Music goes in cycles from new and edgy (relative terms) to commercialized and stale. It seems that the music industry pigeon holes a certain type of music that sells well and over saturates the market. Rather than focus on the truth that can be found in music, the trend seems to be a reproduction of what is already in vogue. Shows such as The Voice and American Idol seem to perpetuate the sound of the moment. On any given season one can count on several incarnations of Adele, Beyonce or Madonna. Each individual standing on the shoulders of giants to make a name for themselves.
MTV and VH1 are not helping the cause of relevant music; they seem to be more interested in reality TV and shock media like Jersey Shore and Teen Mom. It seems as though every time I turn on VH1 (I can't stomach MTV these days) there is another "Greatest hits of the '90s" show on. The most recent count-down I watched was "The 100 greatest women of Music," and while I agree with Madonna being in the number one spot, I cannot agree with many others on that list. The main reason for her continued relevance is that Madonna continuously reinvents herself. The only thing that is constant in her world is her controversy. Still, there is a chance, given enough time, that even Ke$ha could be as influential as Madonna. Only time will tell.
There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon; the advent of YouTube as a medium for sharing music. This wonderful medium does not care if you are OK GO or The Prime Time Band. This new way of sharing music allows innovation; it showcases the individuality of the musicians. While there are still droves of cookie cutter musicians out there, they are vastly out numbered by the kids with a dream to become the next big thing. While they may cover some of the more famous musicians, there is an invariability that they make the song their own.
Even MTV knows the value of innovation. After years of criticism for abandoning their roots of Music Television (funny, that sounds like an acronym waiting to happen...) MTV has partially returned to actual music. There is now an entire channel dedicated to music, sadly it is only one of a couple hundred.
The driving factors behind each step in the musical innovative process are rather easy to see. First off, the void we don't see in music is spontaneously filled with something we never knew we always wanted. For example, we didn't know the necessity of The Beatles until they were established in our hearts. I cannot fathom a world in which Eleanor Rigby does not exist (and that isn't even the most influential of their songs). Before those mop tops from across the pond ruptured our musical traditions, we craved something new. What we wanted was unclear, but we wanted it anyway. depending on your tastes it was either fortunate or unfortunate that each time we advanced into a new musical realm the market quickly became saturated.
Take punk for an example; while it is not the most wide spread flavor of music, it has been influenced by the over saturation of the musical market. When punk burst onto the scene the market was saturated with big hair, spandex and power ballads. The Ramones gave us a way out. Now the market is becoming saturated with big name acts like Green Day, who now have a major Broadway production, so it seems fitting that the next bubble under the alternative music flag is beginning to form before the older bubble becomes irrelevant.
This type of natural leadership follows a Darwinian/survival of the fittest trajectory. It seems that the evolution of music is truly a group effort, and the only way to ensure it flourishes is to continue with the genetic diversification that we have seen in the last few decades. The de-homogenyzing of typical genres of music has lead to a greater diversity of the waves penetrating our ears. The blend of traditional country and rock into rockabilly exemplifies the juxtaposition of two unlikely bedfellows that work, and in a wonderful way. A dash of this, a smidgen of that... new bands and new genres are forming all the time.
The leader in this situation is the market. When one market is dull, another takes over. The customers drive the innovation, and in the end it all boils down to what makes money and what sells, but at the same time the art should stand on its own and be an individual testament to what drives the artist. The carbon copy artist does nothing to further the diversification of the field, and is eventually weeded out.
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