A new poll done by Ipsos Public Affairs
shows that music fans in general have a much different perspective about declining record sales, then the
labels, which to date have primarily blamed file sharing services. In the poll 74% of music fans (made
up primarily of rock and country fans) stated that they felt CD prices were too expensive, and a whopping 58%
felt that music itself was just plain bad lately. Throwing salt on the wound 92% said they had never downloaded a song
illegally, and 80% thought that doing so was wrong. This is in line with a theory I have that it's not just consumers
who have been swayed by the blizzard of choices in entertainment now offered to the masses. The musicians too are
being affected, and with the constant distractions of movies, shows, internet, games, and shopping malls, it's a wonder
they find any time to practice at all. Is music getting worse? I don't know, but it's hard to make the case that it's
getting better. Antony & The Johnsons are excepted from this of
course.
Ipsos Poll: It's The Music That Sucks
Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. I agree with the fact that todays music is just plain bad and that cd prices are just too high. How many of todays bands/artists will still be performing 40 years from now? Artists from the 60's and 70's which include Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Crodby Stills Nash and Young, Eric Clapton and Santana are still producing music. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd are still enjoying record sales long after their recording careers ended.I feel that alot of this is due to the decline of radio and the expanding number of music genres that were not around in the 60's and 70's (grunge, Alternative, Hip Jop, Rave, Techno etc.) There are only so many disrectionary dollars available for the purchase of music. So the music had better be good!
I am sorry but the music of my generation has the staying power that todays artists/music are just plain lacking. Do the Flaming Lips, Kid Rock, Eminem, Jay Z, P.O.D., Kanye West, or Beyonce have what it takes to grab the attention of the generations to come? Or are they content to make a quick hit while the timing is right and fade off into one or two hit wonderland?
Posted at 10:03AM on Feb 7th 2006 by Bill Edwards
3. I agree with the fact that todays music is just plain bad and that cd prices are just too high. How many of todays bands/artists will still be performing 40 years from now? Artists from the 60's and 70's which include Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Crodby Stills Nash and Young, Eric Clapton and Santana are still producing music. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd are still enjoying record sales long after their recording careers ended.I feel that alot of this is due to the decline of radio and the expanding number of music genres that were not around in the 60's and 70's (grunge, Alternative, Hip Jop, Rave, Techno etc.) There are only so many disrectionary dollars available for the purchase of music. So the music had better be good!
I am sorry but the music of my generation has the staying power that todays artists/music are just plain lacking. Do the Flaming Lips, Kid Rock, Eminem, Jay Z, P.O.D., Kanye West, or Beyonce have what it takes to grab the attention of the generations to come? Or are they content to make a quick hit while the timing is right and fade off into one or two hit wonderland?
Posted at 10:07AM on Feb 7th 2006 by Bill Edwards
4. I couldn't agree with you more with the exception of the Flaming Lips, which I consider to be more about performance art than music. Today's market-ready music is produced for kids with the attention span of a small puppy. We refer to it as "The Cattle of the Sun God" theory. I too grew up in the sixties and seventies and constantly make this analogy...
If they were going to do Woodstock [the original and not the knockoff] again how would they fill the roster. You can pick any date of the original three-day event and find absolute legendary artists who would, or would later, change the way that we heard music. Where are the artists that do that for today's young people? You can't make me believe that it's Eminem, Snoop, or Dre.
Posted at 9:49PM on Feb 9th 2006 by H. Goldberg
1. I agree with the fact that todays music is just plain bad and that cd prices are just too high. How many of todays bands/artists will still be performing 40 years from now? Artists from the 60's and 70's which include Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Crodby Stills Nash and Young, Eric Clapton and Santana are still producing music. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd are still enjoying record sales long after their recording careers ended.I feel that alot of this is due to the decline of radio and the expanding number of music genres that were not around in the 60's and 70's (grunge, Alternative, Hip Jop, Rave, Techno etc.) There are only so many disrectionary dollars available for the purchase of music. So the music had better be good!
I am sorry but the music of my generation has the staying power that todays artists/music are just plain lacking. Do the Flaming Lips, Kid Rock, Eminem, Jay Z, P.O.D., Kanye West, or Beyonce have what it takes to grab the attention of the generations to come? Or are they content to make a quick hit while the timing is right and fade off into one or two hit wonderland?
Posted at 10:02AM on Feb 7th 2006 by Bill Edwards