Stories in the press this week about how readership levels of all music mags has dipped to an all time low.

Lots of music journo's expected this dip in music mag sales to occur over the last 5 to 10 years but always expected on-line music forums to take up the slack with everyone joining & posting on them. HOWEVER it seems that membership & posting levels on lots of web based music forums is also way down and interest seems to be greatly diminished.

In the soul field, some forums have shut down & certain others seem to be populated by people who don't have a great level of knowledge anymore (for instance the Motown section of SDF is just about totally taken up with posts about the Supremes; most dull).

Huge numbers of 'kids' today don't buy music (they just do 'free-downloading') and are a lot more interested in computer games & the latest gadgets. Mind you, as well as spending 12 hours a day texting, most young'uns seem to go everywhere / do everything with headphones permanently stuck in their ears so just what they are listening to is beyond me. 

BUT is the 'writing on the wall' for forums such as this as interest dips in discussing all the various aspects of the worldwide soul scene ?

Edited October 15, 201311 yr by Roburt

Probably not. If only because SS appears to have attracted a far greater percentage of the hardcore / collector / DJ / regular traveller type of member than most other forums.

 

Therefore as all of the above have what is probably an unhealthy obsession with Soul music, I doubt that the posts will decline too much.

echoes is the only music mag i use to buy in the 80/90s but to be honest it was more for the reggae than soul...ive stopped buying scootering mag since it was taken over by a major media group as it just got boring and full of the same old adverts every month so if most music mags are the same im not surprised..and ofcourse most mags have websites/facebook pages which we can now read on the go on phones

 

actually whenever i went on a train/plane journey i would get mojo which always seemed to have a good selection of quality music in it but couple weeks back couldnt find it so dont know if its finished?

 

forums?..well if they are as heated as this one can get im not surprised either...while i enjoy ss and its very busy...there are many more soul fans out there who wont come on for fear of been ridiculed or abused!..

 

dean

The days of hard copy are numbered,seems technology gathered pace much faster than anyone thought it would.

Probably not. If only because SS appears to have attracted a far greater percentage of the hardcore / collector / DJ / regular traveller type of member than most other forums.

 

Therefore as all of the above have what is probably an unhealthy obsession with Soul music, I doubt that the posts will decline too much.

I think the people it attracted was true at one point but other aspects of the Internet attract far more of the collectors, DJs, promoters and punters now, not just from the UK but all over the world.

I don't think people will stop discussing music but the ways and means will and have changed.

I believe youngsters these days are as keen as ever on music, but don't seem to have the attention span or the time to sit down and read music magazines or contribute to forums in a meaningful way.  My three kids have a very diverse taste in music.  My youngest son recently came back from a trip to Canada with some second hand Jimi Hendrix and Neil Young vinyl albums.  My daughter loves Fleetwood Mac and Creedence, whilst my eldest son likes Rap and buys lots of CDs as opposed to downloads.

I think the people it attracted was true at one point but other aspects of the Internet attract far more of the collectors, DJs, promoters and punters now, not just from the UK but all over the world.

I don't think people will stop discussing music but the ways and means will and have changed.

Chalks, 

 

I don't know if you're talking about facebook when you say other internet sites, I'm on a few groups on there, but they certainly don't have the depth of Soul Source and have many more volatile fall outs. To be honest I dip into them very rarely as they often can't or don't hold my interest. If you're talking about something completely different, please accept my apologies bud. 

I used to buy a lot of music magazines, Mojo, Record Collector, Uncut - but my eyes got too bad so I just stopped, and saved a ton of money too.

Chalks, 

 

I don't know if you're talking about facebook when you say other internet sites, I'm on a few groups on there, but they certainly don't have the depth of Soul Source and have many more volatile fall outs. To be honest I dip into them very rarely as they often can't or don't hold my interest. If you're talking about something completely different, please accept my apologies bud.

I don't think anywhere has the depth and discussions as Soul source but I see a greater number of soulies on FB than here, many have never been on here. Soul Source will always be one of the first places to come for most of us but it is no longer the only place. To be honest I don't see the arguments anywhere else that I do here, must be in different groups Win. There are of course other sites that I use, some of them are still email based.

I don't think anywhere has the depth and discussions as Soul source but I see a greater number of soulies on FB than here, many have never been on here. Soul Source will always be one of the first places to come for most of us but it is no longer the only place. To be honest I don't see the arguments anywhere else that I do here, must be in different groups Win. There are of course other sites that I use, some of them are still email based.

