[LucasBunny]

Okay I was just thinking about this because of the whole boyband thing and here is how I feel,
I feel like the music industry is close to dead and this goes for the whole world.

I feel like music isnt what it used to be, there are too many people half assing there way through the industry which leads to audiences being feed BS which leads to mainstream being corrupt but in the audience eyes corrupt is good.

With exceptions like Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Se7en, Lupe Fiasco,Mika Nakashima, Utada, Leona Lewis, Natasha Bedingfield
people who are actual musicians and actually have talentand when you hear their music you can tell this is where their hearts are at, everything else is a hot mess, this is becoming bad and it's taking away from people who have actual music talents and can't shine due to everything being based on looks, sex appeal, race etc etc. I feel like the music industry is really going downhill because people are getting record deals too easily, this is becoming a problem
I know this because a talented singer like June has no business at all debuting at 299 on Oricon, not saying he should debut at #1 but come on now, look at Jojo and Tiffany Evans they are two incredibly talented young girls and it is unfair how people arent too familiar with them, why is Lim Jeong Hee being outsold by Lee Hyori? why is Big Mama being outsold by people like Wondergirls?? and lets face it the definetion of boybands these days = hair done , fanservice, bad dancing and nasal singing and the groups that can actually sing once again arent getting the credit they deserve.

Another thing I would like to mention are vocals, people seem to think that people who hit a half ass high note or yell through a whole song are amazing singers. I have issues with Beyonce's singing because of this, I know the girl can sing but sometimes she's always yelling and people ONLY pay attention to the yelling and consider a great singer, same with Xtina when she first came out people thought she could sing only because of her yelling and growling, I think Xtina is a great singer but when she first came out her voice was OD and she was stretching it, same thing with Charice, everyone says she is amazing but I feel like if she didnt yell her way through Whitney's songs people would not say that. I guess because people like Mariah, Patti and Whitney do it people think that when other female singers shout and yell through songs they are doing what Mariah and Whitney are doing and they arent. People also seem to think anyone who puts on a bogus r&b voice they are such good singers .

The last thing I would like to mention is blatant copying which people often mistake for inspiration.
When Britney Spears first debut I did not like her and to this day I still do not like her, she's a great performer but she's not my cup of tea. Anyways, when I used to watch her I was able to compare so much to Janet Jackson it wasnt even funny, but people always use the excuse "it's inspiration", also with Ciara and her uncanny similarities to Aaliyah which people label as either coincedential or inspiration, some people even call her the new Aaliyah , now lets talk about Big Bang and B2K similar music, choreographer, videos, wardrobe everything, when Lee Hyori plageriased Britney Spears people tried to sweep it under the rug,
but people are often in denial about this, it's things like what I mentioned above that make me feel like the music industry is dying, I feel like no one is original, everything is manufactured, people condone copying etc etc but this is just my opinion.

Share your thoughts

[huangmeixi]

Chinese music is still going strong.

You have people like Mayday (rock group, writes their own songs), Jay Chou (writes own songs), and JJ Lin (writes own songs) doing really well, topping the charts.

Since I've stopped listening to mostly american and kpop unless something grabs my attention, I'm ok.

But boybands aren't in America anyway.

[Tonyc402]

I do agree that around the world the music industry isnt as great as it used to be . Nowadays there are so many boybands/girlbands that its not even funny . The problem is that most music corporations are all in it for the profits . If they can find an easy , efficient way with catchy beats and then train people to do it then they'll do it because it will be less costs involved. Really , they are all in it in satisfying the shareholders . As much as we all want it to be about the music it doesnt really happen unfortunately.

[fantasian]

the success of musicians are based on many factors, sadly talent only makes up part of the "package". Marketing is a big part of the music industry, particularly with POP and MAINSTREAM music, its become commercialised. Artists and bands no longer just sell music and cds; they sell ads, merchandise, products etc. which provide a basis for revenue for themselves and their production companies.

With this you see the popularity of packaged artists such as wondergirls, snsd, superjunior, hyori, britney spears, miley cyrus etc.

I still love some of these groups such as wondergirls and hyori but i dont necessarily like them specifically for their music, i like them for what they offer in terms of entertainment value. And someone like hyori can entertain me if you know what i mean

but if its quality music i'm looking for, i usually look for indie artists who havent been spoilt by mainstream crap. Eg, jason mraz, regina spektor, lupe fiasco. And there are still bands and musicians that i think still havent been phased by their popularity and have stayed true to themselves such as Coldplay, Utada, Alicia Keys.

