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[Derek]

this is going to be hard for me because i'm thinking and typing at the same time.... when i hear the music in my collection and classic rock stations (50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s[early]) and i hear the music now... i can not put my finger on it, but it's VERY differant and it's gottn more plastic, fake. and the artists who were here long before are trying to bring something back but to no avail, they sense the drastic change too. i used to buy music in music stores now i download them and manualy tag the info myself. no records, no tapes, not even CDs just music files. with no big album artwork to look at while listening. not that the music is the same because it's not. In fact theres no spirit to it, it is just an organism like background noise. While i love the easy access to the music, i miss where you treat you favorite music like a a book (novel) i have over 6000 songs on my ipod and i64 complete albums on my ipod that i listen to like a novel (including all the Beatles 12 (13 if you count the double album as 2) UK albums. With photos (front, back and gatefold) on my ipod too. and my laptop and portable drive. I still have a few old records that i am never parting with. and about 400 CDs. but i fantisize about the older days where i could just have records and 8-tracks (that's right... 8 FRIKKIN' TRACKS!!) evrything was simplier. Even though JUST technology-wise, its easier.... but at what cost it seems, right? 

[kylenz]

This article is very much related - http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2013/09/25/lies

It sure doesn't look very good for the future of the industry. And as the article states, the dream promised by an 'industry-free industry' hasn't benefitted new artists at all. You need a lot of luck and hope it's all in the lap of the gods.

For me, rock and rolll died when the grunge movement died. That was the last time we had a real revolution in rock with truly exciting bands. And it's cool that Macca in recent times has been able to collaborate with one of the guys most instrumental in that movement - Dave Grohl of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters. But since then it's largely been a wasteland.

I listen to more pop music these days. Sky Ferreira is my current fave. And the thing with her is, Capitol Records has stuffed her around - they refuse to properly release her cd, yet it still entered the Top40 in the Billboard charts. She wrote and recorded it in 2 1/2 weeks after Capitol made her record another album with their own producers and writers, which she wasn't happy with. So she convinced them to let her make her own album - which she did.. but they are refusing to promote it. And they have gone against her wishes to have 'Night time, My Time' released on vinyl. You can't even buy the cd on Amazon. It's a mess. And it's the best album of the year! I think it's easily on a par with Macca's 'NEW'!

[2 of 3]

I'm not sure what happened to my original post on this...oh well. I'm not sure Rock and Roll is dead...but the music business sure is. Where is all the great music? There's lots of good music...but where is the stuff that knocks you over? I read somewhere that Macca has sold 200,000 copies of "New"....in the world! Th new Elton John even less. I'm not sure if those factoids are correct..but it will be really interesting to see how well the new U2 album does when it comes out. Maybe Bono can twerk a few times and sell some cd's? 

[Keri]

Maybe. In a way I don't care in "Rock n Roll" is dead, but i don't think music will die.

I think we're in a very different paradigm now. I still buy music I still buy CDs. But many of the big artists creating new music that I like are old: Paul McCartney & Brian Wilson.

I still discover back catalogue, I'm currently buying a whole lot of Mike Oldfield and Karl Jenkins. I also have friends who put out CDs that i really enjoy: Swami Madhuram Puri and Rich Goodhart.

Things are definitely changing and the popular music of the 50s 60s & 70s particularly has been a part of that, but now discussion sites, youtube, smart phones there is a much more participatory culture. I think we are going to see more change and I doubt part of that will the emergence of something like the old rock scene, we are more likely see a sea change into something rich and strange.

[2 of 3]

It's almost like tech..is the new music. I remember when a new album by someone was an event. Now, the new version of a phone is an event. The sad thing is though, with tech, old is out. Music HAD legs...now it fizzles out as fast as having an iphone 3. 

[Mervap]

I doubt part of that will the emergence of something like the old rock scene, we are more likely see a sea change into something rich and strange.

I like the way you described this....when I was a kid and young adult, the music you listened to kind of DEFINED you. It seemed like a big banquet where the kitchen kept bringing you new dishes and announcing them loudly. It was an event. Now, it seems more like a much bigger restaurant, but it's more like a buffet....you are able to pick and choose more selectively. Unfortunately, I find the menu now, while being more eclectic, doesn't suit my taste buds nicely.

[Keri]

I've been home sick the last few days and I watched a couple of good docos one on Jethro Tull and the other Yes. Both of these bands have continued to put out music and there has been some good stuff but even so there is not the same sense of urgency or importance that is attached to it & if i look around from them it seems the same loss of meaning and urgency is across the whole music scene.

My generation invested a whole lot of emotional capital into popular music, the changes in it seemed to reflect changes in the world around us, the music seemed to have wide implications it altered our minds and our hearts and we were committed to it. I just don't see that as the case now. I wonder if we were deluded, did the music really mean so much?