 

There doesn't seem to be any serious discussion groups on facebook though, they're all have a listen to this or look at this photo type things aren't they.

There doesn't seem to be any serious discussion groups on facebook though, they're all have a listen to this or look at this photo type things aren't they.

 

I use the Facebook groups to try and hear new stuff so depending on my mood, I will got to 'Beat Ballard Heaven, Soulful Funk pages etc or raid the wall of a friend whose taste in tunes I appreciate. To discuss or read discussions, the Soul Source is the place.

 

My  14 daughter is music mad and seems to have a very wide taste in tunes but I'm glad she thinks Justin Beiber and One Direction are crap and prefers obscure Indie bands. What I think is very different is the way today music is consumed. My daughter has a vast library of music at her fingertips via Youtube where as when I was 14 I had to save up to buy an album which I flogged to death until I could afford to buy another one. Apart from raiding my older siblings record collections  (on pain of death) while  they were out on a Saturday night, the only music I heard came via  Radio 1/Luxembourg and TOTP.

Edited October 15, 201311 yr by Maark

I use the Facebook groups to try and hear new stuff so depending on my mood, I will got to 'Beat Ballard Heaven, Soulful Funk pages etc or raid the wall of a friend whose taste in tunes I appreciate. To discuss or read discussions, the Soul Source is the place.

 

My  14 daughter is music mad and seems to have a very wide taste in tunes but I'm glad she thinks Justin Beiber and One Direction are crap and prefers obscure Indie bands. What I think is very different is the way today music is consumed. My daughter has a vast library of music at her fingertips via Youtube where as when I was 14 I had to save up to buy an album which I flogged to death until I could afford to buy another one. Apart from raiding my older siblings record collections  (on pain of death) while  they were out on a Saturday night, the only music I heard came via  Radio 1/Luxembourg and TOTP.

 

I think thats why our generation appreciates music more, you did have to work hard to find it, your only information on anything that wasn't top 40 came from the music weeklies or the Peel show, there was no internet, MTV, only a handful of radio stations, and you saved up to buy an LP which you then sat and listened to all the way through as there was no skip button like on a cd player.

I don't think anywhere has the depth and discussions as Soul source but I see a greater number of soulies on FB than here, many have never been on here. Soul Source will always be one of the first places to come for most of us but it is no longer the only place. To be honest I don't see the arguments anywhere else that I do here, must be in different groups Win. There are of course other sites that I use, some of them are still email based.

Definitely more floating about on FB, but without wishing to sound disrespectful to them, many of them appear to be just arriving, or recently arrived on the soul scene, and FB was the first port of call. The 'volatile' arguments I was talking about aren't frequent, but because the groups aren't moderated as such, they can get quite out of hand at times 

There doesn't seem to be any serious discussion groups on facebook though, they're all have a listen to this or look at this photo type things aren't they.

Yep that's about the size of it Pete, there's also a few I went here, and am going there comments. Do you remember how wound up people used to get on KTF when someone started a list hahahaha

Yep that's about the size of it Pete, there's also a few I went here, and am going there comments. Do you remember how wound up people used to get on KTF when someone started a list hahahaha

 

I only just about remember KTF these days, but I think they started up again on facebook, I tried it but left after getting into a row with kev Roberts after being on there 10 minutes 

I only just about remember KTF these days, but I think they started up again on facebook, I tried it but left after getting into a row with kev Roberts after being on there 10 minutes 

Namedropper/Attention Seeker 

Namedropper/Attention Seeker 

 

It was when I said why are you choosing all the usual local dj's to begin your new night at the Civic, and you said well you never go out anyway so I thought oh f*ck this, I'll go and mow the lawn 

Maybe its to do with the quality of most music mags these days? Mainly adverts, very little content of substance and depth... Thats why I buy very few music magazines these days. The only decent music mag is Shindig, but even then i dont buy it anymore.

 

Only the best and biggest forums seem to be surviving these days, as facebook seems to be taking over. Most people can chat music and share tunes on there very easily.

