In the past 60 years there has been significant change in how music’s written, produced, and what it’s about. Music from each decade does have something about it that stands out, with each genre being associated with a certain decade. While some present day music can be entertaining, it is unmatched compared to music from the past.
Music from the 70s, there are stories told by the songs, otherwise known as “narrative music”. For instance, the song “Copacabana” by Barry Manilow (written in 1978), tells the story of a conflict between Lola, a showgirl at the “Copacabana”, a nightclub known as “the hottest spot north of Havana”. There is conflict between her sweetheart Tony, a bartender at the club, and Rico, a wealthy man who takes a liking to Lola. The reason this song is so memorable and well known is because of the depth and events the song describes. With songs like “Copacabana”, you can picture exactly what is happening. While credit can be given to modern artists, a lot of modern songs tell the same story as one another.
Love songs from the 50s/60s talk about the features of a person that “shines” (i.g. their eyes, their smile, their personality). “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” by Frankie Vallie (released in 1967), is about a man who is in deep love with a woman, describing her as “too good to be true”. Love songs now (or a lot of them) talk about the more vulgar parts of a person. In 2017, Cupcakke released “CPR”, a song that Cupcakke uses to show how she can take care of her husband in a sexual way. There are artists today like Stephen Sanchez and Elliot James Reay that revert back to the older style, but it is more common to hear more vulgar lyrics. But it’s not just the lyrics that are similar, a lot of the beats are samples.
Music today does have some good beats, but a lot of them are outtakes, remixes, or the exact same as older songs. Since 2017, the number of copyright cases has decreased by 56.7%, but that doesn’t mean there are hardly any cases. In 2021, there were 36 cases of copyright and trademark infringement. There weren’t any laws in regards to protecting music from copyright until 1972. Between 1970-1999, there have been 68 cases of copyright. From 2000 up until now, there have been 181 (or more) reported cases. That means that the number of cases has gone up by (about) 38%. In May of 2021, Kidd Wes filed a lawsuit against Childish Gambino, claiming that Gambino’s song “This is America”, is similar to his song “Made in America”. Specifically, he claimed that the theme and content of the lyrics, as well as the structure of the similarly performed choruses, are identical. As time goes on, copyright cases won’t decrease, but they won’t increase much. Originality is becoming less common, but the inclusion of rising/newer artists will help bring it back.
What usually happens is as the music grows older it is appreciated more (like art), but that’s not gonna happen with this generation’s music, unless it somehow gets worse.