Part of what you described is due to streaming, but it’s also the production side making music available for this type of consumption. That’s been a long time in the making as labels consolidate and big artists become sex symbols, actors, and basically lifestyle influencers while singing generically machine-crafted music that has no lasting potential. Moreover, TikTok is becoming a recruiting ground for record labels. My guess is singles are going to get shorter and even more ephemeral, just like all the “culture” streaming into our phone screens. So what you’re describing to me is an extension of fatigue with a trend that doesn’t try to make things to last.
Having physical media or something that is individual to the music makes me respect my collection and helps bring it to life. I can’t stream from a big service because it ruins the feeling. I don’t really listen to much music on my phone either unless I’m in the car. I like it that way. It feels defiant that I’m not just randomly bombarding my ears with whatever cool new trash is being forced into my ears.
the tendency of artists “becoming sex symbols, actors, and basically lifestyle influencers while singing generically machine-crafted music” if not basically being the case for the entire history of recorded music, at least predates streaming by many decades. it’s also not exclusive to music and has a long history in basically every artistic industry.
Absolutely. But now more than ever it's about the brand, and not the individual. But I think this primarily applies to mainstream music where the artist is likely to have a few hits over a couple years, only to fade out (unless they can build the brand). Go outside mainstream music, and chances are that you'll see something completely different.
yeah I agree that it's a phenomenon, I just don't think it arose recently because of streaming. if anything, streaming makes it easier to access artists' back catalogs. not sure the degree to which this increases the longevity of mainstream pop artists, but I don't see any obvious way that it contributes to the "problem".
Having physical media or something that is individual to the music makes me respect my collection and helps bring it to life. I can’t stream from a big service because it ruins the feeling. I don’t really listen to much music on my phone either unless I’m in the car. I like it that way. It feels defiant that I’m not just randomly bombarding my ears with whatever cool new trash is being forced into my ears.