The Problem With The Music Ind Essay

, Research Paper

The Problems With The Music Industry Today

It s 1:15 am on Saturday, August Xth, and I lay semi-conscious in North Carolina, being pumped full of shit by the good people at MTV. Total Request Live is on and they re playing the Number One video Britney Spear s Lucky. I ve heard this song millions of times before (two younger sisters) but this time something went off in my head (it s funny how that tends to happen in the wee morning hours).

Perhaps I should explain something first a close friend of mine and I were having an argument about this song the other day. She is convinced that Britney has a right to bitch about the issue covered in the song, whereas I felt that if she s going to portray herself as perfect to the public, and deny anything imperfect from happening (for example, her denial of being offered $17 million for sex), she has no right to whine.

Well, as I said, something went off in my head that night Britney isn t complaining at all. That song had nothing to do with her. For fuck s sake, she didn t write the goddamn thing! She paid some person, who in all likeliness received no recognition for the piece at all, and is definitely not at all famous, to write it for her! The lyrics, therefore, are as deep in emotional merit as a grease stain left on a paper plate by a slice of pizza. And yet I sit on my couch watching as person after person comments on how deep Ms. Spears is! Which bring me, of course, to my main point.

I am a music enthusiast, not in the sense that I like all music from all genres, but rather in the sense that I am constantly listening to, writing, playing and even recording, music. Currently, I m in a band as a singer and bassist. When I write a song, it s an expression. An expression of how I feel, or about someone else, etc. The point I m getting to is that my songs are a reflection of me. I put my heart into every song I write.

This is how many parts of the music industry function. The rock scene, the metal scene, the punk scene, and pretty much any scene that isn t strictly pop they all consist of bands that play their own songs. In fact, I challenge you to find a rock band that doesn t write at least the majority of their songs.

And then there s pop. The word that makes me want start cracking skulls. Pop can be good. Hell, pop can be great. In theory, that is. Similar to communism good on paper, bad in practice. The thought that these mass-produced McBands could desecrate what music is all about sickens me. But when somehow the awareness of girls aged 6-18 suddenly takes a dramatic increase, the nightmare is a reality, and the words overnight and success are fused together way too often. Bands produce CDs with 15 5 minute long songs that could easily be changed into on 75 minute long song without anyone noticing, and any true emotion in the music is lost.

This is what is wrong with the music industry today.