Is Old Music Killing New Music?

Let's ask a different question: Rather than ask if old music is killing new music, what if we ask "Why anything new deserves to be appreciated just because it was recently born?" 

I enjoy the fact that in this consumer society driven by new, new, new and how the whole purpose of Billboard and the music industry was geared around the next thing pushing a relatively "old" song off the charts drove sales - that good music doesn't fade away because of recency bias. 

The constant pressure that the next thing is always better than the previous great thing is great to generate desire for consumers to acquire things and keep up with the Joneses. However, when you reach a point of satisfaction whether it is your relationship with music or anything else, the need for newness fades. Even in the audiophile hobby - new may be different, more expensive, but not necessarily better. 

New isn't always better and the fact that we can linger in the beauty of older great music is actually a blessing that should be appreciated. 

I'm not apposed to new music and when I'm exposed to it I give it a try. Do I hunt for it? Probably not. But that's me. If if find a wine I like I'll keep coming back, I'm not anxious about missing out on what I haven't tried. 

As many have mentioned, the limited talent of performers in lieu of the shtick or the talented overshadowed by over produced digital electronics, makes it difficult to embrace new music that is not very musical. 

I primarily enjoy jazz - i love the old standards and the old performers. In some ways because of the longevity of their artistry. Kind of Blue is old and it is always good. I explore new jazz artists and some I have come to enjoy. Mostly because it still resonates as quality music. 

One of the challenges for new music is that there is so much good old music that is still new to me. When I restarted by effort to upgrade my stereo system, the added benefit I garnered the exposure to old music that was new to me. 

So for me "Old" music that I am hearing for the first time is the "new". From that perspective, old music isn't killing new music. Good music regardless of date stamp will always trump the bad, not matter how new it may be. 

Music content is not different than the rest of the content that is produced now to fill our every available minute. Video streaming - it's great to have options for streaming video. But we've all seen the number of really, truly bad content aired to fill the space. That means that there is a lot of really poor quality new stuff on the market. so when you find something really good that resonates, we gravitate toward it. 

The answer to the question may be: stop trying to just be new and try to be better. That will get my attention. 

@mustbethemusic - out of curiosity, do you think something can be 'good', even if you don't happen to like it? You primarily enjoy jazz - great!

I don't like jazz at all, but I wouldn't question its worth because of that - people have different tastes, and I would never say that one person's taste is 'better' than another's...

I'd say the same about blues, country, and lots of other genres I don't like, besides rock, pop, hip-hop, and reggae, which I do like... I'm not required to like it for it to be good, but maybe that's just me. 

@larsman - its absolutely possible. Even though I mentioned jazz as my primary pleasure, this adventure has led me to appreciate rock music that I otherwise would have not enjoyed without the exposure. That's why I referenced the largeness of the universe of music that what may be old for some can be new for others. 

I don't question the worth of genres of music. but there is good and bad quality within all genres. 

I grew up on 70s/80s R&B. No matter how I try, what passes for new R&B is just lacking. IMO the level of real musicianship - from vocals to instruments - is just absent from new R&B, thus my preference. It's not the old music that is preventing me from enjoying new music ... it's new music. 

Maybe DUDE!!!!!!!

@mustbethemusic - thank you for replying! 👍

@mustbethemusic :

"As many have mentioned, the limited talent of performers in lieu of the shtick or the talented overshadowed by over produced digital electronics, makes it difficult to embrace new music that is not very musical"

I agree BUT there is plenty of excellent new music that lies outside your characterization, especially in the Americana, Newgrass, singer-songwriter, folk genres. Many highly skilled young musicians can be found working in these styles. BTW, I am a Jazz fan, as well and when I want a break from Jazz, this is where I go. . 

@stuartk - Noted. Didn't mean to suggest that all new music is inferior, just responding to the overall generalization from the article's author that old music was a threat to new. 

To your point, the author's focus might have overlooked great music in the categories you mentioned. IMO

@stuartk and @mustbethemusic 

You are correct. There is fantastic new music being released. We just have to work to find it. The record companies are lazy and only push what is easy to sell - nostalgic tunes and trendy instagram stars. The good new music seems to be released on smaller labels or else directly to their fans.

