Sadly, the music industry is no longer about GREAT music, creativity, and expression. But now about C.R.E.A.M. (cash rules EVERYTHING around me) and R.O.I (return on investment).....
As a music producer who creates music EVERYDAY with my computer, and several pieces of software/hardware (but also tries to use REAL musicians who play real instruments as often as I can afford to ), I LIVE this TRAGEDY daily....
But I get it...
Major labels will hire a music producer/arranger, who can create simple, repetitive music, or beats that are digestible enough to be consumed by the LOWEST common music listener's palette.
The labels are ALWAYS "...on the lookout," for a moderately talented artist (not a band of 5-7 talented musician, who all have their own creative ideas, opinions, and egos; which is VERY hard to manage, let alone EXPENSIVE to maintain) with "model," "trendy" good looks, that they can pair with said producer to write/produce simple, catchy songs, for a relatively small financial investment.
Then the labels will spend 100's of thousands of dollars doing "radio promotion" (the practice of hiring a "middle man" to pay commercial radio DJ's around the country, to play these "singles," on their VERY popular radio programs/stations, since it's ILLEGAL for labels to pay the DJ's directly, themselves..... Can u say, music industry "loophole"? Lol...) and film a HOT/COOL music video to sell the record and then..... BAAAM.... GOLD/PLATINUM record sales.... or at the VERY least, 10K-20K digital downloads and/or 100K "streams" in the first week, which will DEFINITELY get u to "Billboard Top 10" status, and will help to promote the "single" EVEN MORE....
BTW, this "process" only works if the label has DEEP pockets for promotion, which does not allow for an "even playing field" for the "independent artists"..... but that is a different topic, for a different day....
I could go into MUCH more detail, but I think u see my point.
I MISS the days (and music) of REAL musicians playing REAL instruments...
But computerized music, over "processed loops" and beats....? For REALZ, tho???
It just ain't the same as capturing the "essence, genius, and synergy" of the creative process of musicians "vibing" off of each other's energy, while recording a "groove"....
But "style" over "substance", "beauty" over "talent", and "profit" over "artistic integrity".....
This is the mantra of the CURRENT state of our American recording industry, and the Pop, Urban Pop, R&B, and Hip Hop genres are WEAKER because of it...
