Why is artistic integrity in music such a rarity these days?

[Nikki1989]

Let's face it, music is now mostly about entertaining the moron.

[LiamJHayden]

I think digital music is a large part of it. In my parents' day they would play an album till it wore out, then buy another copy, and another. With digital, people download an album or buy the CD and copy and share with all their friends. Far fewer sales. Because of this a lot of the money that was available for labels to push a band that might be different from what was current is no longer there. No more Camel or Saga or Boston or anything except cookie cutter, autotuned/pitch corrected to death/sounds just like everyone else artists from the labels now.

Also, people do not have the ears for good music quality any longer. They have been listening to 128 bit mp3's for so long that they cannot even tell when CD or greater quality is playing.

[WindAtMyBack]

I've heard from multiple old timer musicians that in the old days they made their money from album sales. Touring was to support and promote the albums. Adjusted for inflation, an album back then might have cost around $25.

Nowadays, people download a song for a dollar, which is 4% of the price of an album in the past. Or they just download a bootleg for free. Or they use one of many streaming services. Musicians can't make money that way. They make it from concerts instead of album sales.

I think Robert Plant might be one person I heard that from.

[najekim]

For the last 30+ years, I would agree. But in the last few years rock music has been become invigorated by a group called The Warning. Three sisters from Mexico in their early to mid 20's who have become the best rock band on the planet right now. They are achieving a world-wide fan base of millions from ages 7-89 (oldest I've met at one of their concerts recently).

Then there is another up-and-coming group of teenagers called Freeze The Fall from Canada who has been taking the rock and metal world by storm.

Finally, the is an all female group called Plush who is also making waves in rock music.

All three have channels on YouTube, if anyone is interested.

[DryGermanGuy]

I’d say, in the past we had musically expressive people who simply loved making music and the most talented among them had success. Nowadays we have music managers, artificially creating bands by putting together people based on their tits and abs, so that they move their mouths to the sound of the playback machine. 😵😵😵

[TrimmedTip]

Artistic integrity feels rare because the music industry prioritizes profit over art. Algorithms reward virality, labels push safe formulas, and fans often crave nostalgia over innovation. But the truth? Authentic artists still exist—they’re just buried under TikTok trends and boardroom playlists.

[Friendlybro79]

Capitalism and greed to a degree. Also, to be fair some of it is prob because they don't make as much selling albums because people are buying singles many times. They also don't make as much off things like apple music.

I do think they might be relying more on ticket sales and touring.

I think it's all of these things and some bands or performers don't overcharge as much as others.

[DJB72]

The Buggles made this point with "Video Kill the Radio Star" over 40 years ago.

Queen said it with "Radio Gaga" in the mid 80s

Still the same...

[andreasderjuengere]

Prices: Inflation, and tariffs? :D

Integrity: the world population since the 70's has about doubled. So has the bullshit.

[dailyoctopus94]

Pop music has always been about entertaining morons, that's it's purpose

[Nikki1989]

Because young, modern music consumers have no attention span and the market is accustomed to that.

[dailyoctopus94]

Young consumers are conditioned that way. SNS, for example tiktok, is a prime example.

[WonderingManII]

I think it is because the music industry took it over. Independent artists have the most freedom for real expression.

[AviatorTom]

Simple... integrity is at an all-time low in just about every aspect of life.

[Xawyx-2]

Modern times usually bring out the worst in people, art is not an exception.

[AngryCarl2]

It's not that rare, it's just that artistic integrity seldom comes with great promotion.

[Likes2drive]

I guess they want to see what people are willing to pay for no matter how stupid it is, but there’s not many good bands left These days

[cavedweller1973]

Because people get lost in the spotlight of fame and fortune

[Jennz6]

We changed our mind about music

[Nikki1989]

Changed for the worst.