Nick
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I think about this often. The global clusterfuck that we've seen the best part of the past decade has been deeply disappointing for new music. Why is that?
Rich OB @Richz
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07:47 PM - Apr 30, 2024
08:25 PM - Apr 30, 2024
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Milla Mélomane
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By 1996, most radio stations were bought up by entities like Susquehanna and Clear Channel. Live regional DJs were replaced by prerecorded shows with ad slots sold locally. Now ad delivery is the primary task of radio stations. This also means there's a homogeneous flavor to broadcasts nationally.
In response to Nick.
08:30 PM - Apr 30, 2024
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Milla Mélomane
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In response to Milla Mélomane.
That's how I see it, anyway.

Full disclosure: I was a college radio DJ post-1996 & college radio (or streaming stations online) is the closest you'll get to how radio used to be. (There are FCC rules that stifle profanity over the airwaves, so there goes a lot of angry political music right there.)
08:51 PM - Apr 30, 2024
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Milla Mélomane
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In response to Milla Mélomane.
Short answer: Because the connection between fan and artist was deliberately tampered with, for profit. The way younger folks discover music has changed. Bonding over shared musical interests has gone online. Seeing live music is hard on a budget. Owning physical media is seen as quaint.
08:47 PM - Apr 30, 2024
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Milla Mélomane
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In response to Milla Mélomane.
So, long answer, because it makes corporations more money to automate and make every station of a certain genre sound alike. It makes tracking sales easier. It also means music is a less effective distribution model for protest or commentary. Musicians have to make a living. It's harder than ever.
08:44 PM - Apr 30, 2024
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Milla Mélomane
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In response to Milla Mélomane.
You could ask your peers what they thought about a popular song, and they'd have an opinion. Music was a common bond. Now, everyone collects what they like and are siloed off online into fandoms or music nerd fiefdoms. You can't be sure you like anything in common with your local friends.
08:41 PM - Apr 30, 2024
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Nick
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In response to Milla Mélomane.
But there's crazy accessibility to share new sounds we've never seen before. Of course ppl think about the 60s, but what about the growth of rap and hip hop in 80s America? Or the explosion of electronic music in Thatcher's Britain carried on illegal radio stations? Where's the modern equivalent?
08:41 PM - Apr 30, 2024
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Milla Mélomane
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In response to Nick.
There are few if any pirate stations these days, & where we used to discuss/share music face to face, it's mostly done online now, so your area's concerns/politics may differ drastically from your friends in other states/countries. In a global online market, you silo your music by being too specific
08:56 PM - Apr 30, 2024
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Milla Mélomane
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In response to Milla Mélomane.
Also, fewer people being able to afford live shows, the death of record stores, & the ubiquity of music untethered to a physical medium like a record or CD (do you really own music in a cloud?) means consumption of music has changed. Once you could bet 90% of your peers had heard what you heard.
08:38 PM - Apr 30, 2024
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Milla Mélomane
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In response to Milla Mélomane.
The homogeneous nature of the broadcasts killed regional musical hotspots, and lack of live DJs means fewer political discussions, less playing non-corporate music, less opportunity for musicians to be "woke" in interviews. Combine that with high live concert ticket prices, and that's a trend.
08:35 PM - Apr 30, 2024
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Nick
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In response to Milla Mélomane.
Interesting. I see all of that, but I'm not sure that explains why even in the 80s and 90s you were still seeing social protest movements based around music in a way you just don't now.
08:49 PM - Apr 30, 2024
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