In an age where time and time again, over decades, originality in music was all around us.
New artists, new tunes, new albums, new singles, new styles, new modes of music were always just around the corner.
A top writer or performer, everyone had their favourites, some cracking times.
A shining example of those cracking times, Live Aid in 1985.
Staggering the number of artists from all around the world, with talent to burn.
Where did they all go?
Corporates bought out record labels, then bought out other record labels, then bought out rival record labels, then the downward spiral leading to what we have today. Lift music for the drones/sheep.
Cover version city, without anything original or new. Tunes now sample other tunes, stealing lyrics, it’s happening in every single industry, lead by two or three corporates, despite all the names and labels being retained to give the impression of competition, which of course, is completely false.
Back in 85 the world was coming out of some dross, with new artists and tunes coming through, from the synth pop of the very early 80s was springing up a whole host of bands and singers, who’s tunes would last so long, that they are still played on all the corporate radio stations today.
Live Aid was a fabulous day, as the world reacted to the harrowing pictures on our news bulletins (no 24 hour news then) coming back from Ethiopia.
New albums didn’t “drop” there were no previews, just played to death, pushed by radio singles, that you either bought or didn’t. The competition for top spot was fierce.
Most could play live, if they didn’t do it reasonably well, then they sank without trace and deservedly so in most cases, just clinging on to them one or two singles, that vaguely got played on the airwaves.
It was a superb time to be alive and experience.
Nowadays, you’re paying top dollar to see an artist, any artist, just in the hope of some originality, which of course, you rarely get.
If you were born say in the late 90s mid 2010s, I feel for you, you can tell how good those times were for tunes, by listening to the radio, most tracks that were hits are still playing the earlier hits today.
TV adverts sample cover versions of the tunes also, but sang by different artists so as not to cost as much as the corporate record back catalogue holders are charging.
They point to a demographic within reach of the prices of their product or services.
Where’s your generation’s originality?
Where are your next artists coming from?
Or are you still singing yesterdays tunes from a much missed time period?
Are you still paying top dollar to watch former hit makers, in the vane hope that they’ll sound / resemble vaguely the sounds they made while hungry and up and coming?
Stack up those plays on your spotify list and line the pockets of another corporate instead of putting the money into an artist that is original and has released an album or two.
In ten years time, will what you’re singing to yourself be from now?
Or will it be from earlier times, when individual artists and group’s work really meant something?