Modern music: overproduced and unoriginal

Sophia Bella

Gone are the days where artists of the likes of Sinatra and Santana ruled the music industry. Now, in place of those greats has come a different, more modernized, generation of younger artists.

Arshia Chakravartti, Copy Editor
May 14, 2023

Harry Styles. The Weekend. Lana Del Rey. All of these artists are major icons in the music industry on an international level, with concert tickets selling out and albums hitting the top-10 of every chart. Despite its popularity, I think most music today is a step down in terms of the development of music and its historic past. 

Gone are the days where artists of the likes of Sinatra and Santana ruled the music industry. Now, in place of those greats has come a different, more modernized, generation of younger artists.

One significant change that I have seen in modern music is the added automation and digitalization of songs. A majority of songs these days seem to contain more auto-tune and electronic beats. Artists and producers have resorted to using synthesizers and MIDI keyboards to manufacture and distort sounds rather than using actual instruments. 

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The reverberating thump of the bass and unidentifiable clicks and rhythms in songs have taken over the way music is being made. As artists move away from “traditional” instruments, they opt for heavily-edited tracks. These automated, artificial sound bites don’t sit well with me. They feel like they are simply used to layer the noise in a song.

Another reason why music today does not meet my standards is because of lack of originality. If you listen closely, you will realize that many songs today use rhythms and instrumental patterns that match older, already well-established songs. These patterns have been picked up by content creator Jarred Jermaine, who has made many short videos comparing the similarities between modern songs. For instance, Jermaine has noted the uncanny resemblance between “Levitating” by British singer Dua Lipa and “Mauja Hi Mauja” by Indian composer Pritam, and even the recurring usage of certain lyrics throughout decades between songs like “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli from 1967, and “ILY” by Surf Mesa and Emilee from 2019. 

Despite the changes that music has undergone in recent years, there is still room to celebrate the older generations of music. Social media is one way that many popular songs from the 70s or 80s are experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Recently, social media has allowed for these older songs to reach younger audiences, exposing them to the eclectic music of past decades and effectively popularizing them among a broader listening base.