Take Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) for an example. He is a phenomenal musician and song writer, but he gets no publicity outside his own fans. I learned of him four years ago in Reddit after looking for new progressive music groups.

I also realize that most people want to listen to the same music that their friends are listening to that month. They want to be part of something popular. A lot of us in this forum have eclectic tastes and will have to work to find new music that we like.  

@mustbethemusic 

Sorry for the misinterpretation- thanks for clarifying!

I find it incredible that people find dearth of new music that is worthwhile. But then I see the threads listing music played last night and no longer incredulous.

I'd say my streaming listening sessions split pretty much 50/50 between old and new, but then I listen to virtually every genre of music known to humankind. So many talented wonderful contemporary artists out there, a shame audiophiles don't support them.

Based on my observations, audiophiles in general not adventurous in regard to their musical proclivities. For sure I listen to many older recordings, and certainly there are many old recordings still new to me, but music evolves and I like at least some of this evolving music.

For the vinyl only guys this proclivity for older recordings makes sense as so few new recordings available on vinyl relative to streaming. But for streamers, virtually no work required to find adventurous new music and new forms/genres of music, you're just not trying. And yes, my vinyl listening sessions are much different from streaming sessions, older vinyl recordings predominate.

I just guess I'm an oddity in that I'm boomer that enjoys both reminiscing and evolving in my musical appreciation.

@femoore12 - good to see you're a Steven Wilson fan (Porcupine Tree tix for US shows go on sale this week), but it's surprising that you're a prog rock fan and didn't hear of him until 4 years ago; both with Porcupine Tree and his own bands, he's been doing massive world tours playing venues usually holding 2000 or more for 15 or 20 years now, and was playing and touring on a smaller level before that. 

@larsman I know it sounds crazy that I had no idea of Steven Wilson until about 5 years ago. I actually grew up listening to Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP, King Crimson and Genesis. I loved browsing record stores and even worked in one to get myself through college. When music switched to an on-line process it lost a lot of the appeal to me. I was so used to learning about new bands from coworkers and friends. That all stopped when it switched. Also, life happened and there was a long time when I couldn't afford buying music. 

Thank you for letting me know about the ticket sales. The last time he came through a town near my home I was 8,000 miles away working. Maybe I will get to see him this time. 

@ Larsman, 

    I don't agree that arranged or improvised sounds that contain only one element of music, e.g. rhythm, qualifiies as music.  Is spoken word with rhythmic accompaniment "music'?  Then what is the difference between poetry, which has rhythm, and music?  It's like Justice Stewart's definition of pornography; it may be difficult to define, but "I know it when I see it."  Is John Cage's "4:33" music?  I personally do not think so.  It is interesting, philosophically, ONCE, but that's about all.  It pretty clearly established the limits of human patience with bs and the dividing line between "music" and "not music", imo.

   There appeared to be a bass player and musicians at the Super Bowl, which implies a modicum of tonality.  It was inaudible, and seemed to be just for show.

    Some percussion pieces can be considered "music"; in addition to rhythm, they can contain tonality, melody and harmony. .Are drums used for signaling "music"?  They could convey emotion, they are communicative, but they lack harmony and melody and so on that we associate with "music". Is a drum solo "music"? Usually not; it is an interlude between musical sections.  Gives the musicians a chance to rest and everyone else a chance to get a drink..

   Even most Mid-20th century 12-tone, Schoenberg, for example, barely qualifies as "music" (but it does; it has multiple elements of "music" one would include in any reasonable definition.)  They tried, it pushed  boundaries.  It can be interesting.  It was a reasonable experiment.  Like 4:33, it was an interesting intellectual exercise. But it was a dead end that didn't pan out, and hardly anyone wants to listen to it now. (I'd sell my lp collection of 12-tone stuff cheap!) 

   I'd concede that rap, hiphop etc. can be poetic, tribal, danceable, whatever.   Imho, regardless whether people like or enjoy it, it is not music.  

   Look, up in the sky, is it a bird? is it a plane? is randomized sound without rhythm or melody, "music"?  No, it is Yoko Ono.

@lloydc - thanks for your explanation! I still disagree, but nothing wrong with that, the world would be boring if everybody had the same opinions. 

@ Larsman, thanks!  

The numbers say no.

Source: The New Old Guard article (Billboard Magazine March 2022, Page 21)