Is Pop Music Becoming More and More Boring?

Blogpost

January 12, 2021

Boredom in Pop Music?

The decisive answer is – NO

If you take a very deep look at Spotify, for example, you will find an enormous variety of music. The question is, who does that? Of course, there are listeners who are always on the lookout for new sounds, but these are only a few music enthusiasts with free minds. The majority of listeners visit the charts and the big Spotify playlists. And that’s where the majority and the mainstream rule. The big radio stations join this majority and thus create a reciprocal cycle.

This is nothing new, but the consequence of this cycle has increased in the search for the lowest common denominator. This has something to do with the returns in the streaming age. Profits from music production are now only generated with millions of streams, whereas in the days of physical recordings they were profitable with far lower numbers.

The streaming services’ rules on how streams are paid for is also leading to conformity. A 31-second fragment generates just as much revenue as a 10-minute epic. However, radio had already established the standard size of about 3 minutes per song a long time ago. The function outshines the art.

Research shows that the hits are getting simpler and simpler, but this is no wonder after the observations described above. However, the success of Billie Eilish with completely new sounds proves that there is still enough room for innovation. The prerequisite, however, is a large crowd of fans who are more interested in the artist and then also follow his music.

And now we are at the marketing of art in general. The rules are not new, and the fact that the artist’s public appearance carries a lot of weight is also not new. Actually, on closer inspection, I don’t see anything really new at all, and expect that everything will balance itself out over time – until the next technical revolution. That’s just how evolution works. and there are always winners and losers.

What is new, however, is that electronic tools have drastically simplified the possibilities of music production. This calls up many soldiers of fortune who 40 years ago would never have risked the high costs of music production and would have remained music lovers or hobby musicians. Today, many of them live out their passion as producers and create a hermaphrodite being of music lover and music producer. However, many lack artistic skills and also lack the time for further musical and technical training. So they fall far short of their dreams and expectations. This creates a huge torrent of frustration, which is then also poured out on social media, and a new voice in the concert of critics, desperately seeking reasons for their failure.

This voice claims the demise of musical quality in popular music, overlooking the fact that it is contributing powerfully to it. Nevertheless, of course, everyone has a right to live out a passion, and we wish them all the best of luck in doing so.

RESPECT

I am no idealist, and love is sometimes too much of a good thing for me. I think that respect which excludes racism and nationalism per se is enough. Respect also allows a personal retreat when other attitudes to life conflict too much with one’s own.

PROSPERITY

Wealth is always relative. But I would grant everyone the right to enough food, a solid roof over their heads and the opportunity to develop their talents. If some people think they need to keep the current prosperity gap, they should buy a few more luxury cars – what the hell – I’m not a communist.

SERENITY

The first two demands are a prerequisite for making serenity possible for the poor at all. It is likely to be a great challenge for all the half-rich, because in my opinion the hunt for the WORK-LIFE-BALANCE is nothing else but the fight against the constantly threatening poverty in the existing social system.

The Founder

My name is Horst Grabosch and I am the mastermind of all projects presented on this website.

I was born in the largest coal mining area in Germany, known as the “Ruhrgebiet”. After school I worked as a professional musician until I was 40 years old. This time is well documented on WIKIPEDIA

After a burnout I had to give up my job, moved to the south of Germany, to the Munich region, and did an apprenticeship as an information technologist.

Another burnout forced me to rebuild my existence again, which collapsed just because of the corona crisis. In expectation of poverty at retirement age, I began to build a second career as a musician in 2019.

Newest Music

Die Geschichte von Oberförster Karl-Heinz Flinte - Horst Grabosch

Die Geschichte von Oberförster Karl-Heinz Flinte

A new story by Horst Grabosch from the “Heroes of Work” series. This time the focus is on the profession of forester. Of course, Karl-Heinz Flinte does not fit the stereotype of a forester. On the cover, he looks more like a climate activist. But that is exactly Grabosch’s twist. The three episodes reveal the diversity of the activity. Flinte also occasionally shoots a boar when necessary, but he also suffers with the weakened trees and cares for the forest’s human visitors – after all, that’s what he’s paid to do. Just as with his music, he sits between all chairs, but the chairs always represent only a limited view. Grabosch always chooses individual themes and musical genres for a song, but in the process they form a whole picture over time. This picture is irritatingly diverse in terms of pattern formation. Perhaps this is precisely how Grabosch demonstrates our general lack of acceptance of the complexity of the world. But he always keeps his humorous wink.

Die Geschichte von Bademeister Adelwart - Horst Grabosch

Die Geschichte von Bademeister Adelwart

With the story of pool attendant Adelwart, Horst Grabosch presents the second release from the series “Heroes of Work”. With three episodes in this maxi-single he pays tribute to people who daily make their peaceful contribution to the functioning of our world. All three contributions of German poetry and musical eclecticism have the same jazzy base and vary in the small poems in German that form the song lyrics and in the soloistic elements. We are once again surprised by the variety of styles in Grabosch’s songs. There is jazz in this song and the jazz trumpeter, who was internationally successful many years ago, shows how to integrate styles when you have practiced them yourself.

Die Geschichte von Krankenschwester Hildegard - Horst Grabosch

Die Geschichte von Krankenschwester Hildegard

With the story of Nurse Hildegard, Horst Grabosch opens a new box of his imagination. With three episodes in this maxi-single, he pays tribute not only to professions that are socially important, but even more to the people who daily make their peaceful contribution to the functioning of our world. All three musical pieces have the same musical base and vary in the small poems in German that make up the lyrics of the song and in the solo elements. Other tributes to other professions have been announced. The series is entitled Heroes of Work. We are looking forward to more humorous episodes with new musical styles, as we are used to from the eclectic Grabosch.

Der Preis des Wollens - Horst Grabosch

Der Preis des Wollens

This downtempo track sets to music the poem of the same name, which deals with peace of mind. The academically trained musician speaks the text himself over a charming chord progression and poetic electronic sounds. Sophisticated but pleasing “Deutsche Poesie”.

LUST - Horst Grabosch

LUST

Quite a thick one! Horst Grabosch doesn’t leave it at a music album, but writes a book to it – unfortunately in German. But we have to accept that, because it is his native language. We already know the music from the singles, but it is so catchy and profound that you can listen to it more often. The book should increase the pleasure even more, because it describes thoughts and feelings about each title. Therefore, we think the title “LUST” is quite appropriate.

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