Has The Entertainment Industry Become Worse?

Peter Visibility · 08-11-2013 12:52PM

The music industry used to be presided over by fat, middle aged, male, cocaine snorting, money grabbing bull****ters. There was a long process you had to go through to gain access to the means of production, i.e. recording studios, so dues were paid, skills honed, experiences gained. There were many legitimate complaints about this system. A record company exec's son or daughter could gain access to opportunities others could and did only dream of etc. Ironically, now that the means of production have been liberated for everyone with access to a computer, any blow dried, talentless, soul-less loser can release an e-single for download and watch as all his twelve year old mates download him/her/them to the top of some meaningless chart. Just look at all those idiot X-Factor groups marketing blow driers and wallpaper to all their 'fans' after week two of the 'live' shows. The point is not the music. Once they fail at x-factor they'll be hair cutting at a competitive level in some pseudo 'Celebrity Salon' on a main street in Hell. Music used to define who we were and how we felt but now it's mostly just a means to appear on t.v. and say things like 'I ticked all the boxes in my comfort zone, and then I smashed it. I REALLY want this! #Money.' There is still, and always will be, good music out there (wherever that is) it just won't be in or anywhere near the mainstream. Which is the way it should be. I am no longer 11.

deadybai · 08-11-2013 12:53PM

music is worse. Movies are the same (neither better or worse) . Video games are better

KungPao · 08-11-2013 12:53PM

It's clear to see for any music fan that there has been a big drop in quality in music over the last 15 years or so. It pains me that we will probably never see another Radiohead or Nirvana or Oasis or Blur. Genuine talent and character and just endless fabulous songs with great melodies and lyrics (Oasis excepted on lyrics!).

We all know 99% of chart music is horrendous - bieber, one direction, that "celing can't hold us" rubbish, and that terrible "blurred lines" nonsense with pharell williams.

Sure there was always bad chart music, but the cream usually rose to the top.

Only two songs on the radio recently have made me not want to vomit. Surprisingly one sung by Miley Cyrus! Wrecking ball is actually a very well crafted and catchy tune. Also Roar by Katy Perry is a good pop song and is a little different than most drivel.

Most guitar music thats popular now is whiny shyte with no balls - villagers, lumineers, coldplay, snow patrol.

Films have dropped in quality too, but Tarantino is still doing excellent stuff.

Cant comment on all these fancy new tv shows, don't watch them, but have heard good things. But sitcoms are unwatchable these days, offensively unfunny in most cases.

Jonny Blaze · 08-11-2013 01:05PM

desertcircus wrote: »

Music is going through a pretty poor phase, and mainstream cinema is going through something similar (in both cases because piracy has left them with no clear idea of how to reliably make money anymore), but television is in the middle of an absolute golden age. The Wire, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, The West Wing and Battlestar Galactica could credibly be described as the five best TV series ever made, and they're all from the last fifteen years.

2012 and this year so far have been some of the most financially successful years to date in mainstream cinema. So I would refute the part about the movie industry.

In fact part of the reason they have become so bad is to cater to foreign audiences where hollywood is picking up most of its money now.

When a movie has to appeal to a broad international audience, things like explosions and simple dialogue translate far easier than slow burning dramas!

I'll give you the music industry though!

Dravokivich · 08-11-2013 01:05PM

gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

200 banjos falling down several flights of stairs may count as music for some.

Well, don't listen to charts or Pop radio much, so couldn't really name who's being promoted through'un. They were just one example of a band in the last couple of years that did what the other guy said, no one does.

And even then, a single is just an ad for an album. If you want to look at a proper representation of the state of music being promoted check out the album charts.

LW TW TITLE ARTIST LABEL WKS
1 REFLEKTOR ARCADE FIRE SONOVOX 1
1 2 PRISM KATY PERRY VIRGIN 2
3 3 AM ARCTIC MONKEYS DOMINO 8
4 PURE HEROINE LORDE LAVA/REPUBLIC 1
6 5 OUR VERSION OF EVENTS EMELI SANDÉ VIRGIN 90
4 6 IN A PERFECT WORLD KODALINE BUNIQUE 20
2 7 LIGHTNING BOLT PEARL JAM MONKEYWRENCH 3
8 UNION J UNION J RCA 1
10 9 UP ALL NIGHT ONE DIRECTION SYCO MUSIC 102
10 COUNTRY SOUL DEREK RYAN SHARPE MUSIC

I've high lighted the one's that I know are bands. There is absolutely no lack of "music" that people seem to be moaning about.

