There's no such thing as mainstream (or even 'pop' music one could argue) music anymore.
Everybody has millions of songs available at their fingertips so can find new music easily by searching or through algorithms recommending tunes. Nobody listens to the radio anymore, well not to listen to the latest songs at least.
People don't pigeon-hole themselves either, musical tastes in younger generations are infinitely more varied than they were even 10-15 years ago.
Music doesn't dictate fashion like it used to anymore either. I dress in sports brands and running tunes but my go to is death metal, I wouldn't be seen dead in a all denim battle jacket covered in studs for example, but you get people who dress like that who aren't interested in metal and are massive hip-hop heads.
This forum really isn't the demographic for the charts though is it? My kids know most of them, even though they have a fair chunk of my stuff on their spotify as well, but I am calm with the fact life moves on and I'm old. Be a bit sad in a way if blokes of nearly 60 were up to date with the pop charts.
RagsThinking this has done BTS's exposure levels a power of good, who'd have thought they'd have their own thread on lil ole SHA! There's some shrewd people running us now, not been able to say that for a while
I'm not sure BTS need much more exposure
40 million + albums sold - that's more than Bowie or Stevie Wonder
40 BILLION streams on Spotify alone
They aren't just "popular" .. they're pretty much a phenomenon
1.9 million views on that Blues thread now
Like they say though, you haven't really made it until you've had Blues fans argue with your fans about you on twitter.
Well done to BTS, they have finally made it.
bluearmyfactionb34bluesIt's more a sign of how contemporary pop music has passed outside of the mainstream. This is Simon Cowell's fault. Even up to 1999 Top of the Pops ensured that even those with little interest got an indication, almost by osmosis, of what was happening. The Fix Factor model though shoved all that out in favour of the blando dando beigecore like Adull and Sheerboredom.Well I must live in a bunker or something similar as I’ve never heard of em either ..
And with no mainstream outlet for contemporary music, it's become a niche within a small demographic.
E.g. these are the artists who had number 1 singles in 1973:
-Sweet
-Slade
-Donny Osmond
-Gilbert O'Sullivan
-Tony Orlando & Dawn
-Wizzard
-Suzi Quatro
-10cc
-Peters & Lee
-Glitter
-Simon Park Orchestra ("Eye Level", biggest selling instrumental ever, aka the Van der Valk theme)
-David Cassidy
All pretty familiar and well-known.
While this decade, Central Cee has been no. 1 for 10 weeks with one single and I doubt anyone here could hum it. Let alone the output of other number 1 hitmakers such as Don Toliver, Saint Jhn, Diane Guerrero, Gayle, or Billen Ted.
I suspect it’s more to do with the age of people on here than anything else.
What you think is the mainstream has changed; for example social media like TikTok is a huge driver of how music proliferates among young people.
It’s all good - this is how things are supposed to change.
Central Cee - Doja is incredibly hummable, partly why it was no.1 for 10 weeks
b34bluesIt's more a sign of how contemporary pop music has passed outside of the mainstream. This is Simon Cowell's fault. Even up to 1999 Top of the Pops ensured that even those with little interest got an indication, almost by osmosis, of what was happening. The Fix Factor model though shoved all that out in favour of the blando dando beigecore like Adull and Sheerboredom.Well I must live in a bunker or something similar as I’ve never heard of em either ..
And with no mainstream outlet for contemporary music, it's become a niche within a small demographic.
E.g. these are the artists who had number 1 singles in 1973:
-Sweet
-Slade
-Donny Osmond
-Gilbert O'Sullivan
-Tony Orlando & Dawn
-Wizzard
-Suzi Quatro
-10cc
-Peters & Lee
-Glitter
-Simon Park Orchestra ("Eye Level", biggest selling instrumental ever, aka the Van der Valk theme)
-David Cassidy
All pretty familiar and well-known.
While this decade, Central Cee has been no. 1 for 10 weeks with one single and I doubt anyone here could hum it. Let alone the output of other number 1 hitmakers such as Don Toliver, Saint Jhn, Diane Guerrero, Gayle, or Billen Ted.
👏👏👏
lowercaserb34bluesIt's more a sign of how contemporary pop music has passed outside of the mainstream. This is Simon Cowell's fault. Even up to 1999 Top of the Pops ensured that even those with little interest got an indication, almost by osmosis, of what was happening. The Fix Factor model though shoved all that out in favour of the blando dando beigecore like Adull and Sheerboredom.Well I must live in a bunker or something similar as I’ve never heard of em either ..
And with no mainstream outlet for contemporary music, it's become a niche within a small demographic.
E.g. these are the artists who had number 1 singles in 1973:
-Sweet
-Slade
-Donny Osmond
-Gilbert O'Sullivan
-Tony Orlando & Dawn
-Wizzard
-Suzi Quatro
-10cc
-Peters & Lee
-Glitter
-Simon Park Orchestra ("Eye Level", biggest selling instrumental ever, aka the Van der Valk theme)
-David Cassidy
All pretty familiar and well-known.
While this decade, Central Cee has been no. 1 for 10 weeks with one single and I doubt anyone here could hum it. Let alone the output of other number 1 hitmakers such as Don Toliver, Saint Jhn, Diane Guerrero, Gayle, or Billen Ted.
👏👏👏
Spot the statin popper
El Mayorbluearmyfactionb34bluesIt's more a sign of how contemporary pop music has passed outside of the mainstream. This is Simon Cowell's fault. Even up to 1999 Top of the Pops ensured that even those with little interest got an indication, almost by osmosis, of what was happening. The Fix Factor model though shoved all that out in favour of the blando dando beigecore like Adull and Sheerboredom.Well I must live in a bunker or something similar as I’ve never heard of em either ..
