).

And as has been said previously that singles-only environment is quite prevelent at the moment due to Spotify / Prime Music / YouTube being the main way of hearing stuff. Rather than being curated via DJs and radio stations is a lookatme lookatme needy shouting match.
I'm surprised that many songs are not just a verse / chorus that you can loop to your heart's content.

But each month I read a stack of album reviews from multiple genres, and also listen to and buy them. So they are still being put out.

[stoopicus]

Would be interesting to gauge the age ranges on this thread.

I'm GenX and even I am strongly in the "You are all getting old" camp. Music today is fine, it's just not being distributed in the same way. It's not hard to find at all though, you just have to look.

To review, the following has all been quantified concerning the music which charts:

I was complaining about the music on the top 10 charts sucking when I was 18. It still does, maybe for measurably different reasons, but that's immaterial. Spoiler: it will next year too. It turns out that the masses have no taste, same as it ever was.

[empphryio]

Yes, you think all popular music has always been terrible. You've said that a few times now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[gearwatcher]

Well, yes, most popular music, if you aren't looking below the surface of what's uber popular with the widest masses, was always mostly bland and silly. However the fact that less decent music makes it to the charts today is easily explained by the forces at play in music industry.

First the money from music isn't getting bigger, so they need to invest it much safer.

Second they learned how to create demand for their products irrespective of what they're selling, or better put, for any type they're selling.

And thirdly, they learnt what works and how to predict the parts of majority taste that they can't engineer, so they don't need to throw so many different naturally emerging trends (from the "underground") at the wall as they more less know what will stick.

[stoopicus]

Yes, you think all popular music has always been terrible. You've said that a few times now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I'm also happily enjoying tons of new music and not worried at all about downward trends in pop. I'll take that over doom and gloom every time.

Note that the thread topic is about "modern music", not just pop. A blanket statement that modern music is awful is, of course, staggeringly ignorant. (And yes, I get that OP wasn't necessarily saying that, and that the linked video is clickbait).

I am not disputing your posts about pop at all btw and I broadly agree with you. I am just saying that in terms of the thread topic, pop being bad is not really a concern for me.

And thirdly, they learnt what works and how to predict the parts of majority taste that they can't engineer, so they don't need to throw so many different naturally emerging trends (from the "underground") at the wall as they more less know what will stick.

Yep. I think this is actually a huge component of this and also pretty much inevitable as technology advances.