Ironman76 · 08-11-2013 01:09PM

Music, yes totally, utter crap now. I think anything up until the late 90s max will always be played but anything after that not a chance. I am one of those that would walk out if a shop now for the crap they have playing. Brain melting tripe.

Movies I would sort of disagree there's so much they can do now, it's just a matter of who they put in the directors chair. Inception is a masterpiece as is Dark Knight. Saw Gravity yesterday on IMAX which was excellent. Then you have entertaining stuff like Ironman 1 and Avengers. They've also made a few decent horrors recently. The problem now is you can go see a movie which cost 200 million to make and it could be utter crap, especially with clowns like Zach Snyder behind them. Then you have the likes of PiratesOTC bring done to death. Big budget movies back in the day were class ie Jurassic Park, T2 etc. Mind blowing.

TV Shows have never been better IMO. There really are a great variety of quality shows. Dexter (seasons 1-4), 24, Breaking Bad were all excellent. Not to mention Sopranos and The Shield which is the greatest cop drama ever IMO. I still haven't seen Mad Men nor West Wing as I can't get near them for the amount of top notch TV shows. On Sons of Anarchy now which is class.

seamus · 08-11-2013 01:19PM

Ironman76 wrote: »

Music, yes totally, utter crap now. I think anything up until the late 90s max will always be played but anything after that not a chance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLqfXlIq6RE

Crap pop music has always been around and has faded away to never be played again, while the better music sticks around.

The only major exception to this is probably disco from the 70's.

It's just a fact that as you get older you have less time and will to go searching for new music, so if you're listening to the radio all you hear is manufactured pop and it sounds like all new music is crap.

Blowfish · 08-11-2013 01:25PM

seamus wrote: »

But it does. And what it will do is improve the standard of programming in many respects because so few people will actually want to watch "The secret life of Gypsy showjumpers" on demand.
But it may also have a groupthink effect whereby niche shows are smothered and cancelled because they're not hugely popular.

I would have said the opposite. One of the other things that online on demand services have brought is a global audience, rather than just that of single country. The niche audience available for a single country would be tiny for something like "The secret life of Gypsy showjumpers", which would make it unprofitable and hard to convince any TV channel to show it, especially as they'd have to sacrifice air time for something else. Globally though there could easily be enough of an audience for it, and for an on demand service there is essentially zero extra overhead to carry it globally.

This has actually already happened with video games. Steam and other online services have eradicated the overhead for individual country wide releases for games, instead making it cheap and easy to make them available to a global audience. Because of this, very low budget indie and niche games are actually booming.

KungPao · 08-11-2013 01:41PM

seamus wrote: »

It's just a fact that as you get older you have less time and will to go searching for new music, so if you're listening to the radio all you hear is manufactured pop and it sounds like all new music is crap.

When I was growing up in the 90s, I didn't have to look very far for good music. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Radiohead, Blur, and a LOT more, were on MTV, the radio, playing on Top of the Pops etc.

In the 90s, you'd hear rubbish by TLC or Will Smith sure, but then it may be followed by Nirvana or a bit of Beetlebum. Now it's Bieber followed by One Direction.

Teens of now don't have that "movement" like Punk, Grunge, Britpop or whatever. Sad stuff.

PurpleSt4in · 08-11-2013 01:47PM

There's more and more 'pop stars' who are devoid of real musical talent, songwriting ability and are just marketed relentlessly and have a team of people behind them. There's still great music though, it's just the world of music is pop-dominated. Much in the same manner, TV has seen the rise of reality TV which is just pure muck. I can't stand all the Geordie Shore/Made in Chelsea's/etc , the popularity of these shows has me baffled but it seems to be increasingly popular hence the amount of these kind of shows which keep on being produced. As other people have mentioned though, there are still quality programmes out there.

desertcircus · 08-11-2013 01:50PM

KungPao wrote: »

It's clear to see for any music fan that there has been a big drop in quality in music over the last 15 years or so. It pains me that we will probably never see another Radiohead or Nirvana or Oasis or Blur. Genuine talent and character and just endless fabulous songs with great melodies and lyrics (Oasis excepted on lyrics!).

