Does the music industry fear change?

It seems like they're always trying to fight change. They blame downloading on declining music sales because it's new and scary to them (instead of realizing it's because alot of mainstream pop just sucks now, LMAO). That's also probably why any commercial rock band sounds like Nickelback or the Fray.

I heard that they resisted MTV when it first came out around 1981-83 for the same reason. Underestimating that the exposure from videos could pick up new fans who wouldn't otherwise know about their music, and would buy it. That's exactly how Youtube seems to be now!

So basically they're always stuck 10, even 20 years behind and would rather stick with what's "safe" and they know sells (or did in the semi recent past, LMAO).

6 Answers

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Well that's because they know that's what sells!Even if they are brainwashing their consumers with crappy music, so be it if they get to bathe in money!

    And as soon someone new comes along, they will immediately try to put it down, out of the eyes of the mainstream listeners, or latch on to it and make 50 bands that sound exactly like it.

    Like when grunge got really popular, every record company wanted to have a band like them, even if it meant dressing some pop star in flannel. Like Third Eye Blind, the stuff they sang about could easily have passed as grunge material (Take Semi-Charmed Life for example), but it was so melodic and catchy, their was no difference, besides the mislabeling of the genre. And if they didn't do that, they created bands that had the grunge sound but sang about absolute sh*t, like Creed and Nickelback. And slowly, bands like that took over mainstream, as the original grunge bands became fed up. It's just like that for every major genre that ruled their respective genration of the music timeline. Its the same for Punk, Classic Rock and Thrash Metal, with Metallica being the biggest of them all, the ideal Sell-outs, the most perfect metal-pop band any RC could have some up with.

    Rant over...Longest ever for me!

    Source(s): EDDIE VEDDER
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  • 1 decade ago

    I think sales have declined due in part to downloading, and in part due to economic issues. The sucky pop music argument holds no water. Everything and anything was going platinum around the turn of the century. Boy bands ruled. Bad rap was king. It was awful.

    Anyways, music sales reached extremly high levels around that time, economic prosperity was also through the roof, things were just peachy. I mean fine, okay the President got a BJ (big f*ckin' deal) but other than that, there really was little to complain about. I really think 9/11 changed the mood of the nation and we haven't returned to form yet.

    But yes, they do seem rather reactionary, I believe they were deeply opposed to the blank tape as well. I ask you, where would America be today without the mix tape?

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  • 1 decade ago

    Let us go back to 1991, at that time Nirvana´s sophmore album "Nevermind" was released, which changed music, radio, and MTV.

    It was no longer about the hairbands, it was about Grunge and Alternative.

    Now. the remaining hair bands at that time lost a large amount of money by not getting any radio play or video play.

    Just look how much those albums today are selling, if there was a new mod, record companies would be claim bankrupt left and right.

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  • 1 decade ago

    No, they don't fear change, they just know that their current plan earns them money. They know that parent friendly and approved music will get them more CD sales. They know that the image of their bands sells cause all the tweens go insane for cute "rockstar" looking boys. Change for them is probably a chance they have to take, cause it might sell and it might not, so I guess they stick with what they know will bring in the money.

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  • 1 decade ago

    yes, even with the actual music itself. Mainstream people like Beyonce have been making the SAME music for years; absolutely no progress whatsoever.

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  • Well if that was true, than how come the major genres have changed?

    50's-Big band

    60'- (early) pop rock movement

    (late) proto punk, blues metal.

    70's-psychedelic rock, prog rock, classic rock

    80's-hair metal, heavy metal, classic rock, prog rock


    today-alternative, pop rock

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