Definitely more floating about on FB, but without wishing to sound disrespectful to them, many of them appear to be just arriving, or recently arrived on the soul scene, and FB was the first port of call. The 'volatile' arguments I was talking about aren't frequent, but because the groups aren't moderated as such, they can get quite out of hand at times

I don know what groups you are in Win but that isn't my experience. I'm in music specific groups and the one for Stafford the info I have got from that group hasn't been bettered anywhere. Most promoters now think FB is the main target group with groups for all the major events and for smaller ones as well. There are several quality sales groups, a wants group and valuations group. Most of the groups I am in are moderated or problems stamped on by its members.

At one time the Internet was pretty small with just a handful of places to go and that is what made Soul Source a success. The Internet has grown and places like FB are ideal for those who just want 10 minutes here an there without getting embroiled in long drawn out topics.

Horses for courses, I use various sites to get any info I want.

Edited October 15, 201311 yr by chalky

I don know what groups you are in Win but that isn't my experience. I'm in music specific groups and the one for Stafford the info I have got from that group hasn't been bettered anywhere. Most promoters now think FB is the main target group with groups for all the major events and for smaller ones as well. There are several quality sales groups, a wants group and valuations group. Most of the groups I am in are moderated or problems stamped on by its members.

At one time the Internet was pretty small with just a handful of places to go and that is what made Soul Source a success. The Internet has grown and places like FB are ideal for those who just want 10 minutes here an there without getting embroiled in long drawn out topics.

Horses for courses, I use various sites to get any info I want.

That's probably the difference then Chalks, I tend to use facebook just for social purposes, and the groups I'm in, I've generally been joined to rather than requested to join. If I want info I tend to use Source, because to me it's much more intimate, as you say though, it's horses for courses 

good post,m kinda of confirms my thoughts but I'm sure this will be circular, kids will rediscover music, games are shite, lack depth anbd any really positive emotional experience, imho. Noticed another forum I use' oldskoolanthemz'  has declined considerably, odd really given that,like northern,the actual demographic for this style of music is still growing. more people listening to more music but carinjg about it less and less, strange.

Stories in the press this week about how readership levels of all music mags has dipped to an all time low.

Lots of music journo's expected this dip in music mag sales to occur over the last 5 to 10 years but always expected on-line music forums to take up the slack with everyone joining & posting on them. HOWEVER it seems that membership & posting levels on lots of web based music forums is also way down and interest seems to be greatly diminished.

In the soul field, some forums have shut down & certain others seem to be populated by people who don't have a great level of knowledge anymore (for instance the Motown section of SDF is just about totally taken up with posts about the Supremes; most dull).

Huge numbers of 'kids' today don't buy music (they just do 'free-downloading') and are a lot more interested in computer games & the latest gadgets. Mind you, as well as spending 12 hours a day texting, most young'uns seem to go everywhere / do everything with headphones permanently stuck in their ears so just what they are listening to is beyond me. 

BUT is the 'writing on the wall' for forums such as this as interest dips in discussing all the various aspects of the worldwide soul scene ?

 

 

nope imo

this place is as busy as its ever been

 

maybe its the way you yourself use the internet thats the problem ?

I am certainly no fan of the way you treat others work/info/posts

Edited October 15, 201311 yr by mike

I don know what groups you are in Win but that isn't my experience. I'm in music specific groups and the one for Stafford the info I have got from that group hasn't been bettered anywhere. Most promoters now think FB is the main target group with groups for all the major events and for smaller ones as well. There are several quality sales groups, a wants group and valuations group. Most of the groups I am in are moderated or problems stamped on by its members.

At one time the Internet was pretty small with just a handful of places to go and that is what made Soul Source a success. The Internet has grown and places like FB are ideal for those who just want 10 minutes here an there without getting embroiled in long drawn out topics.

Horses for courses, I use various sites to get any info I want.

 

have to smile

 

of course there are more soul fans on facebook, just same as there are more soul fans on youtube

of course promoters want to self promote and control the posts

nothing new there

 

you are so out of touch with soul source nowadays

you be better off if you stick to promoting your facebook groups 

this claiming such is bigger/better type promotion is more suited for that style/type of soul fan that gets his fix on facebook

I post in 4 separate record selling facebook sites and if I sell one record between the four I'm lucky!

I would say my sales are something like 70% mailing list, 25% soul source, 5% elsewhere.

And I still don't quite get facebook, there's hundreds of posts whizzing past on the right hand side, how do you know what to join in or not?

I like it for posting up pictures of the kids though.

I post in 4 separate record selling facebook sites and if I sell one record between the four I'm lucky!

I would say my sales are something like 70% mailing list, 25% soul source, 5% elsewhere.

