Has new music gone down the tubes?

Remember there was a period of stagnation in pop music between the initial burst of rock n roll and the Beatles, so all is not lost. When the Beatles and the 60s in general hit, the people running the record labels had no idea what to think, so they signed everyone they could and allowed them 2 or 3 albums to develop.

That doesn’t happen anymore. The labels have been honing their "expertise" in what makes a hit record since the sixties and they are really not willing to take a chance on someone. So, creativity is stifled and most music becomes more formulaic, the music that is released by record labels anyway.

There is still a lot of good music being made by younger people, though. It’s just not getting the promotion it deserves from the labels or the rest of the industry. They prefer to go with their trusty formula. There is a lot of good music being made, you just have to look a little harder, although streaming can do a lot of the work for you.

The 60s and 70s were a period of exceptional creativity, though, and a lot of good music was made then. It will happen again, who knows when.

I think music is spoonfed more now than ever.  Everyone listens to music on their phones and everyone can be alerted instantly when there is a new hit on tik-tok or wherever.

Another difference between now and when the boomers were young is that there was a huge difference between what boomers and their parents listened to. Today, kids and their boomer parents (or grandparents) share music a lot, they all listen to rock to a greater or lesser extent, and that keeps older rock alive.  Rock music killed what our parents listened to, as far as what sold anyway.