Does the abundance of music devalue it?

[admin_exported]

Do you think that as music has become more easily available in record shops, supermarkets, and readily downloadable that you find you don't give it the attention it deserves? Several years ago, going to a record shop and buying an album was an event - you got the music home and played it over and over again.

But not any more.

Has music quality in general lowered? Do we have as many classic albums now as there were in the 70s/80s/90s?

Do we give music the attention it deserves?

 

[Andy Clough]

Not a bit of it. In fact, as I write this I've just added two new albums to my Spotify playlist as recommended by colleagues. Means I can listen while I'm at work, and may pop out at the weekend to buy them. Having instant accessibility makes it easier to try out new stuff you might not have listened to in the past.

 

[DandyCobalt]

I buy loads of CDs - but, of the new releases, there have been very few which have really grabbed me - no memorable stuff that I could even remember afterwards, especially the overhyped ones like Mumford and Sons. Ok, a couple of tracks per album at best. And will they be around long enough for a "Best of" like the incredible Prince "Ultimate Collection"?

However, I had my first listen 2 nights ago to John Grant's "Queen of Denmark" and it was stunning (no, I'm not John Grant...or Danish!). Second listen was last night, and I expect there will be many more occasions in the future.

I will generalise and say that most music today (100s of albums are released each month) is instantly forgettable, but has that really changed? There are still gems out there, you just need to look hard for them, as the popular press and radio passes them over very quickly.

 

[Anonymous]

i have no facts to back this up, but i believe that access to recording technology is much easier in today's digital age and so its much easier for anyone to write, record, produce and distribute their music. This means that there will be a lot of rubbish out there as bands wont actually have to be any good (ie. good enough to get a record deal) to release their music.
however, its a double edged sword and im equally sure that the ease with which a band can now distribute their music has lead to many a great new band being "discovered".

 

[chebby]

groberton:Do you think that as music has become more easily available in record shops, supermarkets, and readily downloadable that you find you don't give it the attention it deserves? Several years ago, going to a record shop and buying an album was an event - you got the music home and played it over and over again.

Several years ago (actually many 'severals' of years ago) when I was growing up, it was common for lots of ordinary people to sing or hum or whistle in the street. Every milk float would have a 'tranny' (small transistor radio not cross dresser!) in the cab, every large hole being dug in the road would have a crew with a radio playing, same for building sites, bus conductors, butchers etc etc. We sang at school every day and even factories would 'pipe' radio music for workers to sing along to.

Records and radios sold in far greater numbers purely by the power of demographics. There were a vast number of 'baby boomers' (ranging from kids to people in their twenties) who were buying millions of records a week. Back in the 1960s and 70s groups/singers sometimes had to sell millions of singles to get a number 1 or to have an album 'go gold'.)

Even the small shopping centre, in the estate I grew up on, had at least four places to buy records (including Woolworths, Rumbelows and two dedicated record shops). Our nearest city a few miles away - and where I live now - only has one HMV record shop for new stuff (mostly DVDs and games of course) and one second hand record shop. This is for a city with a 'catchment' of 300,000+ people.

Of course there is the invisible world of music downloads and amazon purchases but I suspect that to get to no.1 in the charts today takes nowhere near a million sales. (Barring 'oddities' like Vera Lynn and Beatles re-releases or deaths of major music stars).

groberton:Has music quality in general lowered? Do we have as many classic albums now as there were in the 70s/80s/90s?

Ask the people buying the most music today in about thirty or forty years time. Everyone thinks their 'era' was Golden.

 

[JamesOK]

I dont personally think that's the case no. I rarely buy one CD, its normally 3 or 4 or 5 at once. Then generally spend the next week or so caning all of them. Sometimes those which don't come across as great straight away get pushed to the back of the queue, but I generally get round to listening to all of them until a point at which if there's any disappointments they are put on the shelf and forgotten about.

The more music is available, the more excuse I get to sit with my system and listen!

 

[Dalesman]

Abundance of anything devalues it.A diamond is precious because its rare.

