Zachary Orso
The music landscape has definitely changed in the past few years. While new songs emerge every week on the Billboard Hot 100, the main chart for new popular music, most aren’t sticking with the general public like they used to. Interestingly, many artists catalog sales have been experiencing the opposite with songs released years prior, sometimes even decades resurging in online streams and sales.
Music is a huge business that generates millions upon millions every year. Songs popular artists release have the ability to make this money, but nowadays this often leads to singles being cash grabs that fizzle out and nothing more. According to Chart Data, “3D” by Jungkook featuring Jack Harlow debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the top 5 spot just last week, yet tanked completely it's second week of charting all the way down to #58, one of the biggest drops from the top 5 of all time.
Yet, the exact opposite is occurring with Taylor Swift and her 2019 track “Cruel Summer”. Predicted by reputable chart analysts to go #1, Billboard states the song is challenging to claim the top spot 4 years after release. The song being supported by people who enjoyed it when it first came out and people who may have just discovered it demonstrates the longevity of older works compared to newer efforts and how these previously released catalog hits outlast their contemporaries.
While the music business has the facade of being an open and accepting place, it’s an open secret that it’s the opposite. Innovation isn’t always welcome as music labels scout out artists for a very certain image and if you don’t fit the bill, they often won’t pay you the time of day. This thinking leads to artists with huge potential going unnoticed in the professional field. According to DK Music Academy, 90% of all artists fail, and the chances of breaking through is unbelievably low. Some artists with a unique sound and unique ideas get the opportunity to break through, but the chances are low as the airwaves are flooded with the same generic pop tracks most can’t even name, so it's no surprise tracks from years past come back to overthrow the new music nobody is grasping onto.
As new music continues to die, new ideas desperately need to emerge. Too many artists rely on rehashing their songs and sounds that previously stuck, often boring their audiences. Songs like the previously mentioned Cruel Summer and other songs that charted years after their release (The Weeknd’s “Die for You” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” for instance) are innovative and sonically unique at the times of their respective releases and still are today, hence their notoriety on the charts. Taking a chance with a new sound could pay off and foster an eternal hit, something we don’t often receive yet desperately need in today's music.