Are we waking up after a spell with magic? Makes me think of Prospero's epilogue in the Tempest:

 Now my charms are all overthrown,
And what strength I have's mine own,
Which is most faint: now, 'tis true,
I must be here confined by you,
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got
And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island by your spell;
But release me from my bands (10)
With the help of your good hands:
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please. Now I want
Spirits to enforce, art to enchant,
And my ending is despair,
Unless I be relieved by prayer,
Which pierces so that it assaults
Mercy itself and frees all faults.
As you from crimes would pardon'd be,
Let your indulgence set me free.

[DazedOblivion]

Alas, the ability to convert sound waves into strings of 1's and 0's was a kind of Pandora's box - a "punishing gift" that sent a once thriving industry on a slow but steady slide into seeming oblivion. It became a whole new world when a commodity could be so easily duplicated. Imagine if things other than digital media - 6-packs of beer, big screen TVs, bags of Cheetos - could be duplicated with perfect accuracy at the mere click of a button. If such a thing COULD happen, it WOULD happen. Conceivably it might upset the entire world order. Without scarcity, everything loses value.

I had an email conversation with a friend about this and, as he put it, "The incentive to produce them [recordings] will diminish - except for those with a muse that compels them to perform, regardless of material gain. Just the true lovers and dreamers, the Van Goghs of the world, will be making music for the mere joy of it."

If rock does NOT die, most likely it will be because of these kinds of people.

In noticeable ways, I see the sad truth that music has lost value to society as a whole. A record store still exists in my town and inside there are bins and bins famous albums on CD tossed out by others. Many people living today never had the chance to witness just how important popular music once was to society. For those who retain a memory of how valued music used to be, it's beyond belief to see legendary recordings sold from $1.95.

It's most heartbreaking what this whole under-valuing of music does to artists themselves, such as when they end up walking away from their careers in music. I know one brilliant singer who, through economic necessity, recently became an optometrist. It's beyond belief. On YouTube, I watch many artists perform at venues where the audience jabbers and doesn't appreciate - or even listen to - the music. I see wonderful musicians share their tunes on YouTube and, after a full year, they have less than 100 views, while far lesser talents have over a million views - this probably owing to the fact too many lack the passion to listen to anything other than what the television spoon-feeds them.

The thing that brings me hope is that it seems in every generation there are those who DO attach proper value to music. There are also those young men and women who look back at something from an earlier generation and find inspiration from it - the ones who listened to their parents' music. That is why rock & roll will continue to stay alive and kicking. That's my hope!

[kylenz]

That's such a great point, and the devaluing of music hasn't only come from the advent of piracy, but from the industry itself and the likes of Spotify - where people have the ability to listen to millions of songs for free, or pay on a subscription basis for extra benefits. Van Dyke Parks recently said it best:

Forty years ago, co-writing a song with Ringo Starr would have provided me a house and a pool. Now, estimating 100,000 plays on Spotify, we guessed we’d split about $80. When I got home, on closer study, I found out we were way too optimistic. Spotify (on par with other streamers) pays only .00065 cents per play.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/04/van-dyke-parks-on-how-songwriters-are-getting-screwed-in-the-digital-age.html

[2 of 3]

That was an interesting read. I'm not sure who to blame for this though. I mean, VDP himself said that Spotify and other streaming services has put a dent in people stealing music. At least now they are making SOME money for their songs. I'm all for artists making a good living for what they do, and I'm definitely one of those people who has downloaded music for free..but wow... a house and a pool for co writing ONE song with Ringo? I mean...that wouldn't even be a hit would it? So in other words...it has gone from one extreme to another.

[kylenz]

I agree, it really has gone from one extreme to the other. Gene Simmons also recently declared rock music officially dead.. quite an interesting interview here between Gene and his son, Nick - http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/gene-simmons-future-of-rock?src=spr_TWITTER&spr_id=1456_85172828

[Greg]

Rock is alive and well when I listen to a good DJ on the college radio station.  I don't know what they are playing 99% of the time, but when there's a good DJ it's awesome.

F*** Gene Simmons and his stuck-in-the-past attitude.

[2 of 3]

I guess he has a point..but it's His point of view. Tons of great music out there that has a smaller fan base than the classic acts(Mervap finds lots all the time) But there does seem to be a pattern to what Simmons was saying. I really didn't like what he said about there being no reason to learn guitar and write songs. That's like saying there's no reason to play baseball if you don't make the majors.
Justin Currie said something similar though a few weeks ago though.

FW: So at this stage are you looking to just record an album and then find distribution for it?

JC: What I do next I don’t know, don’t have a  clue what to do next. We spend less and less money on every record and we made less and less money, it’s like vanity publishing, it doesn't have any validity really. I’m quite happy to make records for nothing.

FW: It seems like people have to perform these days to make money.

JC: Yeah, I mean I can only really make money in the UK and only once or twice a year but I can’t really do that forever so it’s a bit of a mystery as to how you turn it over. And I’m not complaining because I live off past glories and royalties, I feel sorry for people that didn't have that stroke of luck. 

[Greg]

I agree 2.  He does make some good points.  The new business model?  I don't know if there is just one.  It was a golden age for those artists who made it big and especially...especially the record companies.  They had it so good they refused to believe that things had changed.  It was like the US car companies making lousy, big cars even though the auto business was changing.