Do you think that the musical art is undergoing a new revolution?

    :!: This thread is for general discussion, not to put down any bands or artists, please be respectful :!:



    We know that to study the history of art, it is necessary above all to trace the history of mankind. And as with all other forms of art, music also evolved with the evolution of human societies.


    If we were to try to summarize this, we can say that until the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The musical art was above all an art that was consumed in a community way the use of this art was done above all in places of entertainment such as theaters, dance venue, parties organized by notables, but also religious ceremonies and different rites. As you can see, music was primarily used as an instrument of socialization.


    In this period the music and the musical art was done above all on poetic or religious songs and the music was characterized by duration in time, the songs were long and made to correspond to the duration of social events.


    But things changed from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. What triggered this change was the invention of the Radio. For the first time in the history of mankind, we were able to broadcast the same music to several people in different places. The 19th and especially the 20th century are marked by several inventions which will make it possible to broadcast and record music and sounds but also images and videos.


    And that totally transformed the relationship that Humanity had to music. The consumption of art has gone from a social consumption and a strong socialization tool, to a much more personal consumption since it was now possible to listen to music for oneself. This does not mean that music was no longer a tool of socialization, but the way of this socialization evolved strongly and quickly. Music was no longer a socialization factor for the group but for the individual.


    It was also during this period that several new genres began to emerge with the invention of new technology and the appearance of new instruments, the most emblematic of which is certainly the electric guitar. The two musical genres that dominate this period will be Rock in the middle of the 20th century and rap in Western societies which will emerge especially at the end of the 20th century. And it's not a surprise when you know that these genres are above all anti-establishment and are above all aimed at the individual.


    It is a very important period and the greatest musical revolution for nearly a century that took place between the 50s and 80s. The relationship between humans and music has totally changed, and the way of making music has totally evolved too. The music has totally changed in depth whether in its texts, in the instruments, in the singing and especially in its way of being consumed, it was no longer a means of socialization and entertainment for the community but above all a personal entertainment.


    Until today, music has not experienced a major revolution as was the case in the middle of the 20th century. But wouldn't we be at the dawn of a new revolution? As you have seen, the revolution that has led to significant change in the relationship between humanity and the musical art has above all come from a technological and social revolution. And this technological and social revolution started a few years ago with the invention of the internet and social networks which continue to develop and disrupt our societies.


    The latest musical trends in recent years and especially in recent months in kpop have wondered me a lot about all this. I personally had a hard time with all these songs that went viral recently. To be completely honest, I didn't like these musics at all. I assumed that things had changed and that I was getting too old to understand trends. But trying to understand these trends, one thing struck me.


    All these songs that have become popular have become so through social networks. These have become the main vector for the dissemination of musical art now. But the most striking thing in this evolution that I see is that it is not the music that is popular but a part of it. For example, I have seen a lot of video editing done by people with the song " Smiley" by Yena and each time it was the chorus that was taken up. And there are a lot of examples like that, we also see that the producers are trying to create this viral moment in music, visuals, dance ...


    So I came to wonder if music was not undergoing a new revolution, where it would no longer be an instrument of personal entertainment but where music is not transformed into a personal tool that everyone could appropriate and express oneself with the work of another for creating something else.


    We know that art inspires art, but with the upheaval of social networks are we not heading towards a global revolution where each human being will be able to express his own art through the art of another human being in a global way? Is music as we know it now doomed or will it survive as a niche as was the case with classical music for example ?


    Thanks to people who read until the end. Sorry if I'm confused in my words, it's not very easy for me in this language :saint:


    now to add my $0.02


    it may be because music has gone from the physical to the digital that it involves more personal choice...

    like when you mentioned radio that you had to listen to whatever it was on the radio - sure you could choose by genre there are stations that play country or rock or pop or whatever but one had no choice over the individual songs...


    now in the digital age one could create personalized playlists of songs from various genres that appeal to us personally

    with editing software and what you mentioned about Yena's Smiley - it takes it a step further that instead of the whole song we might really connect with one or more parts of a song and just focus on that part (maybe to the exclusion of other parts)


    TLDR: Music has become more personalised

    Before, the only way to promote music was through the radio an TV, so they dictated what became popular. With the popularization of YouTube we started to have the hit songs not because of the industry push but because they went viral. Now these viral songs are coming from TikTok.


    The main difference is that TikTok has a short attention span. So songs have to have a short catchy section to go viral. Streaming also made songs have shorter intros otherwise they will get skipped.


    I don't use TikTok, so I don't know how much it pays. But I don't think music will disappear because their popularity still bleed to streaming platforms where people can listen to the full song.


    But the industry will change. Like when singles were the main unit, then albums became the main unit in the 60s with rock albums, then singles became the main unit again in the 2000s with the digitalization of music. And now with streaming singles became dominant.

  • AllKill VIP
  • AllKill VIP

    I think the internet and social media has made the the discovery and dissemination of trends much more efficient, but the basis of that kind of grassroot spread existed prior to that too. It was just much more rudimentary. People couldn't share playlists with the click of a button and you couldn't just Google the latest hit from any obscure group that you wanted. You had to create an irl social network and trade actual mixtapes. Your friends dubbed from their purchases cassettes or from the radio or if they were lucky, recorded live shows. You read up on new or alternative acts in handprinted zines and listened to college or pirate radio stations or maybe that one independent deejay that would actually play stuff that wasn't on some corporate list. If you lived in an area with a rich music scene, there were clubs and bars that would play the coolest latest songs. You hung out and talked in record stores. You might even buy independent records or tapes out of the back of someone's car. If you were part of the scene, you didn't need corporate radio.

    That's really insightful and I love that you're poiting that out.


    I have a lot of thoughts about that topic, and I'll try to respond more in detail later 🤗🤍

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