by Ali Mechelle

Created on: December 05, 2008

WHERE HAS THE DEPTH IN MUSIC GONE?

In 1998, the musical world was taken by storm when a cute Lolita-like blonde named Britney Spears hit the airwaves. Her style was sugary, her presentation sexy, her music fun and entertaining. So what if it lacked a certain uniqueness or musical depth? We weren't looking for depth...we wanted to have fun, be cheesy, and party like 1999 was just a year away...because it was. With that in mind, Britney and the rest of the teeny-boppers to swarm the musical scene went on to sell millions of albums, break chart and sales records, and usher in an era of prosoperty that the music industry heads thought was sure to last forever. Why? Because a formula had been found, an equation calcuated which they were willing to follow to the bank.

What they didn't realize was that the late 1990s' musical success was more a reflection of the times than of a permanent change to the music scene. This was the age of the Internet's meteoric rise in popularity, which had ushered in multiple successful businesses, pushing millions of dollars into the commercial industry...money just waiting to be spent on any frivolous thing that came along, such as digital pets, Tickle-Me Elmo dolls, or sacharine music.

But people who follow trends as if they are time-tested formulas tend to be too shallow to pay attention to the changes going on around them. The New Millinium not only ushered in excitement and fervor, it also quickly brought about a new somberness of attitude. After the September 11th attacks of 2001, the resulting War on Terror, the eventual War in Iraq, and the decline of the economy, music purchasers returned to treating music more seriously. No longer were we content to spend a minimum of $10 or a maximum of $20 on silly bubblegum pop...we wanted to get a quality bang for our quantity buck. CD sales declined and the music industry noticed...but it didn't respond correctly.

Instead of returning to the days when singers had to have talent and songwriters needed innovation and quality, they responded by focusing their attention on increased marketing schemes. Music video countdown shows prevailed, cable music television stations increased, publicity stunts associated with album releases became commonplace, and more time was spent on creativity in advertising instead of creativity in...music.

Just look at Beyonce Knowles as an example. She is a talented singer with a beautiful face and body to match. In short, she is the talent and the marketing all packaged

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