MotownSubdivision said:

2freaky4church1 said:

Amen. Blame capitalism. We should have about a hundred thousand bands or artists making about a hundred thou a year with decent cult followings. What we have is a dozen huge artists and a million bands struggling.

People are forced to do top forty dreck and cover bs. We need arts funding,.

I get that the music industry is a business and that the purpose of a business is to make money as well as the best way to make money is by cutting costs or avoiding them altogether to maximize profit. That's likely what the suits at the top think: that by mainly focusing on the biggest names, they don't have as much money to spend and thus can reap more from these artists' success.

The music industry is a reflection of industry itself -- concentration of wealth and resources in an ever-shrinking number of hands. Media itself is so consolidated that it is not surprising that it seemis to focus on a small pool of acts that can hit for big returns in the short term. And on it goes.

I blame the idiots who used to shout out Purple Rain at his shows.

namepeace said:

MotownSubdivision said:

2freaky4church1 said: I get that the music industry is a business and that the purpose of a business is to make money as well as the best way to make money is by cutting costs or avoiding them altogether to maximize profit. That's likely what the suits at the top think: that by mainly focusing on the biggest names, they don't have as much money to spend and thus can reap more from these artists' success.

The music industry is a reflection of industry itself -- concentration of wealth and resources in an ever-shrinking number of hands. Media itself is so consolidated that it is not surprising that it seemis to focus on a small pool of acts that can hit for big returns in the short term. And on it goes.

True. A comparison that's better still is cable TV where networks generally spam their most popular programs and don't air more than a handful of shows outside of the flagship shows.

MotownSubdivision said:

mjscarousal said:

Adele just got her second diamond album and I believe one of Lady Gaga's albums went diamond during the height of her popularity. So people do still buy popular music if they feel its worth buying. There are clear examples that people still do buy records if they think the product is worth buying. Also, there also has been more of an influx of white pop stars compared to Black and I think the reason why there is so little bit of Black superstars is due to tokenism and discrimination. Like I said there is a lot of things at play here beyond the streaming, not buying records, etc as to why there are only a few major pop acts.

[Edited 10/10/16 19:50pm]

Exactly. I'm still remembering last year how Jill Scott and Tyrese both had #1 albums yet were nowhere to be heard on the radio. The thing is while it does seem like we've reverted to the post-disco years with not many black artists receiving attention, this issue extends to anybody outside of the biggest names who have scored #1 albums the past few years yet received no Top 40 treatment. Due to low record sales, getting a #1 album has never been easier and we've had more artists than ever before taking their records to the top of the charts. So why is Top 40 still so limited? [Edited 10/11/16 8:04am]

I agree with all of this. This is my answer to your question and I know you will probably disagree but to answer your question it boils down to white supremacy and who they want at the top. They rule and run the industry. They determine who stays at the top and who does not. We have perfect examples of this too. Why else can a artist get a number one album BUT still no radio play, no nominations, no awards, no performance slot, recognition etc? What is the point of having a number one album if executives are going to determine how it is recognized? Why have award shows if executives are going to pander who they want to have them? The mainstream acts get number one albums and the media treats it as an anamoly but when lesser known acts get number one albums, it is as if it is non existent. Garth Brooks just got his 7th diamond album and the media is not even talking about it! I would have never known if I didn't frequent this site. YET, all the mainstream pop stars out now don't have any diamond albums except Adele. I know a lot of people don't want to admit it but it was shady how Gaga became the biggest pop star in America then suddenly vanishes off the face of the planet. I firmly believe that was an industry inside job and she got blacklisted. It seems for whatever reason (good or bad) certain artists and pop stars of THIS generation get special underserving treatment/pandering over others and I find it shady and dirty. That is why I don't watch award shows and I dont support the artists who push this b.s industry agenda The industry is a reflection of our current society.

[Edited 10/11/16 21:36pm]

I often wonder how much of this is just our perception, and how much of this is just our nostalgia for pastime music paradise (60's and 70's specially) imean, there is much more music out there besides 100 Billboard, youjust have to look for it.

