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RE: What happened to black music

The same thing that happened to all popular music, a confluence of several things.

One sacrifice Reagan made to win the cold war of attrition with the Russians was to axe musical education in our schools. With so many not being exposed to music or instruments, MANY fewer got into playing anything and then making music. The concert industry has shrunk dramatically over the last 20-30 years for example.

At the same time, like our HMO's in the medical area, we have had the Wallmartization of the industry, instead of hundreds of smaller competing record labels each promoting artists they think might be successful, the big ones bought up the small ones. Only a few large companies dominate the industry now. The result is greater margins and profitability but for the consumer vastly less choice, many fewer bands on tour and much less musical variety as the bands chosen to succeed must fit within a bracket.

Now with so few actually being able to play anything real,electronic short cuts allow the marginal performer to be "in tune", instead of bands being able to play live, many depend on studio tricks to sound acceptable or to perform at all.

These are part of what lead from "Motown sound" to the rhythmic bitching and minimal musical content that was so popular a few years ago.
Add to that the industry decision to pander to the mp3 format and compact audio and one see's why we have the loudness wars and such dismal pop recordings, dynamically crippled in a day when the technology has never been better.

It's (recording technology) something like finally perfecting paper just as the artists switched from oils and colors to finger painting with feces.
Best,
(in live sound since the 70's)
Tom Danley
Danley Sound Labs





Edits: 07/07/12 07/07/12

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