In today’s fast moving world the path that the future will take can be very difficult to predict. Fads come and go faster than ever before and music is not immune to the fickle nature of modern life. Someone can be on top of the world one day and then be all but forgotten the next. (Remember Gotye? Anyone heard from him lately?) Likewise acts can be plucked up from obscurity and thrust into the limelight seemingly out of the blue… I bet Rick Astley’s bank account is looking nice and full after all those millions of rick rolls! But even in the disorderly world of pop culture there are patterns to be found. Perhaps the best way to make predictions is to look at how the industry itself is set to change and think about what effect it will have on music. Continue reading
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Cut and Paste Crisis: The problem with sampling
It’s no secret that when you look at the credits and personnel on certain albums, with hip hop, manufactured pop and modern R&B being the most notable culprits, you will see a long list of writers and producers. Albums from such artists as Beyoncé and Kanye West which have made big waves in the industry this past year seem to practically have an entire office block worth of people credited with making the music that made them famous. I imagine few of these people have made conscious contributions, many of them simply have had their work sampled. Continue reading
Stagnant Streams: How streaming killed the charts
Let’s be honest with ourselves, for as long as the charts have existed they have had to be taken with a pinch of salt. “Chart topping” music and good music rarely coincide, and any institution that gives Mr Blobby a number 1 single can’t be said to represent the best music in the country. Even so chart placings remain a source of pride for up and coming artists who rightly celebrate them as a milestone. However with the new rules in place to allow streaming figures to contribute to chart positions it could end up being the final nail in the coffin for this longstanding music institution. Continue reading
Stageit: A new music revolution?
The music industry is well known for being averse to change, but despite this in the course of a few decades the way we listen to music has constantly evolved. From the heyday of vinyl, through tapes, CDs and downloads, all the way up to the advent of streaming which provides a vast vault of music at the push of a button. However in all that time the way we experience music in a live setting has changed very little. But now one pioneering company called Stageit has set in motion an idea that potentially could change the music industry using the wide reaching power of the internet. Continue reading
Albums aren’t dead!
Modern music media is quick to write off albums as a thing of the past, pointing at dwindling sales figures as a sign that the end is nigh. Industry moguls can often be found lamenting over the apparently fickle nature of modern consumers and the fact that people these days simply can’t be bothered to sit through an entire album. To paraphrase Mark Twain: the reports of their death have been greatly exaggerated, and I for one am fed up of this bleak and out of touch outlook. The truth is albums have more power now than they have done in a long time, you just need to know where to look. Continue reading
Copyright Chaos
There is a new blight on the music industry that is working to besmirch the name of hardworking artists. There is a growing number of groundless copyright cases in recent years that have done their best to steal millions based off of simple musical coincidences. Cases have been raised against the likes of Sam Smith, Led Zeppelin and Ed Sheeran of so called copyright infringement based on very little evidence. There have been songs all throughout history that have had similarities, coincidence or otherwise: ZZ Top’s ‘La Grange’ riff is just a sped up ‘Spirit in the Sky’, Vanilla Ice stole the bass line for ‘Ice Ice Baby’ from Queen’s ‘Under Pressure’, The Phantom of the Opera theme was stolen from an excerpt of Pink Floyd’s ‘Echoes’ and almost all blues songs can trace their origins to Robert Johnson. Usually such similarities went unnoticed, but these days people are eager to exploit the slightest few notes in common. It’s a trend that needs to die out sooner rather than later, and to do so all you have to do is follow these three steps: Continue reading
Festival survival and etiquette guide
Summer is rapidly approaching, and if you want to make the most of it then any self respecting music lover will surely want to head to a festival. They are a longstanding tradition and with new festivals popping up all the time it’s no problem at all to find the perfect one for you! But this is no ordinary concert, there is so much more going on, and as such takes a greater level of preparation. If you make sure to come prepared then you’re in for one fantastic weekend, if not… well, we’ve all heard plenty of horror stories! Here’s a few top tips to remember. Continue reading
Eurovisions of the future
Love it or hate it there’s no denying that the Eurovision Song Contest is the biggest music event in the world. Started in 1956 as a way to bring Europe together and ease post-war tensions, it is now one of the longest running and most watched broadcasts in the world with the 2016 final being watched by over 200 million people. This longstanding tradition is rapidly changing, what with performances from Justin Timberlake, the first big established star to perform in the contest’s history, and the fact that Australia nearly won despite being about as far away from Europe as you can get! What does the future hold for the competition? Continue reading
Unexpected Arrivals: Are surprise albums the way forward?
It’s not often you can say that the music industry has drastically and irreversibly changed, especially in this day and age, but that’s exactly happened in 2013. With David Bowie’s The Next Day and Beyoncé’s eponymous album bookending the year a new trend appeared prompting many artists to follow in their footsteps and release new albums completely out of the blue. A few years later and it has suddenly become the norm for big name acts. It comes as a massive change to the industry’s long standing norms, but what does the future have in store? Continue reading
TV Talent: Time to call it a day?
The latest series of The Voice has come to a close, Britain’s Got Talent has invaded our screens once again and we are still constantly bombarded with constant updates on the X Factor despite it’s ever dwindling viewing figures. TV Talent shows have become a big part of popular culture, for better or for worse. However all of these shows have been struggling the past few years to gather public interest and have been trying anything they can to keep the spirit alive. Is it too little too late to try and save them and should we try and hasten their end instead? Continue reading
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