So I've been listening to a lot of newer music lately thanks to Spotify's Discover Weekly and Release Radar playlists. Being as adept at pattern recognition as I am, I've noticed a few things:
One thing I've noticed from studying music history is every few decades one genre becomes the dominant genre all popular music is based on. In the 20's-40's it was jazz and blues. Then in the 50's, rock n roll took over and remained in popularity for the next few decades, arguably reaching its peak with the 80's hair metal movement.
Then, in the 90's, hip-hop became mainstream and has remained the dominant genre of popular-music for several decades now. A lot of rock fans are upset about this as rock has a very passionate fan base and they want to see their favorite genre as #1. However, even rock has 808's in it now. In addition, rock BANDS are becoming less and less popular and solo artists are now the default template for popular artists.
I am a rock fan, so in a way I do miss the old days and I still see the appeal of bands. In my opinion, bands are much more entertaining live than solo artists. However, in the age of social media, being a musician isn't enough. You need to be a personality and an influencer as well. This presents a problem as bands have historically been harder to relate to personally than solo artists.
Solo artists have always been a lot easier for fans to relate to. Take Taylor Swift for instance. Her fans love her not just because of her music but because of her lore. They relate to her story.
Rappers are also incredibly good at building an audience based on their lore because they live their lives like it's a giant reality show. Rapper 6ix 9ine built his following being an obnoxious dick on social media. (He may be good at music and marketing, but he's an awful person and not someone to aspire to.)
For someone like me, this presents a huge opportunity. I've tried being in bands before and it's never worked out. I'm better as a solo artist. In addition, I've always lived my life as if I'm on camera, so might as well actually be on camera.
In summary, the current state of the music industry presents a huge opportunity for me. So, in addition to making solo music, I'm also going to try and up my social media presence a bit. Stay tuned for new and exciting things happening every day!
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