And I still don't quite get facebook, there's hundreds of posts whizzing past on the right hand side, how do you know what to join in or not?

I like it for posting up pictures of the kids though.

 

 

fb can't be that good Pete, otherwise they be posting on it instead of wasting our time plugging it on here

 

why does it seem that always get these sort of post by people involved in running facebook groups during periods when we are busy on here ?

have to smile

 

of course there are more soul fans on facebook, just same as there are more soul fans on youtube

of course promoters want to self promote and control the posts

nothing new there

 

you are so out of touch with soul source nowadays

you be better off if you stick to promoting your facebook groups 

this claiming such is bigger/better type promotion is more suited for that style/type of soul fan that gets his fix on facebook

I thought this was a topic about how people are getting their fix and sustain their interest in music these days, is free speech not allowed? There is more out there than soul source so it is bound to get mentioned. I am not claiming anything is bigger than something else, just pointing out that there is more to soul source nowadays and another world out there. The only thing I am out of touch with on here is the back room and I don't miss it one bit since you kicked me off to be honest and I don't have to promote the rare soul sales, valuations and wants groups as word of mouth does a pretty good job.

fb can't be that good Pete, otherwise they be posting on it instead of wasting our time plugging it on here

 

why does it seem that always get these sort of post by people involved in running facebook groups during periods when we are busy on here ?

Believe it or not people can be involved in both, and other forums at the same time. I, like others use whatever site suits to get the information I need or get something out there, same in any other walk of life.

Dunno what your problem is I'm not knocking soul source I still read and use it everyday, it is still the best site for soul but people use soul source and Facebook or whatever group or forum to suit their needs and time.

 

 

here are, a top tip for you

plugging other sites at the expense of the site you are posting on may be considered by some to be cheap and tacky

 

 

Oh dear Mike ,I think you're getting a touch out of order 

 

Bazza  

Oh dear Mike ,I think you're getting a touch out of order 

 

Bazza  

 

 

nah not imo

if you want to pimp other sites on here then at least try and do it with some class

bigging up other websites at the expense of this place is out of order... imo 

maybe its the way you yourself use the internet thats the problem ?

I am certainly no fan of the way you treat others work/info/posts

I use the internet by logging on & searching, what's so wrong with that.

I am a complete loss as to what you mean with your second line, I know you have issues with everything I post on here but try to get past your prejudices and hang ups.

Just how do you believe I treat other's work, info and posts ?

Edited October 15, 201311 yr by Roburt

With regard to pimping sites .............. Mike & Soul Source immediately spring to mind.

I started this thread without any intention of it dissing Soul Source OR are you so precious that my reference to 'sites such as this' got your hackles up.

Guess you'll suspend me again now.

Edited October 15, 201311 yr by Roburt

I use the internet by logging on & searching, what's so wrong with that.

I am a complete loss as to what you mean with your second line, I know you have issues with everything I post on here but try to get past your prejudices and hang ups.

Just how do you believe I treat other's work, info and posts ?

 

no hang ups here

 

you have in past copied posts/info  from other sites many times with no credit given to the original source

 

you have also either ignored or just discounted other site requests regarding your posts

that's after asking you both openly and via pm 

 

that's why my thinking is that its down to the way you use the internet

 

you post in a very strange manner

With regard to pimping sites .............. Mike & Soul Source immediately spring to mind.

I started this thread without any intention of it dissing Soul Source OR are you so precious that my reference to 'sites such as this' got your hackles up.

Guess you'll suspend me again now.

This makes absolutely no sense to me, as in I have no idea what you're getting at, I've literally no clue as to why you'd want to bring this sort of comment to this site, I'm only talking from a lay members point of view. I've supported this site since I've been on here, it's responsible for most of the other sites that have sprung up, which in my view have been poor imitations in comparison. And don't think I'm sucking up to Mike, we've often had our differences over the years, I just don't like to see this sort of 'inferred' abuse about a site that has helped me with info, and helped me to meet a lot of good people!

With regard to pimping sites .............. Mike & Soul Source immediately spring to mind.

I started this thread without any intention of it dissing Soul Source OR are you so precious that my reference to 'sites such as this' got your hackles up.

Guess you'll suspend me again now.