[sweetgirl_121]

LucasBunny u voiced my (lately) thoughts exactly, and it is getting uglier everyday. go see places like crunchyroll, that forum is completely corrupt Which i have come to hate tons of Boy/girl groups(not mentioning name coz i don't want to start fights)

[Island]

Another thing I would like to mention are vocals, people seem to think that people who hit a half ass high note or yell through a whole song are amazing singers. I have issues with Beyonce's singing because of this, I know the girl can sing but sometimes she's always yelling and people ONLY pay attention to the yelling and consider a great singer, same with Xtina when she first came out people thought she could sing only because of her yelling and growling, I think Xtina is a great singer but when she first came out her voice was OD and she was stretching it, same thing with Charice, everyone says she is amazing but I feel like if she didnt yell her way through Whitney's songs people would not say that. I guess because people like Mariah, Patti and Whitney do it people think that when other female singers shout and yell through songs they are doing what Mariah and Whitney are doing and they arent. People also seem to think anyone who puts on a bogus r&b voice they are such good singers .

I agree with everything you said here

[tofu plushie]

When you talk about the music industry do you mean like mainstream music industry or the music industry in general? I don't know I guess there is a lot of music I dislike that is considered mainstream but, I find there is a lot of talented music artists a good music from different countries that aren't really signed up to large labels and have more artistic creativity. I really like music that is unique and creative so I prefer listening to music from these bands that can exercise their artistic creativity more.

I guess the problem with the mainstream music industry is that it isn't always about talent, it's about the image the music artist has to show. Not mention there is also probably a lot of pressure on the music artist from the companies they represent to become this persona that people like. So they end up becoming very commercialized because of the pressure of what fans want and what the company wants from them.

[LucasBunny]

When you talk about the music industry do you mean like mainstream music industry or the music industry in general? I don't know I guess there is a lot of music I dislike that is considered mainstream but, I find there is a lot of talented music artists a good music from different countries that aren't really signed up to large labels and have more artistic creativity. I really like music that is unique and creative so I prefer listening to music from these bands that can exercise their artistic creativity more.

I guess the problem with the mainstream music industry is that it isn't always about talent, it's about the image the music artist has to show. Not mention there is also probably a lot of pressure on the music artist from the companies they represent to become this persona that people like. So they end up becoming very commercialized because of the pressure of what fans want and what the company wants from them.

I'm speaking in general
I can agree alot of the non mainstream music is where it's at because you have people who sing not for the money and the record sales but they sing because it's in their hearts.

Mainstream used to be so good to listen to but unfortunatly that went away.

[dolcedor.]

I take mainstream Top 40 music for what it is--commercialized music that is fun, catchy, and typically have little substance. Even the "talented" artists that you mentioned, like Alicia Keys and Natasha Bedingfield, are guilty of releasing commercial songs to radio. Do you think Alicia Keys would have been able to sell 3 million copies of As I Am if "No One" had not been a huge hit across several different radio formats, including Pop? Probably not. "No One" is also the most commercial song on her album. Personally I think it's a fair trade: by releasing a commercial song, it helped her album jump to triple platinum status.

People like Britney on the other hand are entertainers first and foremost. I have never viewed her as anything more than that. It doesn't make her music a "lesser" form of music. If people enjoy her music and buy it, that's their prerogative. Personally I would never buy an album of hers but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy listening to her songs on the radio, and I'm not gonna condemn people for buying music that is light and catchy and fun to listen to. The same idea applies to the music of those Korean boybands.

Also, putting out music that is too commercial can be detrimental. Look at Rihanna--despite having what, 7 or 8 hit singles from her album, she's barely 2 times platinum. Granted, those are very good numbers in this day and age, but one would expect her to sell at least 2 times that amount considering the extent of the promotion she's gotten with her singles. And Katy Perry--two hit singles and her album is not even gold. Jesse McCartney--one hit single and his album has barely sold 200k. These people are only as good as their last single and I wouldn't be surprised if they disappeared from the music scene a few years from now. And don't worry, Miley Cyrus will soon be no longer relevant to the music scene, just like Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan before her. So I suppose you might consider this a redeeming aspect of the music industry--lack of longevity for artists that are too commercial.

Ultimately, Top 40 serves its purpose by featuring songs that are light and catchy. This is the exact purpose of Top 40. If I want to listen to different music, I'll turn to the AC station, or the Hot AC station, or the classic rock station, or the jazz station, etc. Top 40 may have the largest audience but it certainly isn't the only format out there--the mainstream music industry extends outside of Top 40 radio.

[trankimuyen]

I think the industry was kind of screwed over years ago.
I guess that's half why I'm getting into hard rock/heavy/death metal right now because you actually have to play an instrument and whatnot.
I like T.I. though, one of the only rappers I enjoy.
Mainstream has gone down the drain years ago but I still like the underground stuff.

And I think there's a very big line between entertainer and musician.
Just two completely, different things but a musician can be an entertainer, but an entertainer cannot be a musician (in my opinion).