My kids (now in their 20s) once confessed they are disappointed their generation did not have a Sinatra, Elvis or Rolling Stones to embrace. I feel for them.
Having our personal favorites is what makes us unique; however, there is something special about sharing an experience with a large group. Something life-affirming about occasionally dancing around the campfire with our tribe.
Die-hard fans of sports teams understand this. Kids (and their parents) who camp all night at the bookstore for the first edition of the latest Harry Potter novel know this. And I experienced it watching the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.
It’s easy to find fault with the old-school star-making machinery–the major record labels, publishing houses, TV networks, movie studios, and mass media advertising. The idols were contrived; the audiences manipulated. We had little choice but to like what we were spoon-fed.
Now, consumer-generated content gives everyone a shot at stardom. Or does it?
Social media builds community, but has it yet launched a Bruce Springsteen or Eagles? A Robert De Niro or Jack Nicholson? A Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor? A Stephen King or JK Rowling? Do we want it to do this? Can it?
Does consumer-generated content mean the end of stadium rock and Star Trek frenzy? Is that a good thing?
I’d agree that with the advent of the web, people have finally been given the choice to explore their own individual tastes. In the days before myspace, youtube and radiohead, musical talent was artificially lumped together by the industry. you were either pop, rock, or r&b for ease of packaging; anything else was “alternative”. with this in mind, the industry could flood the airwaves with what it felt would sell to the masses.
music videos delayed the inevitable for a while, but these days, it’s just too hard to sell music when it all sounds the same. and unfortunately, if you’re too different from the mainstream, it’s just as tough. there’s a careful balance somewhere in between that doesn’t seem to have been mastered just yet, and maybe few ever will. even though the new, socially-driven approach may give us all a greater amount of freedom, it simultaneously cuts appeal across lines. without that wider audience, the days of a widespread hit are probably long gone.