Record sales have been falling for many years as people have access to free music on the internet. Because there are so many options for what to search up online, people will often listen to one song but then move on. Perhaps the internet has had an effect on music too, as it makes everything faster and requires less patience. An iPod can be filled with hundreds upon hundreds of songs, and people will often shuffle to a brand new song before the current one has finished. Because the cost and time required to obtain the songs was minimal, the desire to listen to a song all the way is less attractive.
In some ways, this attitude of impatience has left its mark on music industry in general Letsmix. Music becomes less valuable to recording artists. For people to pay attention to the music online, they need to create a controversy or show an event. While these artists are not to be singled out, many rappers will attempt to gain a following through trashing the work of other rappers and calling them out in some sort of big clash. Fights can start verbally or physically, feuds are formed, a reputation is established, and only then can the actual recordings be heard. Sometimes artists will not put in the effort necessary to make their music great. Instead, they may focus on making a huge PR stunt that will create controversy and leave music as a secondary element.
Sometimes music styles and groups can become out of date or the lineups of a band are not as good as the previous. The music suffers because music is no longer as important as maintaining a particular band label. Guns n Roses is a prime example. GnR was a label that released the first albums. It had a raw and hard sound. Many people saw this as the start of a revolution in music. Rolling Stone magazine, and other critics, deemed the band revolutionary in the way the Rolling Stones were back then in the 1960s and 1970s. However, feuding between bandmates led to a breakup; Steven Adler, who was the original drummer, was fired because of a heroin addiction. Izzy Stradlin was the rhythm guitarist and cowriter on many of the most memorable songs. He was unhappy with Axlrose.
Slash and Axl experienced a massive meltdown which to this day remains unresolved. Duff McKagan, bassist, was also forced to leave the band. The music that was once a great sound has been destroyed by the departure of all the artists. Axl is the last member of GnR. His attempts to maintain the label are not nearly capable of producing music like the original GnR. Axl continues his feuds and other band members, and causes many PR stunts at the shows to maintain an image. But, the music itself doesn’t grab attention and is not solidified. Because the music doesn’t merit the effort to listen to, it is forgotten about. Axl’s ego refuses it to go.
There are also artists who are children of successful artists. They try to leverage mommy and daddy’s names in the industry to get similar validation. Kelly Osbourne, who tried to use her daddy’s name in promotion for herself, is an example. Will Smith’s children are another example, especially his youngest daughter. Her single is basically one line repeated repeatedly. This attempts to leverage the parents’ success fails, which raises new questions about what is going on in today’s music industry. Ozzy Osbourne, Will Smith are both highly successful musicians. Their contributions will be remembered long after their deaths. However, their children’s attempts of stealing from the success of the parents raises questions about the record companies that they are signing up for. Is talent not a requirement anymore, but a name and endless pockets?
Today’s music industry has a positive aspect. Artists are more likely to write music that protests against governments and big business. Rise Against, Anti-Flag and other bands are key examples of today’s modern protest music. They have made it their business to oppose government, particularly right-wingers and call out big businesses for their morally ambiguous and sometimes illegal actions. The ability to listen to music through the entire process has been impacted by modern technology. However, this technology has led to a greater awareness of the social, environmental and political issues in the world.
