Where Is All the Good Music

I am a musician, but also a listener and I am kind of confused by the fact that I have not been able to find any good music lately. What happened to the music anyway? Can you name at least 5 bands that are as big as the bands that you could find like 10 years ago? OK, maybe, there are some good bands, but they are not big, so what happened?

I have a theory which may sound crazy at the first glance, but when you come to think of it, it sounds kind of reasonable. So here's my theory. Good music has disappeared since the Internet came into being - do you think this is just a coincidence? I don't think so. The truth is no one buys music anymore. Music is simply not in demand. No demand - no supply - so the economic theory tells us.

Do you know what Paul McCartney told his buddy John before they sat down to write a new song? 'Listen, John, let's write us a swimming pool!' What a motivation, huh? And what does a modern musician think? 'OK, if I put out this record, will I be able to at least cover the expanses?' Even those musicians who are capable of producing hit songs are faced with the choice of just scraping enough money for food and drink or leaving the music business entirely.

One other case which kind of proves my point is the band MGMT. When offered a major label contract, they took they time to think the deal over. Can you imagine a band in the 80s to actually consider rejecting a major label contract? Who in their mind would do that? A major label contract today doesn't mean you will become rich. Most likely you will not. What it does mean, however, is that you are going to be tired from constant touring and being in public all the time.

So what does that all mean for modern musicians and listeners? It means music industry, as we knew it, is dying. No big bands are going to appear and the listeners will be left asking this same question that I asked in the beginning - where is all the good music? But the good news is there are some good indie bands, which you might actually like, if you manage to find them. And if you are reading this, you are probably searching, aren't you?