Another Music Direct Catalog observation


I didn't want to hijack an existing thread about the current catalog's Joni cover so I started this one.

You know, I was thinking about this after I received my catalog and how burned out I was on "boomer music". I know as a Gen Xer, I've been saturated by Boomer culture since I came of age in the 80's, and my appreciation for these artists has waned in part because of their saturation in audiophile circles.

Yes, the MD catalog does pay lip service to contemporary artists, but its adherence to a musical paradigm that peaked 45 years ago or so is symptomatic of the undeniable waning of "hi-fi" as a hobby.
simao

Showing 4 responses by simao

@cleeds Right - i wasn't intending to make a sweeping generalization based on one publication (though I know I did). But it's also the offerings in Music Direct and in Stereophile and similar media.

If hi-fi is evolving, it seems the target market isn't.
Yes, music direct is booming; that's why they can afford such a high investment catalog like they put out. The please don't tell me that the high-end audio industry as a whole is becoming more marginalized, and that millennials uneven gen-xers are putting as much money into it has Boomer is dead for the past 40 years.

as long as the music they market continues to reflect an outdated cultural gatekeeper paradigm, not too many younger people are going to want to invest in it.
Most qualitative conclusions are. However, many threads exist on this forum that attest to hi end audio's current wane/marginalization. 
Hey - I agree that both the picture of Joni is quite incredible and that Joni herself was an incredible artist. I still occasionally revel in her Court and Spark, or her Blue album. And Hancock's "River" release was a fitting testament to her power.

It's just that these artists have been the pantheon for close to fifty years, and those who insist on fallacies that the best music was made in that era seem to be in denial that culture has moved on.
To know the past is imperative. To cling to it is to fade away.