At some point, stranded in the African Savanah, Homo sapiens became conscious. If you have seen ‘A Man From Earth,’ you might be familiar with the narrative. Otherwise, a common understanding of the evolution of our species might suffice.
And so, we learned how to speak – in a sense. Then, we thought that all the gossiping we could muster wasn’t enough to keep us entertained and we have decided to do something completely different – come up with funky rhythms.
Evidence suggests that music has been a part of our existence – a palliative against life’s many challenges – from the earliest times. Yet, music had a very specific purpose, other than regaling the nobility, music had to help slaves push through the day of hardship.
The rhythms helped people synch and push through the pain, liven up the atmosphere of a banal day and generally just find a new way of expression. Of course, not much happened in music until around the invention of the piano at some point in the 17th century.
And so, once that was there, German and Austrian artists began creating some of the world’s lasting pieces of music. The piano really brought in a lot of changes around the world. It became the most widely played instrument in China, along with the violin, and especially in Hong Kong.
Sure, the Cultural Revolution temporarily snuffed out the sound of the beautiful instrument, but then Mao’s repressions ended, and a new China emerged – one in which the piano is still respected.
Music as It Is Today – An Ever-Changing Affair
Today, music is much different than in the past. The styles and rhythms have been evolving. Of course, if you are a real fan of music you can always joke about bands such as Metallica who haven’t’ changed their sound in decades.
Yet, music is evolving quicker than you can imagine. If you go back to the 50s, when music only began to ‘commercialize’ itself and put itself out there, you will notice that the difference in sound has been changing in very real terms every 10 years.
When Depeche Mode arrived, they said that they only had to compete against a handful of bands. Fast forward to the 2000s, and you already have an army of people who make killer pieces with their laptops alone. Think about Flying Lotus, Frank Ocean, and Run the Jewels to name a few.
The music business is definitely tough. And the truth? There are probably countless people as deserving as Billie Eilish, but who won’t get as much exposure. It’s the nature of the game. Some business is successful.
Imagine you are running a state-of-the-art locksmithing company, such as https://www.ontimelocksmiths.com/residential. There are no guarantees your business will pen out the way you want it to. For this exact reason, many artists never get noticed – there is no right or wrong, just the dynamics of the time.
And so, when Depeche Mode went into business, they were good – they also didn’t have to worry about so many competitors. Today, there are many talented individuals who also want to make it big and make sure they are picked up and notice.
Many of these artists get stuck with shows such as X-Factor which produce small-time artists. Is their talent small? Not necessarily. A lot of (un)talented individuals get picked by labels and are then pushed forth. Not to pass judgment on Lil Wayne’s so-called art, but he sorts of fails to produce inspiring performances without a ton of back vocals, sound effects, and all the kinks.
So, you see, it’s also about luck and what time you choose to brand yourself as an artist. There are quite a few challenges to becoming an artist or even making a hit. Besides, in today’s highly-saturated environment many people are blamed for infringing copyrights.
Some do so unwittingly, others make sure they poach some low-key artist and make their careers off that. We are not here to pass judgment, but making a hit has definitely become a matter of luck as much as of talent. The question is if you can channel your musical talent to push forward the next big hit.
It all comes with its own challenges – and big rewards thereafter.
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