State of the Show Address, May 2002
What a difference a year and a half makes.
Two years ago, in 2000, the music industry went up against the music-sharing Napster Corporation in a bitter court case, claiming Napster was ripping off millions of dollars from the record company by downloading music for free and giving it away to others for the exact same amount. Napster and the companies eventually settled out of court, and now Napster is a "fee" music service instead of "free".
There was, of course, another difference in 2000. That year, pop icons like the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Limp Bizkit and *N SYNC were all over the place, dominating the music charts in unprecedented fashion. Very few artists, new or old, were able to break the domination, and, though the pop acts began to slip a little as the year wore on, the music listener knew that at some point the pop acts would continue to assert the dominance for years to come.
Then, suddenly, that all started to change. 2001 saw many new artists, like Nelly, Wave, Sum 41, Michelle Branch, Alicia Keys and Blu Cantrell all break out, and some older artists like Shaggy, Mary J. Blige and U2, artists previously "given up for the dead", also found their way back into the musical landscape. Meanwhile, the domination of the pop acts fell like a stone, and the absence of the "reliable act" became the order of the day. The trend is continuing in 2002, as the previously forgotten No Doubt and Fat Joe have come back nicely and newcomers like Ashanti and the Swollen Members in Canada have broken out and carved a nice niche for themselves.
Through it all, the quality of the music has vastly improved. Without any artists that can be sure of success, the musicians now have to continually push harder and harder just to make an impression. Songs that might have been No. 1 hits in previous years are just modest hits at best, leaving the No. 1 spot for the truly elite. With artists pushing themselves and the music industry to new levels, the listener truly benefits, as the music just keeps on getting better.
Of course, one question remains after all this: what happens when it is all over? Everything comes to an end and, thus, so will this "Golden Age of Music" so to speak. As soon as one artist does break through and start dominating the charts, you can be sure there will hundreds of copycat acts and music will again fall back to where it once was in 2000: with very few artists able to break out and the music quality again lacking.
That should probably come as no surprise to you. Record companies rarely ever try something new when another music "type"- be it pop, "surfer music", grunge, whatever- becomes successful, and, while that may be a disappointing thought, it's a reality we must accept. The surprising part lies in the artists themselves: since they're pushing themselves to higher levels, what will happen when a new standard is set? It'll be a curious question and we may not have that answer for another two, three or even ten years once the storm clears. 2002 may well go down as the "Year of the One-Hit Wonder" because, as of yet, the standard still hasn't been set.
Think about the current situation for a second. Every artist, in order to succeed, needs to be able to "top" their success, or, in other words, do better than the last time. That may not be new to you at all, but it is a truth that occurs for all years, not just this one. Now think of this year. With every artist belting a No. 1-calibre hit- and pushing that standard upwards with every new song- the artists may find it extremely difficult to "top" their success, so, with many inexperienced artists, the newcomers may find topping their hits an impossible task, and, as a result, will "one-hit". Already some of the new acts, like Wave, have fallen off, so the "problem", if you will, technically, has already started.
This isn't to say the newcomers don't show any promise. Both Branch and Keys have shown incredible poise and smarts in their music and both are only young adults. While I think Keys' first hit, "Fallin'" was a little on the sappy side, her later tracks have only gotten better. Branch too has shown improvement, but that's only half of her story. She writes her own music and, I must say, she's showing the poise and smarts I'd only expect from the experienced writers like the Goo Goo Dolls' John Resznick, and all at just 18 years of age. Perhaps I'm making too much of it, but I'm clearly impressed. Speaking of youngsters, Ajax, Ontario rockers Sum 41 have proven, with "What We're All About", that they can reproduce the success of "Fat Lip" on a different work, and, in just one year, they went from no names to appearing on a major soundtrack. They certainly have a future ahead of them.
Still, if anything, the music industry has shown us to "expect the unexpected". Two years ago, I was groaning with many others after constantly hearing the new pop acts come out with something new, pining for good music. I never thought I'd get it, since, back then anyway, I'd figured that the pop acts ALWAYS found a way to dominate, no matter what. I did read a People magazine article that predicted the demise two years ago, but I didn't believe it. Now, no act is dominating the chart, leading to artists continually pushing themselves to do better. This pays dividends for us, the listeners, because we'll get great music, but the artists may find staying successful, with all the great music, considerably harder with the standard being pushed higher. 2001 and 2002 may come down as both the Golden Age of Music and the Years of the One-Hit Wonder, which can be good or bad depending on who you are.
-DG
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