 

[Gusboll]

I'm inclined to agree, it was an event. I remember saving my pennies from my paper-round and it was a major Saturday lunchtime (after Tiswas) sojourn into town to thumb through every single album on sale. Once, I bought The Clash's London Calling album and was so disappointed that I took it back to the record shop and insisted they changed it for Permanent Waves by Rush; which they did! Music is so cheap and accessible now - good thing and bad thing.

 

[DavidNorway]

The quality of music is still there you just have to hunt it out,infact maybe there is a higher standard today than in the past,many groups/albums just pass our radar these days and thats a shame.I think the best thread on here is what are you listening to?i have been introduced to so much great music that i would have otherwise missed.Has music been devalued?no not yet...

 

[Dalesman]

chebby:

Ask the people buying the most music today in about thirty or forty years time. Everyone thinks their 'era' was Golden.

That may be true in a 'happiness survey' but the real Golden Age for music was late 60s,70s and 80s,IMO. We just don't have that quality of bands and musicians anymore.

 

[DavidNorway]

Dalesman:chebby:

Ask the people buying the most music today in about thirty or forty years time. Everyone thinks their 'era' was Golden.

That may be true in a 'happiness survey' but the real Golden Age for music was late 60s,70s and 80s,IMO. We just don't have that quality of bands and musicians anymore.

We have just as many quality bands and musicians today as before,let me guess you grew up in the 60s,70s,80s mmm,your golden age!

 

[Dalesman]

DavidNorway:Dalesman:chebby:

Ask the people buying the most music today in about thirty or forty years time. Everyone thinks their 'era' was Golden.

That may be true in a 'happiness survey' but the real Golden Age for music was late 60s,70s and 80s,IMO. We just don't have that quality of bands and musicians anymore.

We have just as many quality bands and musicians today as before,let me guess you grew up in the 60s,70s,80s mmm,your golden age!

I couldn't have probably grown up in 3 different decades could I ? I grew up in the 80s but disagree with you.Listening to dire straits,fleetwood mac,abba,pink floyd etc. is a real treat ... every single time.

 

[Charlie Jefferson]

I think the answer is fairly nuanced and primarily depends on your age.

I partially share Andy Clough's viewpoint, and his age bracket too, I guess.

However, as a high school teacher and father of a 15 year old, I would say YES, it's abundance has most definitely devalued it. Forget the secondary debate about playback quality and the apparent slide for most people, regardless of demographic, into happily accepting low-quality sounds.I think it's the sheer volume and accessibility of so much music that has devalued it. Without question.

I'm trying my best to give my daughter some context before she simply drags 20,000 songs from my Mac onto her own HD. This has led to some surreal exchanges and trade offs.

Of course, she could just click away herself and get entire Pixies, Bowie, Morrissey back cats in one go, but I'm trying to give her a vaguely staggered start, as it were. Canute like, I know!

 

[SteveR750]

No, why should it? It's a bit like saying I've seen a thousand pictures so only a thousand left to see, or that as more books are written there are less books to be written. It's not some fixed quantifiable that has some limit, each sequence of notes of a melody and a rhythm are as unique as the very first. It's not the music that's stake its the interpretation, it's a highly emotional deep rooted sensation that transcends mere Oh Lordy Not Another Best Of Compilation. If it were the case, would we bother to go and see a live band once we had bought the studio album?

 

[chebby]

Dalesman:I grew up in the 80s but respectfully disagree with you.Listening to dire straits,fleetwood mac,abba,pink floyd etc. is a real treat.

I'm with you on ABBA. (But not the rest*.)

*Alright. Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain' can stay but only as the F1 theme.

 

[SteveR750]

chebby:
Dalesman:I grew up in the 80s but respectfully disagree with you.Listening to dire straits,fleetwood mac,abba,pink floyd etc. is a real treat.

I'm with you on ABBA. (But not the rest*.)

*Alright. Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain' can stay but only as the F1 theme.

Not the old mine's bigger than yours debate again.....

 

[Dalesman]

SteveR750:chebby:
Dalesman:I grew up in the 80s but respectfully disagree with you.Listening to dire straits,fleetwood mac,abba,pink floyd etc. is a real treat.

I'm with you on ABBA. (But not the rest*.)

*Alright. Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain' can stay but only as the F1 theme.

Not the old mine's bigger than yours debate again.....

You just saved this thread from being hijacked...

