I'm ancient, and The Beatles were together when I first became aware of popular music. Since they were part of the landscape of my formative years, I can't be objective about their long-term relevance.
One thing I'm sure of is that there was a helluva lot of dross released way back then that's since been completely forgotten about. It's not like the only thing on rock stations back in the sixties and seventies is what you hear now on oldies stations.
So, yeah, I'm sure that just as was the case then, the vast majority of currently popular music will be rapidly forgotten. But I imagine some will resurface in a few decades when the kids of today get old enough for them to come down with a bad case of nostalgia, and it's possible you might then realise that some of it is actually pretty good. I know I now appreciate some artists that I didn't care for in my youth, and some of the music I liked back then no longer does much for me.
I haven't spent any time trying to track down the figures, but I'm sure another factor that must be working against the longevity of currently popular music is how there's so much more of it these days than there was before the dawn of streaming. Back in the sixties and seventies, the record companies were the gatekeepers of the music business, and they didn't invest in producing a record unless someone in the organisation believed they had commercial potential. Now, just about anyone can produce an album and success is as much about social media promotional skills as it is musicianship. The constant flood of new music has to mean that some really good stuff is getting swept by without many people noticing, while some stuff is popular for reasons that have little to do with the music itself.
IIN That I think today's music will be totally forgotten in the future?
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I'm ancient, and The Beatles were together when I first became aware of popular music. Since they were part of the landscape of my formative years, I can't be objective about their long-term relevance.
One thing I'm sure of is that there was a helluva lot of dross released way back then that's since been completely forgotten about. It's not like the only thing on rock stations back in the sixties and seventies is what you hear now on oldies stations.
So, yeah, I'm sure that just as was the case then, the vast majority of currently popular music will be rapidly forgotten. But I imagine some will resurface in a few decades when the kids of today get old enough for them to come down with a bad case of nostalgia, and it's possible you might then realise that some of it is actually pretty good. I know I now appreciate some artists that I didn't care for in my youth, and some of the music I liked back then no longer does much for me.
I haven't spent any time trying to track down the figures, but I'm sure another factor that must be working against the longevity of currently popular music is how there's so much more of it these days than there was before the dawn of streaming. Back in the sixties and seventies, the record companies were the gatekeepers of the music business, and they didn't invest in producing a record unless someone in the organisation believed they had commercial potential. Now, just about anyone can produce an album and success is as much about social media promotional skills as it is musicianship. The constant flood of new music has to mean that some really good stuff is getting swept by without many people noticing, while some stuff is popular for reasons that have little to do with the music itself.