2008 Woodie Awards
Music industry getting worse on daily basis
By Mike Goodwin
Rocket Staff Writer
Issue date: 3/10/06 Section: Opinion
The music industry is tanking and I applaud consumers everywhere for it. Sales have dropped in the past couple years, but I'm specifically referring to an article in February's Rolling Stone Magazine. It surveyed listeners and found mostly negative results about the business. Those of you who actually remember a time when MTV (and VH1 before it became the reality television capital of horrible entertainment) played videos probably feel the exact same way.
I made reference to the music industry in the article about Wal-Mart and compared their terrible business practices. Four major labels basically control much of what you're hearing and could really care less about the stability of music. Clearly Wal-Mart doesn't care about music with its parental advisory bans and inflammatory use of Garth Brooks.
Amazingly 58 percent of those surveyed by Rolling Stone say music is getting worse. I believe it's entirely a corporate problem. People can like whatever music they want, but when it's packaged into a sound similar to everything else for the sake of quick profits, the general population is blinded by all the shiny, sparkly pop forced upon a dreary music scene. The industry controls much of what we hear and it wants you to buy it en mass as a quick cash fix. Kelly Clarkson got lucky; what other American Idol winner had long-term potential?
Peg me as the anti-establishment, cynical writer if you want, but take a listen for yourself. I'm hearing the same tunes over and over again (both old and new) on each station while DJ's rave about the greatness of an artist. Think about how many of these radio guys orgasm over the prospect of a new Metallica album and then slam it when it finally arrives. And I think the sheer amount of KT Tunstall promos on VH1 has given me cancer.
Unfortunately, the music industry's quality of product is inversely proportional to its cost; as the music grows blander, the price rises. At what other time in the history of music could the cliché phrase, "You're beautiful, it's true," spawn a hit record? I might have written something fairly similar when I was 12 and sounded just as ready to cry. There are simply just too many other questions that can only be answered with greed.
I made reference to the music industry in the article about Wal-Mart and compared their terrible business practices. Four major labels basically control much of what you're hearing and could really care less about the stability of music. Clearly Wal-Mart doesn't care about music with its parental advisory bans and inflammatory use of Garth Brooks.
Amazingly 58 percent of those surveyed by Rolling Stone say music is getting worse. I believe it's entirely a corporate problem. People can like whatever music they want, but when it's packaged into a sound similar to everything else for the sake of quick profits, the general population is blinded by all the shiny, sparkly pop forced upon a dreary music scene. The industry controls much of what we hear and it wants you to buy it en mass as a quick cash fix. Kelly Clarkson got lucky; what other American Idol winner had long-term potential?
Peg me as the anti-establishment, cynical writer if you want, but take a listen for yourself. I'm hearing the same tunes over and over again (both old and new) on each station while DJ's rave about the greatness of an artist. Think about how many of these radio guys orgasm over the prospect of a new Metallica album and then slam it when it finally arrives. And I think the sheer amount of KT Tunstall promos on VH1 has given me cancer.
Unfortunately, the music industry's quality of product is inversely proportional to its cost; as the music grows blander, the price rises. At what other time in the history of music could the cliché phrase, "You're beautiful, it's true," spawn a hit record? I might have written something fairly similar when I was 12 and sounded just as ready to cry. There are simply just too many other questions that can only be answered with greed.
