Has Music Gotten Worse?
The questioning of music worsening over the years is a very subjective topic with many factors to look at. One factor is who. Which group of people are saying music is getting worse? Are they viewing it from an unbiased perspective? Another thing to look at is the styles of music. Are we looking at music as a whole or are we comparing particular genres? Additionally, we need to examine the region. Is the “worsening of music” a global phenomenon or is it primarily in certain countries.
Making a blanket statement like “music is getting worse” is a not necessarily correct because there are always exceptions. One reason people may actually feel that music is getting worse may actually be to certain genres becoming more homogeneous, meaning that multiple songs have the same sound. Additionally, the variety of cords and additional melodies have also decreased over time. With factors like these, we may begin to understand why some people feel like music has decreased in quality when compared to the rich sounds of the past.
Another factor to consider lies with the sheer amount of music. It’s relatively easy to have music released today, particularly with social media. Because the world is oversaturated with music it may be genuinely difficult to find music that you find pleasing without having to sort through a lot of stuff. This is not purely the fault of the artist. Things like YouTube’s algorithm seem to reward quantity over quality and artists have to fight to stay relevant, so instead of putting the time and effort the song may need some people may feel like they have to rush to release content just to stay afloat.
This is a multifaceted issue that cannot be looked at from a single angle. If we want “better music” then there are things you can do such as supporting artists who live up to the quality and standard you are looking for.