Just about all the problems listed before can be spun back to this rampant commercialisation has destroyed music. Labels have always been in business to make money, but money is officially the only thing that talks in music today. Its because of commercialisation that all bands within a genre sound the same. Commercialisation brings us Auto-Tune, suburban blues musicians, One Direction notebooks and Miley Cyrus grinding the son of TVs Alan Thicke. It kills the radio and promotes online streaming where the advertising can't be skipped some programs go so far as to pause the ad if any rebels dare mute their computer during them. Part of the problem is the modern makeup of major labels. One might think that the younger, hipper executives of today would produce better music. Instead, the opposite is true: As Frank Zappa recalls below, in the 60s the older, cigar-chomping executives said, "I dont know. Who knows what it is? Record it, stick it out, if it sells alright." Hip scouts and producers by contrast are far more conservative, paid specifically because theyre supposed to know ahead of time what will and what wont work, minimising labels financial risk but dramatically watering down the product. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZazEM8cgt0 There are easier ways than ever for musicians to go around the corporate influence and get their names out there, but to reach the truly titanic heights enjoyed by the artists dominating the industry today requires corporate backing. Unfortunately, corporations have determined that the lowest common denominator is the easiest way to sell music. If that seems sad, don't worry too much: the 60s and 70s produced more great music than most people will have a chance to get to in their lifetime, and there are great bands out there working today - you've just got to ignore what the big labels, 'hip' people and advertisers are trying to sell you. What other problems do you think are destroying the core of the artistry behind music? Let us know in the comments!
Kyle Schmidlin is a writer and musician living in Austin, TX. He manages the news blog at thirdrailnews.wordpress.com. Follow him at facebook.com/kyleschmidlin or twitter.com/kyleschmidlin1.