And with no mainstream outlet for contemporary music, it's become a niche within a small demographic.
E.g. these are the artists who had number 1 singles in 1973:
-Sweet
-Slade
-Donny Osmond
-Gilbert O'Sullivan
-Tony Orlando & Dawn
-Wizzard
-Suzi Quatro
-10cc
-Peters & Lee
-Glitter
-Simon Park Orchestra ("Eye Level", biggest selling instrumental ever, aka the Van der Valk theme)
-David Cassidy
All pretty familiar and well-known.
While this decade, Central Cee has been no. 1 for 10 weeks with one single and I doubt anyone here could hum it. Let alone the output of other number 1 hitmakers such as Don Toliver, Saint Jhn, Diane Guerrero, Gayle, or Billen Ted.
I suspect it’s more to do with the age of people on here than anything else.
What you think is the mainstream has changed; for example social media like TikTok is a huge driver of how music proliferates among young people.
It’s all good - this is how things are supposed to change.
I think this is how things have changed but I'm not sure that is the same as "this is how things are supposed to change". It is a very, very recent thing (in terms of humanity) and it does seem to be resulting in a greater disconnect within society - between generations but also within them, based on social data coming through so far.
SnoopEl Mayorbluearmyfactionb34bluesIt's more a sign of how contemporary pop music has passed outside of the mainstream. This is Simon Cowell's fault. Even up to 1999 Top of the Pops ensured that even those with little interest got an indication, almost by osmosis, of what was happening. The Fix Factor model though shoved all that out in favour of the blando dando beigecore like Adull and Sheerboredom.Well I must live in a bunker or something similar as I’ve never heard of em either ..
And with no mainstream outlet for contemporary music, it's become a niche within a small demographic.
E.g. these are the artists who had number 1 singles in 1973:
-Sweet
-Slade
-Donny Osmond
-Gilbert O'Sullivan
-Tony Orlando & Dawn
-Wizzard
-Suzi Quatro
-10cc
-Peters & Lee
-Glitter
-Simon Park Orchestra ("Eye Level", biggest selling instrumental ever, aka the Van der Valk theme)
-David Cassidy
All pretty familiar and well-known.
While this decade, Central Cee has been no. 1 for 10 weeks with one single and I doubt anyone here could hum it. Let alone the output of other number 1 hitmakers such as Don Toliver, Saint Jhn, Diane Guerrero, Gayle, or Billen Ted.
I suspect it’s more to do with the age of people on here than anything else.
What you think is the mainstream has changed; for example social media like TikTok is a huge driver of how music proliferates among young people.
It’s all good - this is how things are supposed to change.
I think this is how things have changed but I'm not sure that is the same as "this is how things are supposed to change". It is a very, very recent thing (in terms of humanity) and it does seem to be resulting in a greater disconnect within society - between generations but also within them, based on social data coming through so far.
The tech is a very recent thing but tbh I don’t think it makes a difference. When I was in my twenties it was file sharing, before that it was sharing cassettes taped off radio, before that it will have been something else.
The older you get, the less you’re supposed to be connected to what the youth of the day are doing. It’s all good.
I think it's more that, 30 years ago, about the only creative outlets possible were demo tapes, fanzines, and angsty poetry. Now, everyone has a film recording studio in their pocket. So influencers are bigger names than musicians. I am not familiar with his oeuvre, but I am at least vaguely aware of what Mr Beast does and what his style is. His shtick is more visible in mainstream media than non-visual music.
But also there has been a stalling in music BECAUSE it's all available, one can explore the 1950s as easily as the 2020s online. The number one hitmakers this decade people would probably have heard about include:
-Ellie Goulding (first hit 2009);
-Stormzy (first hit 2015);
-Eminem (first hit 1999);
-Drake (first hit 2009);
-Smiley Virus (first hit 2007).
And that's leaving aside Carey, Wham!, Elton John, and Kate Bush. Let alone Sheeran and Adull who date back to the 2000s as well. Even Taytay's first hit was 2007.
It's kind of as if the charts in 1981 were not headed by Madness, Adam & the Ants, OMD, or the Specials...but Englebert Humperdink, Petula Clark, The Searchers and The Tremeloes. With a smattering of Donald Peers and Semprini.
Maybe Blues could put this on twitter with a massive WHO on it. It might piss Roger Daltrey off enough to get some clicks.
"So influencers are bigger names than musicians."
I think it will turn full circle over the next 5 years
The talent themselves will become the influencers
I also think some of the new music which is now appearing is sensational
Prefer the days when I had to go out of my way to find new bands in the press or at gigs rather than turning my phone on and looking at Social Media.
Flicking through Brum Beat to see who was playing at the Barrel Organ, magic.
Apparently instead of years learning your craft playing toilets up and down the land all you need to do is film yourself cuking a sock or whatever or appear on an ITV talentless show.
Do bands make money out of streaming or social media channels?
e17bluePrefer the days when I had to go out of my way to find new bands in the press or at gigs rather than turning my phone on and looking at Social Media.
Flicking through Brum Beat to see who was playing at the Barrel Organ, magic.
Apparently instead of years learning your craft playing toilets up and down the land all you need to do is film yourself cuking a sock or whatever or appear on an ITV talentless show.
Do bands make money out of streaming or social media channels?
No, people still play venues; my nipper is nearly in double digits for gigs attended this year and it’s February 1.
You’re confusing a small number of mainstream acts with a huge industry. Music is so much more varied these days - outside of the commercial radio stuff there are some incredible fandoms out there.