We all know 99% of chart music is horrendous - bieber, one direction, that "celing can't hold us" rubbish, and that terrible "blurred lines" nonsense with pharell williams.

Sure there was always bad chart music, but the cream usually rose to the top.

Only two songs on the radio recently have made me not want to vomit. Surprisingly one sung by Miley Cyrus! Wrecking ball is actually a very well crafted and catchy tune. Also Roar by Katy Perry is a good pop song and is a little different than most drivel.

Most guitar music thats popular now is whiny shyte with no balls - villagers, lumineers, coldplay, snow patrol.

Films have dropped in quality too, but Tarantino is still doing excellent stuff.

Cant comment on all these fancy new tv shows, don't watch them, but have heard good things. But sitcoms are unwatchable these days, offensively unfunny in most cases.

Sitcoms? The ones on mass-market television, yes (I'm not sure there's a single joke in 2 Broke Girls) , but Arrested Development? Parks And Recreation? Modern Family?

lahalane · 08-11-2013 01:53PM

Why do people declare music to be **** if they dont like it? Theres a lot of songs I dont like but I wouldnt call them ****. Im sure somebody likes it so its not a matter of it being ****, it just means that its not to my taste.

Even with genres in music theres a lot of snobbery. I like rock and I dont listen to much rap but I cant say which is better only which one I prefer. For every rock song I like therell be one that doesnt do it for me. There could be lots of rap songs that I havent heard that I do like.

Some people argue about music in the same way my friends argue over Liverpool and United. Calling each others team **** for no reason other than loyalty and the tribal necessity to appear dominant. It baffles me at times.

Billy86 · 08-11-2013 01:53PM

Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »

The 90's. Fr. Ted, Glenroe, the Morebegs, Ballykissangel

Two of those four were not made by Irish channels, and the other two were not exactly mind-bogglingly fantastic.

Jonny Blaze · 08-11-2013 01:55PM

KungPao wrote: »

Films have dropped in quality too, but Tarantino is still doing excellent stuff.

Tarantino hasn't done anything good since Jackie Brown IMO.

For a director initially known for his stylised, gritty and dare i say plausible movies with rapid fire 'real world' dialogue his last string of self indulgent 'genre fan' movies have been particularly hard to watch.

Not that I haven't enjoyed a couple of them, but they're not anywhere near the early work.

GLaDOS · 08-11-2013 02:04PM

pundy wrote: »

i can't remember the last time i actually saw a BAND playing their own instruments releasing a hit single or album....

Of Monsters and Men's single Little Talks was pretty successful.

Super hero movies are popular because they're good and engaging movies. Superhero movies aren't a new phenomenon - they've been around for a long time, but only since Marvel started to produce the lead up to the Avengers did it actually become financially successful.

I've no problem with Superhero movies in themselves, but we're seeing 3 or 4 hyped up movies a year it seems, eg this year we've seen Iron Man, Superman, Thor and Wolverine. Last year it was Batman, Avengers and Spiderman. Maybe it's just me, but it's hard to get excited about yet another superhero movie.

08-11-2013 02:09PM

KungPao wrote: »

When I was growing up in the 90s, I didn't have to look very far for good music. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Radiohead, Blur, and a LOT more, were on MTV, the radio, playing on Top of the Pops etc.

In the 90s, you'd hear rubbish by TLC or Will Smith sure, but then it may be followed by Nirvana or a bit of Beetlebum. Now it's Bieber followed by One Direction.

Teens of now don't have that "movement" like Punk, Grunge, Britpop or whatever. Sad stuff.

We do have a "movement". Like it or not, Hipster was a movement and has produced some pretty excellent musical artists.

And it's also Bieber followed by Alt-J, or Mumford and Sons, or many other bands that are in existence right now.

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Of Monsters and Men's single Little Talks was pretty successful.

