Musicadium Blog

I’m not sure how this happened. I’m an outsider in the world of music, an industry I’ve loved and been involved in all of my adult life. You see, I’m an unashamed fan of pop music, a genre that is generally discarded, by most, as just mindless babble, not considered an art form by those in the know. We are all excited about the emergence of self distribution tools and the ability of the artist to have more control over their career, that the primped and polished pop star is becoming an endangered species.

For the Love of Music

Well, perhaps it’s not true that I don’t know what happened, I think it has something to do with Australia’s tendency to cut down anything that is popular- generally called ‘tall poppy syndrome’. Now, I have a musical background, I love jazz and soul and can appreciate classical music. I also know enough about music history and theory to be considered relatively educated. I’m not going to come out and tell you that I think Britney is a great singer, however I do appreciate the brand that is Britney Spears. I think there is a lot to be said about the marketing machines behind such phenomenon, and I’m not ashamed to admit that listening to this kind of music, or watching these artist’s videos, can often brighten my day.

Decline of Major Labels

I mean, let’s not get hysterical about the ‘death of the labels’. Not being important anymore is not death - it’s just lonely and disappointing.-  Andrew Dubber

Seeing the steady decline in the ‘big four‘ labels bodes badly for aspiring pop stars and pop music fans alike. It seems to suggest that the money it takes to create these ‘megastars’ is slowly dwindling, which in turn means that the major labels will

a) sign less pop artists

b) be less willing to take risks on artists that don’t tick their particular boxes and, scarily,

c) be less willing to let their artists take risks after achieving their initial popularity.

For aspiring artists with a more alternative appeal this doesn’t pose too many problems, however pop artists will still require the collateral to fund marketing effort it takes to launch in this genre.

Rise and Fall of Music Genres

The rise and fall of music genres is nothing new. Classical music was often commissioned/funded by royalty for their own means. Jazz was the ‘pop’ music of much of the 20^th Century and has since carved out a sustainable place for itself in western music. More recently, Gangsta hip hop enjoyed a massive popularity in the 90’s with the likes of Tupac and Biggie Smalls but has since receded from the popular music charts, although still remains in a mutated form in the likes of Kanye West and Eminem.

Popped: The Beginning of the End

‘The record business is in trouble, but the music business is alive and well.’-Tony George

With this in mind, I guess I can take solace in the fact that ‘pop’ music, as we refer to it now, will always have a place in music. What will we call this music if it is no longer popular? And with the diversification of the way we distribute and consume music mean that the popularity of genres is no longer dominated by one specific genre? Will this truly be the end of ‘pop’ music in any form?

What next?

I can already hear the rejoicing of my peers: ‘Yay! Death to pop music’ ‘Long live Indie Bands’. One thing’s for sure. This industry we love is changing, for the best most probably. Change is always scary, and although I try to embrace it, there is always a longing to grasp onto what is familiar.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 5:45 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.