Stupid Question: What's Next in Music?

One thing's for sure.  

The old guard aren't getting any younger.   With the amount of bands who've either retired or in the process of "farewell" tours coupled with the artists who've passed away in the last five years, the landscape of rock music surely isn't getting any better.    When a blatant copycat band (Greta Van Fleet) is viewed as rock's savior, that's not a good sign.  

I could see music as a whole becoming more electronic, more programmed, less organic as the years go by.   I really feel like the younger crowd just wants something with a hook that they can put in their ear buds and have in the background while they go about their day.  

(I'm fully aware I'm going down a "get off my lawn" rabbit hole here).  

I remember thinking in 1999 that music had reached its nadir.   Bubblegum pop, boy bands, and perhaps worst of all rap metal, was all the rage.   I didn't think music could get any worse.  

In 2009, the likes of Pitbull, The Black Eyed Peas, and other artists actually made me pine for the music of 1999.  

Now, in 2019, we have Imagine Dragons and Ed Sheeran.   I shudder to think of what will be around in 2029.   

I couldn't agree more about your assessment of DJs as entertainment.  

Plus, nowadays, why would a young aspiring person want to sit and learn the craft of playing an instrument when he/she could pull in decent money just to be a DJ at a club an play prerecorded music?  

I dont think live bands are dead. There's still plenty of live bands that get hired and do shows in the city where I live. DJs haven't killed them off--not even close. 

Personally I see it as an alternative as opposed to a replacement. As far as "why would anyone play an instrument" well, because they want to. It's like asking why anyone would paint or draw when they can just take a picture (and photoshop it). It's two different skills/crafts and there will always be people coming along to fill both roles. 

We should see these digital innovations as progress, not an apocalypse. It allows more and more people to conduct their own symphony with every instrument they could conceivably want without having to find a buddy who knows each one, or hire out expensive studio musicians like in the old days.

"But the real instruments sound better than a computer!"

That may be, but the point is these compositions wouldn't exist at all were it not for the power and convenience of this modern technology. And just because it was first composed on a computer doesn't mean it's not possible for a real band or orchestra to come along later and do a live recording. There are symphonic re-recordings of great video game (yes, you heard that right) soundtracks all the time, for example. 


As for what's next...I don't think there will be these grand sweeping changes which overtake the whole industry all at once anymore. Similar to video media, where the decentralization and consumer-created alternatives to the old networks has allowed for more options than ever before, I see the same happening with music. With digital tools, artists have more freedom to experiment, and with the internet, you can get your music out there without a record deal. This means there won't be these overarching "the rock era"/"the disco era"/"the rap era" anymore because thousands of people across continents and with vastly different attitudes towards music are all making music simultaneously without an executive to tell them "that's not what the kids are into anymore."

But, if that's a copout answer, I think vaporwave and other mellow kind of music like that might gain in popularity. Speaking personally, I don't often sit down and solely listen to an album anymore like I did in college. If I'm listening to music it's usually as background noise while I clean the apartment, do the dishes, make dinner, write an articles, etc. I imagine for many people today that's the way it is too. Vaporwave, something chill and that isn't too distracting is often pretty good for things like that. It's also relatively simple to create.