I've no problem with Superhero movies in themselves, but we're seeing 3 or 4 hyped up movies a year it seems, eg this year we've seen Iron Man, Superman, Thor and Wolverine. Last year it was Batman, Avengers and Spiderman. Maybe it's just me, but it's hard to get excited about yet another superhero movie.

We've also never seen the likes of 5 movies leading up to one sole movie either, so it might explain why you get so many. Now with DC wanting to do the same with the Justice League, we're going to get many many many more.

Ironman76 · 08-11-2013 02:10PM

seamus wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLqfXlIq6RE

Crap pop music has always been around and has faded away to never be played again, while the better music sticks around.

The only major exception to this is probably disco from the 70's.

It's just a fact that as you get older you have less time and will to go searching for new music, so if you're listening to the radio all you hear is manufactured pop and it sounds like all new music is crap.

Ha ha I was actually thinking of that clip earlier.

I completely disagree with the whole "ah sure you're older now so of course modern music is going to sound crap, that was always the case". What was pop back in the 80s? Michael Jackson, Duran Duran, A-ha, Eurythmics,Pet Shop Boys, UB40? In the 70s? Disco tracks that are now classics (and still being played in night clubs) 90s Blur and Oasis. That's what was played on the radio in those times. Compare that with the drivel now. Jesus H Christ where are they getting these acts????

As for good bands in general I think rock and alternative peeked throughout the last 50 years on many occasions. Metal too. The fact is there's a benchmark for rock, alternative and metal that can't be touched. What the music industry needs is someone to take it by the scruff again like the Sex Pistols, Nirvana and RATM did back in the day. Great times.

Billy86 · 08-11-2013 02:30PM

KungPao wrote: »

When I was growing up in the 90s, I didn't have to look very far for good music. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Radiohead, Blur, and a LOT more, were on MTV, the radio, playing on Top of the Pops etc.

In the 90s, you'd hear rubbish by TLC or Will Smith sure, but then it may be followed by Nirvana or a bit of Beetlebum. Now it's Bieber followed by One Direction.

Teens of now don't have that "movement" like Punk, Grunge, Britpop or whatever. Sad stuff.

The simple fact is you have to look a bit harder now because o the sheer amount of music available. There has also been a shift in genres, so while it is obvious you're more a fan of guitar-based music there has been a bit of a move away from that, but you can't ignore the last 10-15 years having given us Queens of the Stone Age, The Raconteurs, The White Stripes, Kings of Leon (before they went to sh!te), Libertines, lots of stuff from from Muse, Radiohead, Pearl Jam (earlier pointed out that they currently have an album in the top 10, right now), etc.

Added to that, there's plenty of quality, innovative music being released as well - Cults, Tuneyards, Dirty Projectors and such have pretty much created a new sound and are hugely acclaimed. Then there are the likes of 2Cellos and Girl Talk who don't make their own stuff but do an excellent job re-imagining others (ever heard The Prodigy or ACDC or even Rihanna on the cello? It's pretty good). There is no one 'big definitive movement' because the internet has given much more free choice for people to listen to whatever sound they prefer.

But the fact is that the demographics that would listen to this are more likely to have an MP3 player than radio, and so you don't really hear much of it on the radio as a result, which is increasingly turning into a teeny-bopper medium. There's a lot more crap out there than there used to be, but there is also at least as much good stuff, and in a wider variety than previously as well.

ColmH81 · 08-11-2013 03:14PM

Ironman76 wrote: »

Music, yes totally, utter crap now. I think anything up until the late 90s max will always be played but anything after that not a chance. I am one of those that would walk out if a shop now for the crap they have playing. Brain melting tripe.

Movies I would sort of disagree there's so much they can do now, it's just a matter of who they put in the directors chair. Inception is a masterpiece as is Dark Knight. Saw Gravity yesterday on IMAX which was excellent. Then you have entertaining stuff like Ironman 1 and Avengers. They've also made a few decent horrors recently. The problem now is you can go see a movie which cost 200 million to make and it could be utter crap, especially with clowns like Zach Snyder behind them. Then you have the likes of PiratesOTC bring done to death. Big budget movies back in the day were class ie Jurassic Park, T2 etc. Mind blowing.