 

[Simon Lucas]

"Why do you need new bands? Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact."

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think music has devalued since the advent of cd. When I only had vinyl it was too much trouble to skip track so was forced to listen to the weak track. With cd it was easy to skip a song that didn't instantly grab. Usually these song are the ones that eventually become the classic album tracks. I listen to more varied new stuff now than I did say 5 years ago. All down to people on here, spotify and cheap stuff on t'internet.

 

[Singslinger]

Charlie Jefferson:I think the answer is fairly nuanced and primarily depends on your age.I partially share Andy Clough's viewpoint, and his age bracket too, I guess.However, as a high school teacher and father of a 15 year old, I would say YES, it's abundance has most definitely devalued it. Forget the secondary debate about playback quality and the apparent slide for most people, regardless of demographic, into happily accepting low-quality sounds.I think it's the sheer volume and accessibility of so much music that has devalued it. Without question.I'm trying my best to give my daughter some context before she simply drags 20,000 songs from my Mac onto her own HD. This has led to some surreal exchanges and trade offs. Of course, she could just click away herself and get entire Pixies, Bowie, Morrissey back cats in one go, but I'm trying to give her a vaguely staggered start, as it were. Canute like, I know!

Agree 100%. To answer the original question - yes.

 

[plastic penguin]

Andy Clough:Not a bit of it. In fact, as I write this I've just added two new albums to my Spotify playlist as recommended by colleagues. Means I can listen while I'm at work, and may pop out at the weekend to buy them. Having instant accessibility makes it easier to try out new stuff you might not have listened to in the past.

Streaming music is pretty much a personal thing. We all know that JD, amongst others, love lossless files, which is great. However, there is, and probably always will be, a distinct excitement about trotting to the record or music store, hunting down a favourite album.

Downloading is certainly makes the process easy, but the trade-off is it lacks the drama (word used loosely) of the Saturday morning or afternoon junket.

 

[Anonymous]

No.

My teenage son and I often play a kind of Spotify tennis; he'll play me a track he likes and vice versa. I've bought several albums as a result and so has he. It reminds us both of the gaps in our collections.

And he buys more cds than I do. Downloading is convenient but for him nothing beats a shopping trip with a tenner and an open mind. His mates are the same.

Downside is we don't talk much - except about music. He's normally got his headphones on listening to Bruce Springsteen. Kids. eh?

 

[DavieCee]

An abundant availability of music is a good thing.

An abundant ownership/listening of music is a bad thing in my experience - and I have a lot.

Let me explain. I used to buy an album and listen to it continuously on the commute for a week. Some initially good ones would bore me and end up at the back of the rack. Some initially bad ones would grow on me and become favourites. I could then choose exactly what to listen to at night according to mood. Now I have access to so much music that I barely listen to an album 3 times before moving on to the next one. That means that I am missing out on "growers" to my shame

 

[Anonymous]

DavieCee:
An abundant availability of music is a good thing.

An abundant ownership/listening of music is a bad thing in my experience - and I have a lot.

Let me explain. I used to buy an album and listen to it continuously on the commute for a week. Some initially good ones would bore me and end up at the back of the rack. Some initially bad ones would grow on me and become favourites. I could then choose exactly what to listen to at night according to mood. Now I have access to so much music that I barely listen to an album 3 times before moving on to the next one. That means that I am missing out on "growers" to my shame

And that is exactly why I asked the question. I wasn't talking about music being devalued from an artists perspective - but our own. I wanted to spark the debate about whether music had become almost disposable in it's abundance. Because I can download something - listen it once, and bin it if it doesn't grab me means that I might not give the music the chance that I would have done had I gone to a record shop and spent my hard earned five pounds on it.

Of course though, there are two sides to every coin and the fact that music is so accessible means that bands that would never have been signed now have an outlet.

I still personally believe though that music is quickly becoming a disposable quick-fix form of entertainment. Probably not from the perspective of the people who inhabit this forum who by the very nature of being here are music lovers, but by the next generation to whom a download is a way of life - not a mere convenience.

 

[manicm]

CDs definitely did not devalue music, in fact the price of CDs were a ripoff as they quite soon became cheaper to manufacture than vinyl. Some highly prominent musicians were brave to speak out on this as well.