Why Are Artists No Longer Doing Big Musical Eras?

[Oliverlogan263]

It is remembered when artists used to have musical eras that would last 1-3 years, sometimes even longer. Each era would have a distinct theme and sound and it was enjoyable as a fan to see what my favorite artists would do next. However, now it seems like artists barely promote their albums and each era just comes and goes. The songs, visuals and artist's looks (clothes, hair, make-up) tend to be basic and forgettable.

Why do you think this is the case? Also, do you think big musical eras will make a comeback in later years or are they a thing of the past?

[MrOracle]

1. The record companies were vehemently against digital distribution of music beyond the CD, because they were epically clueless and somehow thought they could close Pandora's box after it was open.

2. Because digital distribution wasn't legally available, people stopped buying music and started using Napster, LimeWire, BearShare, etc. to illegally download music for free. In just a few years, about half of the annual revenue of the entire industry disappeared.

3. With much less money available, record companies largely pulled their support from actual bands that played actual instruments, and focused largely on acts that could create all of their music with a computer, preferably at home, so that they could spent 1/10th or less of the money they used to spend on production (studio time, producer time, etc.). This allowed people with far less talent to get music distributed at the expense of bands that had much more talent but would cost more to produce - lowering the overall quality of music.

4. Because the quality of music was lower, the careers of artists have gotten much shorter. Far more artists have one successful album - often only 1 or 2 successful singles - and while they might release another album or two, they're largely never heard of again. And nearly all of the songs that top the charts get virtually zero airplay or interest 2 years after release. Because they were lower quality, even if they are initially popular, there's no longer any "long tail of success" because after a song has it's initial run, no one wants to hear it ever again. Of course there are a handful of exceptions, but if you look at music from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, I could probably name 200 songs from each of those years that most people here would know. There are not 200 songs from the entire decade of the 2010s that people want to hear in 2024.

I'm a mobile DJ, and even when I'm doing parties for current teens or 20s, they either want to hear music from the current year, a couple of songs from the previous year, and then everything else from the 80s and 90s. The most recent one I did, there were two different groups of girls - one set of 16 year olds, and one set of early 20s, and they were coming up to me requesting mostly 80s songs, and some 90s. This kind of thing started about 5 years ago, and has gotten more and more common. And even though I understand why, it's still kind of surprising that they prefer my generation's music over their own generation's music.

[FunkyMonkee]

Partly it's because radio won't play what's available. I grew up in the psych era but, radio only ever played a couple dozen MILDLY psychedelic records back then so, even with someone like me that bought about 2 dozen records per month, I hardly knew of ANY of the psych that actually WAS out there!! NOW, since I started heavily collecting psych 40 years ago, I've found TONS and TONS of the most FANTASTIC psych that has ever been made and most of it was back in the `60's psych era!! In just 2 or 3 years, they made TONS of some of the most INCREDIBLE music you've ever wanted to hear and, how much were we alerted about? Maybe 5 records. HOW could I have missed all this fantastic music UNLESS, RADIO REFUSED TO PLAY ANY OF IT?
Back then, my aunt knew some guy that worked in a radio station and gave her huge stacks of 45's that the station wasn't bothering to play, she wasn't interested in most of them and gave nearly all of them to me! These days, quite a few of those psych records she gave me are worth a shitload of money and highly collectible! People WANT that stuff and can't find it BECAUSE radio refused to play it back then so, it never sold and most copies probably got tossed in the garbage BECAUSE they weren't selling!!
20 years ago, I used to raid the dumpster of a local record distributor because I discovered that they were throwing away CASES of brand new records almost every day!! In one of the raids, I found a notice that came with a few of the shipments. It said, basically, if you can't sell or distribute these, just throw them away, DO NOT ship them back because we don't have the room to store them! In a little over a year, I picked up at least 15,000 records from that dumpster!! Then, they moved to another location and I never got another record from, them. At their new digs, they lock up the dumpsters so nobody can raid them!
Another reason is, the fans are fickle. One day they love a certain artist or style and, a few days/weeks/months later, they no longer want any of that. The bands tends to stick to their own style pleasing their hardcore fans but, a good bit of their first wave of fans have moved on to something else and that band just isn't doing that style.
In some cases, the bands DO cave and start playing the new style in hopes of getting more sales and THAT kills their fan base because the fans feel the band sold out! Like, when disco came in and a lot of bands that had nothing to do with disco started doing it so, their fans wanted nothing to do with them!
Another aspect is the labels. Some bands were steady on one label for decades and then switched labels and, in the late `80's, everybody was going independent so, their music wasn't getting promotional help they used to get from their labels and, every record was on a different mom & pop label, or one the artist came up with, and, because their records weren't getting played, they also weren't getting sold! The fans never knew when the new one was coming out so, they never bought it!
There's also monkey see, monkey do! You listen to prog. One day, you go to your friends house to play records and they've got something to listen to that you've never heard of before. Something brand new and a completely different style! Because your friend likes it, you end up liking it, too! You find out it's the hip knew thing and what you've been listening to is old-fashioned or garbage to all your friends so, you stop listening to that and follow THEIR lead, simply because YOU want to be just as cool as all your other friends who dig that new junk!!
I think, as long as we're in this cell phone/music streaming culture and records don't exist, there won't BE any era style fans.