 

memory says suspended you for copying others posts without credit after warnings

 

see above post

I don't copy posts from other sites, Of course I find facts all over the net and elsewhere and sometimes the info comes from another internet site but I always add facts and expand on the info I find elsewhere. I didn't say exactly where I read the info with which I started this thread but don't see that as a crime as you obviously do.  

I always try to credit the 'original source' as I know you reprimand me for not doing so and as for your statement that 'you have also either ignored or just discounted other site requests' I can honestly say I have never been REQUESTED to credit info by other sites.

I have written numerous (100's) of artist bios down the years and, if I haven't been able to contact the artist direct, I get info off the net and via my own research efforts but 'facts are facts' and if someone was born say in Baltimore in 1946 then that's the fact and I have to state that fact however I obtain the info. If quoting truths is what I'm doing wrong in the way I use the internet then I can only say I can't see a problem with what I do. 

I again fail to grasp your meaning when you say 'I post in a very strange manner' ?!?!?

If you have examples of my 'very strange manner' please enlighten me.

Edited October 15, 201311 yr by Roburt

I think the interest is still there but as has been said with free downloading on You tube etc , cd copying it is inevitable that actual sales will continue to fall ,as someone said kids always seem to have headphones glued to their heads so they must be listening to something , I more often than not have my mp3 close to hand when out and about (non driver always walking). My son buys shit loads of records often from America and oddly France , his tastes range from Ska to American Punk, never yet heard him listening to the radio so I guess that too goes to what's avaliable on the net regarding current releases ,info on bands etc.

  All in all to answer the question I think yes the interest is still there it has just moved along with the technology avaliable like most things in life these days

I post in 4 separate record selling facebook sites and if I sell one record between the four I'm lucky!

I would say my sales are something like 70% mailing list, 25% soul source, 5% elsewhere.

And I still don't quite get facebook, there's hundreds of posts whizzing past on the right hand side, how do you know what to join in or not?

I like it for posting up pictures of the kids though.

Glad it ain't just mo then Pete - spent a lot of effort recently posting on the F B groups - two sales in one week - just not worth the effort and snide comments on there sometimes.

Edited October 16, 201311 yr by glynthornhill

Prior to attending University in 1987, my taste in music was not that broad.  I fortunately had a record store within walking distance to the university that had import CDs, LPs and 45s in every week.  They had all of the latest LPs in a box next to the turntable, which is how I dicovered a lot of new bands, in addition to picking up NME every week.  I went over the deep end in terms of 80s/90s British Indie, something I still enjoy in addition to 60s/70s soul (which I was only turned onto in 2008).

 

I used to buy a lot of British Indie music up until 2002 or so (and I still do from the bands I enjoy from back in the day -- 80s/90s bands), but something about British music after this point generally seemed and seems boring to me (with a few exceptions, of course).  American bands (with a few exceptions) have rarely done much for me in terms of interest.

 

I have seen the NME at the bookstore and even downloaded a free edition and had no interest.  I don't know any of the bands.  Between what I listen to, which is basically a body of music from 1965-2002, I have plenty to entertain my musical interests.  

 

Someone I worked with asked me how I hear about new music.  I listen to some online services, check out stuff friends post on social media and newsletters I get, but told them most of the new music is not of interest to me.  

 

I told a mate I was so out of touch that Wierd Al Yankovic's albums don't interest me anymore since I don't know the original song he is parodying.

I think Two Shoes has touched on a large part of the answer to the question 'is the interest in music still there?'. In common with his son, I have a huge passion for current ska music, a scene which - if you paid any attention to 99.9% of the music press - is dead and buried.

If that were the case, I'd not have attended half a dozen sold out gigs this year, be attending an almost sold out three day weekender in a few weeks with thirty or so current bands (The only nod to the past is Madness's sax player Lee Thompson and his new outfit), be finding new bands and releases weekly by a method not too dissimilar to the classic crate digging, but using small and obscure download sites etc etc etc.... And this is far from being the only scene that is thriving by these means.

What does seem to be a common denominator with these obscure scenes is a willingness to go 'up you' to the charts, they're not interested in playing off against companies with huge PR budgets, it's word of mouth a lot of the time.

Information is hard to find, you need to follow your instincts (for me, there are one or two producers I follow, small DIY labels I'm aware of, and an expanding network of likeminded people of all ages from 14 to 50....

 

The passion for music is still there, it's just ignoring the so-called mainstream.

 

 

Does any of this ring any bells?

