It's worth noting though that the shitty music of yesteryear doesn't persist in the public consciousness. When we think of music from previous generations, we're thinking about the stuff that was good enough to last (or bad enough, I suppose, if it's notably bad). So the popular music of today may seem to be dominated by shit, but you'd have to examine what else was on the airwaves of a given era to really make a good comparison.
I also think there's two major factors brought on by technological advancement and they both have a positive side. There are a lot more avenues to discover music than there have ever been. Musicians no longer have to be extremely talented and have broad appeal to reach an audience. From the listener's point of view, it's much easier to find good music that fits your particular tastes. And I think that in turn leaves more room in the mainstream avenues for lower quality but broadly appealing music.
The other factor is the accessibility of the technology to make and share music, which I think makes it easier for both "good" and "bad" music to find it's way outside of the artist's bedroom, so to speak.
well said. well said.
you dont exactly need a record company for your music to reach an audience these days, you can do what you like and no one can say 'this wont sell, fuck off,' you can have your own small audience that loves and respects you.
but another argument is that the current 'top' artists are 'on the top' because they have their names. if they published an album with another name, i believe it would be challenged. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Stephen King gained significant popularity as a horror writer. However, he wanted to test if his success was solely due to his name or if his writing could stand on its own. To do this, King created the pen name Richard Bachman, and people loved the supposed Richard Bachman books.
On one hand I think every generation says the next generations music sucks, but I also think overall things have gotten so streamlined and repetitive that finding good current music is a chore.