Covid and the death of the party
Since the early 2020, UK, like most of the world, has seen the entire nature of their lifestyle and culture turned upside down from this global pandemic with harsh restrictions placed on aspects of social life across the country. Consider anywhere there are gatherings of people and there you will find grim situations of what the future holds for the country.
Work and leisure pursuits are now scrutinized to such an extent, that most businesses and enjoyable activities have been crushed into oblivion by new law as that prevent people from meeting in groups of more than 6.
No more is this felt than the music industry. Ayden Hector is a Music management consultant and journalist who has 20 year’s experience in the industry. After a recent article he has made about the economic challenges that face one of UK’s most prominent and respected cultural legacies, Hector forecasts his predictions of where the British music industry will go and what it may look like in the challenging years to come. As someone with an insider’s perspective, his forecasts may well come true.
Here are three ways the music industry might change in the next few years if any credible vaccination is still not found.
Wave of new bedroom artists and DJ’s
The rise of home studio recordings, especially bedroom DJ’s will become apparent in the next few years. Since the development of technology to create advanced recording equipment, budding and established electronic music producers confined to their home will likely result in vast amounts of new recorded material. Dispersed across sound cloud and other media platforms, the abundance of new sounds will be felt for a significantly long time.
Return of the real
Inversely to electronic music, the significance of the traditional instrument might see a renascence. This could be for the simple fact that dance music culture relies on the social interaction of large gatherings where music lovers respond to the sounds through body movements and enthusiastic close exchanges between other people in the crowd. Consider the rave movement and how this has developed over the last 30 years. Without having a clear live performance option, electronic music might be the preserve of solo house parties, and as a result, see the popularity scaled back.
A revival of the passive reception of audiences looking to be entertained rather than engaged with the music will result in a different styles of music being commissioned. Think of progressive rock and slowed down tempos
The New Punk of Civil Unrest
Consider the fertile ground of the punk movement with mass unemployment and disaffected youth and compare this to the current social outlook for the UK.
There is a likelihood that the DIY ethos of Punk will remerge as a means of occupying the void of discontented youth.
The lack of personal freedoms felt could result in an abundance of poetic expression inside music along with extended periods of time absorbed by creative endeavors in lockdown. Consider the popularity of artists such as Dave and Kate Tempest who set vivid lyrical wonder to music. These will provide a reference point for a lot of new artists that may well come to form the Post Pan cultural phenomenon