Vinyl at a ten year high with regard to sales.  Apparently kids are buying LP's with nothing to play them on but they get a download as part of the package.  Might be something for the re-issue market to look at?  Mind you they do charge £25 approx for a new release on vinyl!!

 

https://www.nme.com/news/arctic-monkeys/73262

Edited October 17, 201311 yr by chalky

echoes is the only music mag i use to buy in the 80/90s but to be honest it was more for the reggae than soul...ive stopped buying scootering mag since it was taken over by a major media group as it just got boring and full of the same old adverts every month so if most music mags are the same im not surprised..and ofcourse most mags have websites/facebook pages which we can now read on the go on phones

 

actually whenever i went on a train/plane journey i would get mojo which always seemed to have a good selection of quality music in it but couple weeks back couldnt find it so dont know if its finished?

 

forums?..well if they are as heated as this one can get im not surprised either...while i enjoy ss and its very busy...there are many more soul fans out there who wont come on for fear of been ridiculed or abused!..

 

dean

 

Nail on the head there dean

think that a lot of people who used to come on here have dropped out because of the responces they got ,

I have over the years received and given my share of abuse on here most of which as been tongue in cheek ,

but if I am honest ,will say that some on here take the music far too seriously to the point of being abusive ,

its what you want from the music that counts ,

 

me ,I just want to listen and dance to the beautifull sounds of northern soul.

don't care about the transmitall medium , ovo or any of that malarkey ..

 

I can say I am gratefull that some people on here have brought the music I love to me and am in awe of the

depth of knowledge some people on here have about the soul scene .

.

back on topic

the printed medium is in freefall decline and think the kids of today are less fortunate than my generation

wrt work ,prospects etc and music is way down their list of priorities

Brian

 

Vinyl at a ten year high with regard to sales.  Apparently kids are buying LP's with nothing to play them on but they get a download as part of the package.  Might be something for the re-issue market to look at?  Mind you they do charge £25 approx for a new release on vinyl!!

 

https://www.nme.com/news/arctic-monkeys/73262

 

I am surprised to read this thread Chalky!!x My thoughts on the industry was precisely that...'vinyl is at an all time high'!! It was all over the news yesterday....and it left me feeling 'happy' about things as I went to bed last night!x Like anything....we are influenced by what we read and hear........and it's choice that determines that influence!x I'm happy to promote the positive....wherever............!!x

@@

~

LUV

SOOTY

X

Vinyl at a ten year high with regard to sales.  Apparently kids are buying LP's with nothing to play them on but they get a download as part of the package.  Might be something for the re-issue market to look at?  Mind you they do charge £25 approx for a new release on vinyl!!

 

https://www.nme.com/news/arctic-monkeys/73262

 

£25! They need to find a new supplier.

downloads with new LP's is definitely the way to go, three of the last lot of albums i've bought have had them, saves a lot of time burning them to disc for the car.

With regards to the original question............

 

information found on sites such as this, with regards to news and new releases is so much quicker to receive.

by the time its put to print in many instances nowadays its old news.

Seems to me that the indicators used to gather information about whether people's tastes and habits have changed, also need to change in order to accurately reflect what's really happening and to keep up with the emergence of alternative media.

When "popular music" was only made and sold in a limited number of formats from a relatively small number of principal sources, statistical information could be gathered far more comprehensively than it can now.

If my 15 year old daughter is anything to go by, todays teenagers are just as preoccupied with music and fashion as my generation was/is.

So I don't necessarily agree that because traditional sources/media may be in decline that there is any loss of interest in making and enjoying music.

Edited October 18, 201311 yr by back street blue

Seems to me that the indicators used to gather information about whether people's tastes and habits have changed, also need to change in order to accurately reflect what's really happening and to keep up with the emergence of alternative media.

When "popular music" was only made and sold in a limited number of formats from a relatively small number of principal sources, statistical information could be gathered far more comprehensively than it can now.

If my 15 year old daughter is anything to go by, todays teenagers are just as preoccupied with music and fashion as my generation was/is.

So I don't necessarily agree that because traditional sources/media may be in decline that there is any loss of interest in making and enjoying music.

 

The 16 year old in our house has his headphones on almost permanently, and is fussy about what he wears too. He listens to a wide range of music, and has gone and found a lot of soul, old skool, punk etc after hearing it in the car, the house, or on ads. If anything, I'd say todays youth listen to, and have easier access to, a much wider range than we did when we were younger.