TV Shows have never been better IMO. There really are a great variety of quality shows. Dexter (seasons 1-4), 24, Breaking Bad were all excellent. Not to mention Sopranos and The Shield which is the greatest cop drama ever IMO. I still haven't seen Mad Men nor West Wing as I can't get near them for the amount of top notch TV shows. On Sons of Anarchy now which is class.

Just on Season 2 of SoA... Only thing that p*sses me off is the attempt at Irish accents.. Can't they just hire actual Irish people?

Billy86 · 08-11-2013 03:17PM

ColmH81 wrote: »

Just on Season 2 of SoA... Only thing that p*sses me off is the attempt at Irish accents.. Can't they just hire actual Irish people?

Uh oh. I won't give anything away, but you're about to get a pissed off as I did watching it pretty soon then.

ColmH81 · 08-11-2013 03:23PM

Billy86 wrote: »

Uh oh. I won't give anything away, but you're about to get a pissed off as I did watching it pretty soon then.

Hahah... Awe sh*t.. Maybe I should watch Far and Away first.. Cos no other attempt at the irish accent could be any worse... Other than Richard Gere in Jackal...

seamus · 08-11-2013 03:52PM

KungPao wrote: »

When I was growing up in the 90s, I didn't have to look very far for good music. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Radiohead, Blur, and a LOT more, were on MTV, the radio, playing on Top of the Pops etc.

In the 90s, you'd hear rubbish by TLC or Will Smith sure, but then it may be followed by Nirvana or a bit of Beetlebum. Now it's Bieber followed by One Direction.

Followed by Kodaline, Kings of Leon, The Lumineers and Imagine Dragons.
You still don't have to look very far for good music.

Whether or not you enjoy any of the latter four, you can't ignore that this is creative music produced by individuals composing songs and playing instruments, not manufactured by a salesman. Which is effectively what one means when we talk about "real music".

Ironman76 wrote: »

I completely disagree with the whole "ah sure you're older now so of course modern music is going to sound crap, that was always the case". What was pop back in the 80s? Michael Jackson, Duran Duran, A-ha, Eurythmics,Pet Shop Boys, UB40?

Michael Jackson = Bruno Mars or Katie Perry
A-ha = One Direction
Duran Duran = Lady Gaga
UB40 = Macklemore
Pet Shop Boys = Avicii

All music which will be remembered but have limited appeal and basically zero airtime in 30 years time, just like the 80s bands you've mentioned*. The individual band members will be more famous for their one-off appearances on comedy gameshows and reality TV.

Just to note, from the point of view of someone who grew up in the 90's, the 1980s was the absolute worst decade of music in history.

(*Jacko being a notable exception, but you never hear his stuff being played anymore either in clubs or on radio)

Elmer Blooker · 08-11-2013 04:07PM

KungPao wrote: »

When I was growing up in the 90s, I didn't have to look very far for good music. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Radiohead, Blur, and a LOT more, were on MTV, the radio, playing on Top of the Pops etc.

In the 90s, you'd hear rubbish by TLC or Will Smith sure, but then it may be followed by Nirvana or a bit of Beetlebum. Now it's Bieber followed by One Direction.

Teens of now don't have that "movement" like Punk, Grunge, Britpop or whatever. Sad stuff.

the kids these days aren't really interested in picking up a guitar and try to learn how to play it, there are too many distractions like Facebook and sending about a thousand texts a day.
Think about the greats like Clapton, Richards, Lennon, McCartney, Hendrix, - they spent countless hours in their rooms listening to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records trying to learn the riffs because there was nothing else to do.
Even U2 kept plugging away and even playing for nothing in the Dandelion market because there was nothing to do in 1970s Dublin.
The world has changed since the arrival the internet.

paulbok · 08-11-2013 05:10PM

Overall I don't agree OP. How I would define any genre being good or bad is like how the Untouchable Peasant mentioned, will something current be replayed in 20 years time.

Music, has got progressively worse since the turn of the century thanks to the generis tripe of the xfactor karaoke sessions and the 'gangsta' hiphop stars whould would sh1+ themselves if confronted by the likes of NWA or Ice Cube.

Movies, There are still some great one's being produced, but there is a lack of originality with remakes and franchises sort of taking over at the moment. Lord of the Rings, brilliant (imho) and deserving of it's trilogy, The Hobbit suhold never have been more than 1 movie (2 at a push).