[FlutteringFeelings]

People loss their passion to make music. Music back then were based on experiences, tough times, and trying to evolve higher than their current circumstances. Now, it’s so easy for music to hit the radio. Where there is no passion for something people aren’t determined nor ambitious. There has to be a drive to want to make people bring out such music.

[Nikki1989]

Music has become disposable and fake. Record companies use to nurture their artists, now the record labels that still exist (which is not many) only care about how much money they can drain from the consumer.

The fact that there is zero thought for musical quality doesn't help either.

[Oliverlogan263]

I figured why did time change with that with labels used to season and develop their Tristan now care about how much money to dispose or milk outta em through last minute one wonder hits?

[Oliverlogan263]

Their artists I meant

[Nikki1989]

The download generation killed a lot of it. When the money dried up, so did the creativity.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

An impression I always got -- and never sure if this is an age bias or not -- is that a lot of popular culture and media today seems like it's ultimately catered towards trendy teenagers. We get a lot of the metaphorical equivalent of the slick but forgettable PG-13 horror films compared to the hard R-rated horror films that were popular in my generation when we were teenagers (which we watched anyway despite the R rating, but adults could appreciate it as well, and the ultimate substantial difference to me wasn't more graphic content but films that were far more interesting and less forgettable).

Everything just seems so trendy and catered towards the teenage audience now, and like a lot of teenage fashion, it quickly becomes dated and tacky: "That was, like, so yesterday." "I'm luvin' it." That seemed lame even when it came out compared to the more timeless, "Look for the golden arches!"

I haven't paid as much attention to this in music but they ruined Star Trek for me this way with characters that talk and act like teenagers on Twitter in the Nutreks.

[Nikki1989]

@GuyAnswersGirls123 Music has always been aimed at teenagers, that is nothing new, but there was a time when teens liked and appreciated good musicians, now they couldn't care less. Most modern day music is made on a laptop.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

Makes sense! I might be confusing the chicken for the egg but I do think a lot of the films we loved as a teen in my generation were better overall than today's films popular among teens (ex: lots of superhero movies), yet I thought it was mainly because they made more interesting films back then and also because they weren't aimed so directly at teens.

In any case, I've always wondered if I have an age/generation bias or if things indeed were better back then. I love your example of the differences in music lyrics!

[imtiaz45]

The concept of "big musical eras" in the music industry has evolved due to changes in consumption patterns, technology, and cultural shifts. In today's fast-paced digital age, artists often release music more frequently to stay relevant and maintain audience engagement. Streaming platforms and social media have facilitated this rapid turnover of content, leading to a focus on singles and shorter album cycles rather than prolonged eras. Additionally, the globalization of music and the diversification of genres have contributed to a more fragmented landscape, where artists may explore various styles within shorter time frames rather than committing to one defining era.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/TVsKz6SHazM

[exitseven]

The great artists are not around anymore. Taylr Swift is probably what passes as a superstar these days. They are really just figurehead that have been promoted in the media and people today are used to being told what to watch on TV, what to listen to and what kind of medication they should be in.

Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, even the Beatles had multiple phases in their careers. There are many who rue the day in Newport when Dylan went electric. That would never happen today

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Because the times have changed

[Lottifan]

Today’s artists are talentless morons who’s music is nothing but forgettable crap.