Music Banter - View Single Post - Since 2000, there had been no big star. Why?

Justthefacts · 01-23-2016, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oscillate

There are "stars" - just not "rock stars." Pop is the dominant format now. Rock music is out. There are some good rock bands, but the major label system no longer sees rock music as it did in the 80s and 90s.

As to why, perhaps, grandmas don't know musicians/bands like they may have in the 90s and before, that's largely because of the fragmentation of distribution. There are no more MTVs and radio, although holding on, does not command the attention it once did. You used to be able to beam a video on MTV and if the video took, a new band would be able to sell out tours pretty quickly. The disruption of the Internet and the devaluation of music over the past 15 years has led to a lot of noise, making it difficult for artist's to break through without major label marketing and promotion.

As revenue has dwindled, the major labels have opted for the 'get rich quick' strategy as opposed to investing in their catalog (which ironically is the only thing making them any money these days) by developing career artists. So, you see pop stars come and go every year or two only to be replaced with someone younger. The same songwriters write new versions of the same songs every few years and the mainstream co-opts different genres/trends as it always has and the cycle repeats. Most "pop stars" as we know them today are known more for their social media accounts than for their music.

Someone else mentioned attention spans and that's part of it. It's a very complex issue with differing viewpoints, all of which are probably correct to a certain degree. I would agree with the sentiment that songwriting has become less important in the last few years, especially in pop. So in terms of creating stars, I don't think there's much substance these days in mainstream music. The major labels certainly aren't going to take a risk on an unpredictable artist like a Kurt Cobain, Trent Reznor, Neil Young, or David Bowie when they can easily manufacture a plastic pop star who they can control and share in every aspect of revenue. The labels are done taking risks.