BTW, there was already a previous thread from November 2009 that discussed THIS very subject.

TonyVanDam said:

Well excuse me if it offends you so much .. shit

Mods get rid of it if you have too smh

BenaimanBawkah said:

Pop music my forecasts are:
-rap will blend with eloctronic music, their won't be a final hurrah but rap will later on in the dacade reconcile with it's other sub-genres after it's commercial viability fades a little, it's presence though will never fade like rock music, it's stamped itself permanently onto american culture.
-electronic music will merge with pop more and more as it has since the 80's, I can see trance, or psych trance with it's melodious appeal becoming the genre of choice for pop music in the next decade. serious electronic aficionados will of course hate these sellouts
-There won't be as many pop stars outside of family stars and a couple others

Music industry forecasts:
-the artists will have increasing control over their music
-there will be 'pockets' as the landscape changes. less and less people will be listening to the same music
-independent managements will arise
-concert promoters are fucked
-directional sound will kick ass

my hopes:
-I get to enjoy alot of good music
-I will be in a band that plays jazz/funk/latin fusion

I'm optimistic. I don't rely on mainstream and I'm open to almost anything. There are so many ways to find new and/or interesting music. I do a lot of exploring. Sometimes things even come to me. People like to share artists/songs they discovered or love. I love reading/hearing about it.

I don't see why this year should be any different from any other year. Seek and you shall find.

babybugz said:

i hope we bands that merge rock with classical music ala malice mizer..
we need more visual bands.

or classical music and dance music ala GPKISM!
[Edited 12/23/09 12:02pm]

To think that the state of music is at its lowest is just plain close minded. I think Music is headed in amazing directions, let me give some examples of the past couple years that signal the future of music.

Radiohead - revolutionized how music is sold, expect to see plenty more of the online give aways, Nine inch Nails followed suite and the likes of Shakira and Janet Jackson gave away singles online. Not only that, but Radiohead greatly changed what kind of sound that can hit number 1 on the Billboard 200, Kid A and In Rainbows anyone?

Jack White - Spread his talent everywhere this decade, but also brought back rock from the dark state of "Post Grunge" giving relief from Nickelback and followers to those who miss Classic Rock.

Prince - despite his less than huge efforts this decade his prolific career is influencing a huge amount of artists today. Whether you love em or hate me Prince's influence can be heard in the like of: Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, La Roux, Maroon 5 etc.

The Strokes - the band that might define a generation, they never hit the mainstream all that hard, but they certainly opened doors for other acts to follow. What a great decade we had when acts like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, MGMT, The Ting Tings, M.I.A., Animal Collective, Lily Allen, Beck etc. hit the mainstream. Pop music is fading and real variety is making it big. anybody notice how the past year Regina Spektor's album debuted just as well as Rihanna's?

Lady GaGa - she's gonna make a big impact, and this is not just for those who love her, the industry is going to take note about artists like her who can write their own smash singles. not only that but she is bringing the 80s back to the mainstream, androgyny, synths and conventionality. No matter if you see her as a manufactured pop star or a revolution, she's steering pop music in a new direction. can you at least appreciate that?

Madonna - Love her or hate her, a little more than a decade ago she solidified electronica's move into the US mainstream and you can bet that's going to grow larger in the ensuing decade with a growing list of acts (including rappers) happily following suite.

Lil Wayne - okay so I hate the guy, but he certainly is changing the game for rappers, mix tape give aways and appearing all over the map, expect many imitators. Alot of you on hear hate "shit hop" but at least appreciate a rapper who isn't trying to be pac. he's dead. get over it.

and finally

Live concerts - with the biz hitting new lows everyday the need to make money off of live concerts is growing big time. expect concerts to start to become big events in the future, the tour is becoming more critical everyday.

babybugz said:

Well, it's only eight days away; so I guess not much change at all.

If you mean the next decade however... I think the changes will be vast.

Aside from the influence of the internet, I think something more jarring may occur.

It's very likely that a number of pop music icons will die by 2019. It's entirely possible that Mc.Cartney, Jagger, Bowie or Dylan won't see 2020 due to natural causes associated with ageing. It's one thing for a rock star to live fast and die young, but it's quite another to just die.

Madonna will rule the roost and become queen of the old guard. The "alternative" of ten years ago, will become the mainstream of the next ten. Beck will become the new Dylan.

I think there'll be more one-hit wonders and fewer true megastars. The record companies just won't have the cash to hype their chosen "next big things" anymore. In a way, it'll be a return to when the song was celebrated, not the singer - in the way it was before pop ruled everything. It's already happening; you can already purchase just one song from an album by an act you don't really like, if you really love just that one song. That just wasn't an option in the past.