Music Banter - View Single Post - Where do you guys see electronic music heading?

oscillate · 02-28-2016, 10:19 PM

As already mentioned, you're seeing the peak of the popularity of modern electronic music, which to most people is EDM. But electronic music itself, like most "genres," is so overarching that I don't really know how to answer your question in a general sense.

Since you mentioned Jack U and the new Bieber song, we've essentially seen the appropriation of electronic music and EDM into the contemporary pop format for the past few years. It's probably been a slower build than it may seem at this point in time, so who knows how long it will remain at the top. I think it's important to be aware that it's ultimately very subjective. Yes, you can use charts and radio play/music streams to gauge the overall popularity along with festivals, shows, etc., but music consumption is so fragmented today that I don't know how reliable that really is anymore. If it is still reliable, it certainly won't be for many more years.

I personally think electronic music is going to be adapted and injected into many different types of music. Whether this will be a good or bad thing, I have no idea. But, someone is prone to come up with something interesting. Pop music is definitely not the accurate measure of where electronic music is going.

I'd argue that's the way music is heading in general. I don't think we're going to see eras or waves of underground or new styles becoming popular in the same way we did in the 50s-90s. A lot of that was the result of independent underground musical communities forming because information and music was not globally accessible. You could go to different places in the U.S. and around the world and experience vastly different musical styles. That's a lot less common now that everyone can theoretically access everything. I'm not saying that people will not be more creative and create interesting blends of music and styles - people are doing that - but I think the days of genres or "musical movements," if you can even call them that, taking over the mainstream and reshaping the culture overnight are long gone.

02-28-2016, 10:19 PM	#8 (permalink)
oscillate Groupie Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 27	As already mentioned, you're seeing the peak of the popularity of modern electronic music, which to most people is EDM. But electronic music itself, like most "genres," is so overarching that I don't really know how to answer your question in a general sense. Since you mentioned Jack U and the new Bieber song, we've essentially seen the appropriation of electronic music and EDM into the contemporary pop format for the past few years. It's probably been a slower build than it may seem at this point in time, so who knows how long it will remain at the top. I think it's important to be aware that it's ultimately very subjective. Yes, you can use charts and radio play/music streams to gauge the overall popularity along with festivals, shows, etc., but music consumption is so fragmented today that I don't know how reliable that really is anymore. If it is still reliable, it certainly won't be for many more years. I personally think electronic music is going to be adapted and injected into many different types of music. Whether this will be a good or bad thing, I have no idea. But, someone is prone to come up with something interesting. Pop music is definitely not the accurate measure of where electronic music is going. I'd argue that's the way music is heading in general. I don't think we're going to see eras or waves of underground or new styles becoming popular in the same way we did in the 50s-90s. A lot of that was the result of independent underground musical communities forming because information and music was not globally accessible. You could go to different places in the U.S. and around the world and experience vastly different musical styles. That's a lot less common now that everyone can theoretically access everything. I'm not saying that people will not be more creative and create interesting blends of music and styles - people are doing that - but I think the days of genres or "musical movements," if you can even call them that, taking over the mainstream and reshaping the culture overnight are long gone.