By Bryan Laprise

Local Journalism Initiative

Innovation in listening technology, has made it possible to be surrounded by the sound  of your favourite music wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Cell phones have become an all-in-one device, taking over the role once associated with MP3 players or Walkman. Paired with überpopular Bluetooth headphones or ear buds, it’s become convenient to listen to music anywhere you go—at the office, during a bus ride, or even while out for a jog.

Spotify, one of the top music streaming platforms, reports having 678 million users which includes 268 million paying subscribers spread throughout 180 markets. This doesn’t account for users of other equivalent platforms from tech giants Apple, Amazon and YouTube.

Streaming has allowed music lovers to individualize their musical preferences more than ever before. With the click of a button, music lovers can listen to whatever’s been playing on repeat in their mind, create customized playlists, or sing along to their favourite artist’s new album, in the comfort of their home, or anywhere else on the planet.

While the world’s dominating artists; Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Drake and Billie Eilish (Spotify’s 2024 top five artists) fare quite well with this system, it also provides an outlet for aspiring “indie” musicians to share their work in a way that wasn’t possible before. Anyone can release music on the biggest platforms with a subscription to a distribution service.

Evolution of music creation practices

According to Bishop’s University music professor Mathieu Désy, the digital age has revolutionized the way music is created and released. He explained that many people now have home studios and only visit professional ones when they need larger spaces for drums, piano or strings. The availability of “digital workstations” for actual track building and producing can be done remotely, too.

“Now, if you buy a new MacBook you have GarageBand, which allows you to start recording at home. My children can record their own songs, which was not possible if we go back fifteen years,” he pointed out.

While a lot of recording is now done digitally, migrating from analog equipment, which nonetheless sounds better, said Désy, it’s easier, more affordable and accessible to record and release music.

Release format

“There’s no physical medium anymore, unless you really like vinyl or CDs, but they’re not as popular as they used to be, even if they sound great,” added the professor.

Artists can get online distributors to release their music on platforms without ever being associated with a label. Désy pointed out that to have a better chance at being successful and to get proper marketing and publicity, the best route is still to work with a music label.

The professor explained that the concept of “albums” was developed by Frank Sinatra in the 1950s. Following that, many artists released albums which featured songs that formed a coherent unit. Typically, they would then go on tour to promote that new album.

Now, many artists are moving away from the typical album format, which ranges between 40 minutes to one hour in length, and are instead releasing music in the form of EPs, usually between four and six songs—which are first released as singles, one after the other.

“There are still major artists that release albums, but they will go for a couple singles to promote the upcoming album. So, they might release up to three different singles before they release the album.”

Désy explained that tours are a bit more detached from album releases, making it easier for artists to be create more music. An example of this is Taylor Swift’s massively popular Eras Tour, which served as a nostalgic and cumulative take on Swift’s entire discography.

The length of songs has also changed. Online videos on platforms like TikTok or Instagram are often 15 to 20 seconds, with audiences consuming content rapidly. More than a decade ago, most radio hits were around three minutes and a half. Now, many songs are shorter as it’s easier to keep people’s attention, the digital space makes it easier to skip songs, as previously, a vinyl would often be played entirely before changing the side. Now, most songs are three minutes or less, and long introductions aren’t as common to hook listeners with lyrics as quickly as possible.

Staying relevant

The presence of social media has also significantly altered the music industry. With nearly everyone now having an account on one of these platforms, music artists must make themselves relevant in that digital space.

Désy noted that music is getting to a point where artists must be online influencers. By releasing songs more frequently, mostly one at a time, allows artists to stay relevant and keep their audience hooked.

The most important thing the professor believes artists must do to be popular is a strong social media presence. “Promoting yourself has little to do with your artistic creation, but right now, if you want to be interesting for a label, the first thing they will do is go to your social network to see how many followers you have.”

This is also the case for concert hall programmers, meaning that social media has a big impact on the viability of artists.

Diminishing quality of music?

This practice of pumping out music doesn’t necessarily lead to a reduction of quality, according to the professor. It depends on the type of artistic level that musicians strive to achieve.

Originality depends on how much effort artists put in to developing their craft. However, many of the most popular songs rely on similar elements. “I’ve been listening to the top 40 songs, and many of them are using the same chord progression, and there are a dozen chord progressions that are really popular,” said Désy.

“I still think that there are people that are interested in music in a more niche market, or even something that’s more artistically developed, so you still have to do that,” he said. “You still have to find some originality to get followers