Music Tastes?

[CellarDweller]

It was not until the end of the year in 2014 that an album finally gained platinum status in the U.S. and if it had not done that, it would have been the first year since they began keeping track that an album would have failed to do that. Some of it is that we no longer have to buy an album to hear it. With Spotify, YouTube, Rhapsody, or Soundcloud, we do not even have to bother to get a download, legally or illegally, to hear an album anytime and anywhere we want. But part of it also that loss of industry control of what we hear. There will never again be a Michael Jackson's Thriller, a Beatles' Abbey Road, or a Madonna's Like A Virgin. Those days are gone.

There are certain artists who will make a big splash, and equal sales. I don't think anyone will reach the heights of Michael Jackson's Thriller, but there is still potential for other artists to get big sales.

There is a lot of anticipation for Adele's next CD. Taylor Swift's 1989 is nearing 5 million copies sold.

I don't think it will happen as regularly as it did in the 80s, where multi-platinum albums are being dropped all the time, but I think we'll still see them from time to time.

[East]

Part of this is change within the 'gay world' as we have become more mainstreamed into the world at large, but part of it is also reflective of how the music industry has changed. The music industry was one of the first to market, but the industry also marketed to the rest of culture. The industry had a lot of control of the music you heard and were exposed to. They controlled radio, music heard on television, concert venues, and even what was supplied to nightclubs and it was not easy to find music outside of those controls. Many djs were Billboard reporting djs and paid attention to the music on Billboard and other charts which is part of how people like Madonna, Donna Summer, Diana Ross, became superstars in the gay world which was at one time a lot more centered around the gay bar and club scene. With the internet, the industry has lost a lot of control, both for gay people and the rest of the world. It is easy to find all kinds of music and to personalize your music preferences to you and not necessarily what the industry says you should listen to. Your local broadcast radio station is not the only game in town anymore. It was not until the end of the year in 2014 that an album finally gained platinum status in the U.S. and if it had not done that, it would have been the first year since they began keeping track that an album would have failed to do that. Some of it is that we no longer have to buy an album to hear it. With Spotify, YouTube, Rhapsody, or Soundcloud, we do not even have to bother to get a download, legally or illegally, to hear an album anytime and anywhere we want. But part of it also that loss of industry control of what we hear. There will never again be a Michael Jackson's Thriller, a Beatles' Abbey Road, or a Madonna's Like A Virgin. Those days are gone.

I think the same thing is happening on TV...the networks now have to compete with an ever growing number of cable and pay stations...and now the internet and even Amazon and Netflix...

...and the networks are bound by archaic standard that the others are not so creatively they have their hands tied and are at a disadvantage...

They fight like hell to remain relevant and it is quite a battle if you pay attention (I do... it has been fascinating to watch actually)

[Iceblink]

I think the same thing is happening on TV...the networks now have to compete with an ever growing number of cable and pay stations...and now the internet and even Amazon and Netflix...

...and the networks are bound by archaic standard that the others are not so creatively they have their hands tied and are at a disadvantage...

They fight like hell to remain relevant and it is quite a battle if you pay attention (I do... it has been fascinating to watch actually)

It is also the movie industry. Last year was bad for theatrical releases. People do not need to go to a theater to see movies anymore. In the old days when the vhs or betamax battle was still going on, you had to wait a year or more to see a movie released on tape after being at a theater. With movies direct to streaming today, the studios have been forced to move the release of theater movies for the home pretty quick after being at the theater or else people will lose interest. With it coming so quick, why go to the theater since we also have bigger tv screens with better technology than in the old days in our homes today. The entire entertainment industry is changing with fewer with fewer big albums, fewer blockbuster movies, and fewer hit TV shows. The industry is kind of like the U.S. auto industry that struggled in those days when they failed to evolve, in that the industry is not responding quickly to the way things are. They want to keep doing what they've always done by trying to appeal to the masses instead of more individualized tatstes.