To feel that chart music has changed so much ?

[Terlie]

Just looked at the BBC1 TV listings for this very day 10th Oct - in 1984

On BBC 1 Breakfast TV there is a slot that the late DJ Mike Smith does of the current singles chart countdown. You’d never get this on current Breakfast TV.

AIBU to think that the publicity around chart music has changed a lot since 1984?

Well, the entire music industry is now totally different. With the advent of streaming, singles and albums are a fairly nebulous concept to many now, no one is really buying anything, and acts now have to tour to make money when they would formerly have from album sales. 'Chart success' is calculated entirely differently to back when artists released singles in order to get people to buy albums, and the singles charts were a meaningful thing.

Interesting ! I have to buy CDs for my car cos my car can’t accommodate an MP 3 player

I do watch a lot of songs on YouTube - vids etc

But most people play music on their phones in their cars, so via streaming, which nets a fraction of a cent per stream for the rights holder. Similar with Youtube.

Everything has changed since 1984.

I often think this - we used to really BOND with friends around music and listening to the charts. It was our church!

I was also thinking that a lot of the main bands/artists are very gender-specific in their 'tribes'. Not many that attract both male and female audiences?

My dad said that modern pop music was rubbish, that things were different in his day, proper music with proper artists and brilliant radio DJs.

I told him that modern pop music wasn't meant for him.

It was 1975.

Now I think modern music sounds like an angry blacksmith mending a drain cover whilst someone whines into a bucket.

I'm my dad now. Modern music and the music industry isn't meant for me. My last 'gig' was Handel's Messiah at our local church.

I couldn’t even tell you what’s number 1 at the moment . I can’t remember the last time I even heard any sort of chart . Chart music is just not the same anymore . I miss proper music . Haha my teenager laughs when I call it that , I am definitely getting old ….

If you have music on your phone, eg a Spotify subscription, you can just use a portable bluetooth wireless speaker and play music in your car (or indeed anywhere) with that setup. No need to keep buying CDs unless you really want to! The above is a way cheaper option and you can make your own playlists, make them available offline if you have patchy reception where you live, listen to a wider range of artists etc.

The industry has changed a lot. It's really difficult for talented artists to get a huge following in the way they did before.

If you think about it, back in the mid 20th century, up until the 90s, you could have solo artists, or more often bands, get together, start writing songs, and they could get radio play and a record deal. The record company would invest some money in helping them develop and promoting them.

And they produced so much music, often had a full catalogue before they were 30.

Now you rarely see pop musicians with more than two albums in their 30s. And the number who write their own songs is quite small. No bands that developed somewhat organically, usually the "bands" are professional session or touring musicians the recording company hires. They also hire the songwriters.

The music tends to be very samey, and it also tends to be thin - the musicianship is lacking and a lot of the music backing is generated electronically.

There are great bands and musicians out there, touring and making a living, but they aren't on the pop charts.

@TempestTost
Now you rarely see pop musicians with more than two albums in their 30s

Almost all of the bestselling artists from last year had released at least 3 studio albumbs beofre they were 30. These include Shawn Mendes, Tate McRae, The Weeknd, Lorde, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Peso Pluma, Drake, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Chappell Roan, Post Malone, BTS, Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan, Sabrina Carpenter.

The rest of your post is just as misinformed.

Music has changed. Back in 1985 a "big album" would easily sell 10 million copies in a short space of time. Today, a "big album" would be lucky to sell close to a million. There's no money in album sales anymore. And there aren’t many bands around either. Platforms like YouTube give fans direct access to artists in a way that just wasn't possible in the past. In truth, you don't have to sell any "records" to make money. A YouTube channel can generate huge profits from views.

For example, there's a British pensioner, Frank Watkinson (bet you never heard of him) who sings covers from his kitchen. He has over a million subscribers, his channel is bigger then a lot of mainstream artists.

The charts are now meaningless.

Blimey you’re much more knowledgeable on this than me! No I’ve never heard of Frank !

I can’t because my car only has a CD facility

Yes things are vastly different. But if you take the same timescale back from 1984, all the hip young things were gliding across the dance floor to Glenn Miller on the gramophone.

Yes - very good point !

Me too, but I have a small speaker that I dangle from the cup holder and stream music via that. :)

Would a babd ever make it these days like Spandau Ballet or Wham for example who met at school and didn’t have an Uncle who was a record executive at EMI to set them on the road to stardom? Or didn’t have already famous parents? The natural formation of bands and singers who have success seems a rare concept now.

Ah I haven’t tried that trick!

This.

1984 was over 40 years ago.

40 years prior to 1984 was 1944. How much did things change between those dates? (Apart from the fact that the war was on). No tv really, 1984 I was already using computers at work.

no doubt in 2065 things will be a bit different too.