TV, never been a better time to be alive. Too much good content out there in a way, from whatever source, but can be difficult to find sometimes as it's diluted by the other crap content on the dozens of channels. It was earier in a way to connect with shows when you only had 6 tv stations/ limited choice. Now it's easy to ignore a channel because it's showing brain rot like the Kardashians or Duck Dynasty at prime time and miss out on something like The Shield (not the same channel in real like , just using these as an example) on late at night. You need a DVR/ Netflix and the recommendations of the people with no life in the tv forums to be up-to-date with whats good.

Books, always good, peaks and troughs for the really good ones, but unlike the other genres, you don't need to be current (book series aside).

Video games has to be taken seriously as a new mainstream source of entertainment anymore. While around for 30 odd years now, GTA5 being the quickest media release to gross $1bn shows how far and ingrained gaming has become. Mobile platforms has also moved it out of the geek circles and into pretty much everyone with a phones pocket.

Modern tech has made everything so much more accessible, that it has impacted on how everyone percives the entertainment industrynoadays, it is now coming to you instead of you having to go looking for it. A typical smartphone can have all the above mediums (and you could argue to include the internet as weel as an entertainment medium) in one device in your hand.

Billy86 · 08-11-2013 05:17PM

paulbok wrote: »

Video games has to be taken seriously as a new mainstream source of entertainment anymore. While around for 30 odd years now, GTA5 being the quickest media release to gross $1bn shows how far and ingrined gaming has become. Mobile platforms has also moved it out of the geek circles and into pretty much everyone with a phones pocket.

It's a fair point - if I remember correctly, I heard it also mentioned that the last Call of Duty to come out made more than any piece of media that year - that is, any album, TV program, film, DVD... anything.

paulbok · 08-11-2013 05:18PM

seamus wrote: »

(*Jacko being a notable exception, but you never hear his stuff being played anymore either in clubs or on radio)

Not necessarily down to the quality of his music.

KungPao · 08-11-2013 05:43PM

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

the kids these days aren't really interested in picking up a guitar and try to learn how to play it, there are too many distractions like Facebook and sending about a thousand texts a day.
Think about the greats like Clapton, Richards, Lennon, McCartney, Hendrix, - they spent countless hours in their rooms listening to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records trying to learn the riffs because there was nothing else to do.
Even U2 kept plugging away and even playing for nothing in the Dandelion market because there was nothing to do in 1970s Dublin.
The world has changed since the arrival the internet.

Totally agree.

One of my favourite musicians is Kurt Cobain. His formative years were the 80s and I can imagine him with a pen and paper writing line after line and just recording riff after riff on a crappy guitar on a 4-track or something. For hours and hours everyday.

That's how he expressed himself. He didn't post narcissistic photos on Facebook and wait for the likes to roll in or play World of Warcraft all day and night.

Technology has many many advantages and can help people get their art out there a the click of a button, but I believe tech is damaging creativity too.

08-11-2013 05:57PM

seamus wrote: »

This was predicted in the early 00's that TV would die as people switched to on-demand, and tbh I couldn't see how that would work.

Why? Would've thought it was the most obvious thing that was going to happen.

Ironman76 · 08-11-2013 06:30PM

Michael Jackson = Bruno Mars or Katie Perry
A-ha = One Direction
Duran Duran = Lady Gaga
UB40 = Macklemore
Pet Shop Boys = Avicii

[/quote]

Utter nonsense. So in thirty years time Bruno Mars will have everyone up dancing and have iconic status???? Will he F€€k. Same goes for Katy Perry.

Ridiculous post.

SilverScreen · 08-11-2013 06:57PM

I think 2013 has been a damn good year for music, with new albums from Julia Holter, Boards of Canada, The Knife, The National, Sigur Rós, Factory Floor, Chvrches, Kurt Vile and tons others. I think music in general is as good as it's ever been. People tend to forget that there was plenty of drivel released in the 80's and 70's too.

Some great stuff on the telly in recent years too such as Homeland, Criminal Minds, Mad Men, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones etc. I don't know what people are complaining about.

Has The Entertainment Industry Become Worse?

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