214 said:

MotownSubdivision said:

206Michelle said:

This is a great post! I totally agree with the points you are making, Motown. I think that the disappearing "middle class" of music artists has coincided with the decline of physical record sales (CDs) and the increase of streaming/iTunes and YouTube. There is less of a reason for record labels to invest in the production of full-length albums for middle-class artists because people don't buy albums like they used to do so. Also, people are accessing radio differently now with the internet. It used to be as recently as 10-15 years ago, that people mostly listened to live radio and cell phones. I graduated from high school in 2004. People still went to music stores back then. I remember in 2000 when *NSYNC released "No Strings Attached," it was a really big deal. Usher had some really big albums in the early 2000s, as did Destiny's Child, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, and Jay-Z. Even MJ's invicible had pretty good sales and radio play. The more middle class artists were ones like Jagged Edge, Gwen Stefani, 112, Nickelback, Ginuwine, Ciara, and Tyrese. I'm sure that I am forgetting some artists. I'm just going with what I remember.

--

The exception is country music. I listened to a lot of country music when I was in college at Washington State University (2004-2009); I went to school in the college town of Pullman, WA. I still listen to country, although I'm not as well-informed about the current state of the genre as I used to be. However, many country stars are able to have very long careers. Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, and Carrie Underwood are still making hits.

Country seems to have a dedicated fanbase more than any other genre. Most people who listen to country seem to hold onto tradition strongly and are more willing to actually go out and purchase a physical album. [Edited 10/9/16 21:37pm]

Motown, I totally agree with you! I wonder if the dedication of the fanbase has anything to do with the popularity of country music in rural or semi-rural areas.

MotownSubdivision said:

mjscarousal said:

Adele just got her second diamond album and I believe one of Lady Gaga's albums went diamond during the height of her popularity. So people do still buy popular music if they feel its worth buying. There are clear examples that people still do buy records if they think the product is worth buying. Also, there also has been more of an influx of white pop stars compared to Black and I think the reason why there is so little bit of Black superstars is due to tokenism and discrimination. Like I said there is a lot of things at play here beyond the streaming, not buying records, etc as to why there are only a few major pop acts.

[Edited 10/10/16 19:50pm]

Exactly. I'm still remembering last year how Jill Scott and Tyrese both had #1 albums yet were nowhere to be heard on the radio. The thing is while it does seem like we've reverted to the post-disco years with not many black artists receiving attention, this issue extends to anybody outside of the biggest names who have scored #1 albums the past few years yet received no Top 40 treatment. Due to low record sales, getting a #1 album has never been easier and we've had more artists than ever before taking their records to the top of the charts. So why is Top 40 still so limited? [Edited 10/11/16 8:04am]

Motown, I live in Philadelphia. Tyrese's song "Shame" got a ton of airplay on the R&B station WDAS 105.3. It made it to #1 on the US Adult R&B Songs chart. Tyrese also has millions of followers on social media and he is very active on social media, especially instagram. He was posting constantly about his album Black Rose. Plus, his album got really good reviews. It doesn't surprise me one bit that his album sold really well. Jill Scott is a little harder for me to figure out. I don't follow her as much as I follow Tyrese. She gets a lot of support here in Philly because she's from here. I know she is still making music but I can't really think of any songs she's done recently. But I know that she has some dedicated fans and is well-respected.

206Michelle said:

206Michelle said:

214 said:

I often wonder how much of this is just our perception, and how much of this is just our nostalgia for pastime music paradise (60's and 70's specially) imean, there is much more music out there besides 100 Billboard, youjust have to look for it.

Of course there is other styles of music

However,

The question specifically is referring to mainstream artists though not indie or non mainstream ones.

MotownSubdivision said:

This article sums up my point: http://nymag.com/daily/in...eezed.html

Great article Motown, thanks for sharing! It sums up your thread objective perfectly.

Motown was greedy but they cared about high quality. Watch the movie Ray. Charles did great songs but they said, no, Ray, you can do better? wow, that would not happen today.

Too bad Prince didn't have a bird on his shoulder.

2freaky4church1 said:

214 said:

I often wonder how much of this is just our perception, and how much of this is just our nostalgia for pastime music paradise (60's and 70's specially) imean, there is much more music out there besides 100 Billboard, youjust have to look for it.

You hit the nail on the head with this comment ('how much of this is just our nostalgia for pastime music paradise (60's and 70's specially.)') People just want the past back, but it isn't coming back the way they want it to.

As I said here before, the USA has to re-regulate radio like it used to be; maybe music can come back to what it used to be.

[Edited 3/23/18 0:55am]

Wintermute1 said: