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Thread: Pop music producers/writers 1950s to now

  1. #1

    Pop music producers/writers 1950s to now

    Question for you guys- By now everyone is aware of the pool of song writers & producers who write hits for others. Max Martin, etc.
    What I'm curious to know is do we have more of that today vs the past or is it about the same?

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    Much less today I would say. Since the late 70s with punk and new wave and again in the late 80s with indie, singers and bands writing their own material were far more prevalent than in the 60s and early 70s.

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    So you're saying we have fewer songwriters writing for others today?

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    Yes, I would say so, based on the fact that I can't think of a single singer or band I like from the 80s onwards who doesn't write their own stuff.

    Back in the 50s and 60s, Holland-Dozier-Holland and Smokey Robinson to name just two songwriting "factories" were huge and turnng out new material literally every day. And that was possible when TV and radio controlled the charts and what out ears could hear being broadcast and when tin pan alley knew what the TV and radio wanted to broadcast.

    But since the mid 70s with punk and new wave and the DIY approach to writing and producing music that has all changed. Because since then, singers and bands have had more freedom in how and what they write and record. Also of importance at least in the UK in the mid 70s was the rise of commercial radio to challenge the stuffy outdated nature of the BBC.

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    Hardly. In the pop world there seem now to be an army of people getting credited on songs/albums, which seldom used to happen. Nothing is left to chance, clearly, in this 'producer pop' environment.

    Look at the amount of producers listed here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_(Taylor_Swift_album)

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    Well, for Eurovision and all those talent shows, I agree, nearly every song seems to have at least 3 writers, but I was focusing on the type of pop that would appeal to PE members. Also those "producer pop" pretty boy and pretty girl acts are still very much a minorty created for kids, to sell downloads and to be radio friendly on pAp music channels.

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    There's also Ed Sheeran, marketed as a 'singer-songwriter' type. Again, look at the sheer number of writers/producers credited on here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_(Ed_Sheeran_album)

  8. #8
    I was on Facebook putting my two cents in on this video someone posted. I wrote:
    I'm 1st to say that there's still Plenty of great new music out there. There's a time to just get up & dance (eg: disco) & there's also room for "thinking music". The superficial stuff isn't anything new.

    However, I will say this- if we're talking about *commercial, mainstream* music, we *are* getting music written by a Very small pool of writers. (mostly European producers) Same small pool of people have been generating hits for over 20 years now. Also, (again, with regards to commercial music), the big record companies are FAR less willing to take a chance with & nurture something very different. That model is dead now. If it doesn't have potential for a fast, runaway hit, get out.


    A 2nd guy chimed in & said this small pool of songwriters s nothing new. Been a thing since the 50s. I was really only aware of names like Carole King, Holland-Dozier-Holland & the writers for Elvis. But after a little digging I saw that Jerry Lee Lewis had a few too. I haven't looked yet, but I have to assume there're a lot more for other older artists.

    Anyway, the video is 12 minutes, so you'll get the basic gist in the 1st few. The guy who originally posted it on Facebook said the speaker is full of crap, but I have to admit agreeing with some of what he says.


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    Member Rick Robson's Avatar
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    Their amount haven't increased imo, but have not decreased either, I think people should not forget that the 70's have met Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel, as well as a lot many of at least the same league as them.
    "Beethoven can write music, thank God, but he can do nothing else on earth. ". Ludwig van Beethoven

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    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Pop music has always been an industrial product, created en masse by factory writers & producers with plug-in singers & "bands."

    Not all music is pop music but all pop music is the same.

  11. #11
    Ok, so it's been a thing for decades.

    But I'd argue that today we have a far more homogenized sound in commercial pop. AutoTune helped see to that. Take current country music; I could swear just about every singer blatantly uses it & as a result they all sound pretty much the same to my ears. (esp. the male singers)
    Not saying the old guard doesn't use it too, but hey- if Aretha Franklin can still belt it out live without relying on lip syncing, for example...

    Maybe this is all just "older generation tearing down the previous", I dunno.

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Pop music has always been an industrial product, created en masse by factory writers & producers with plug-in singers & "bands."

    Not all music is pop music but all pop music is the same.
    Is your flame-proof underwear on?

  13. #13
    There was Tin Pan Alley during the '20s and '30s; during the '50s and '60s is was the Brill Building. Yes, you could call them factories that churned out pop songs intended to be hits, but that doesn't make them any less talented at what they did. --Peter

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    Member Yodelgoat's Avatar
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    this guy is genius. Unfortunately, he's also 50 cents manager.

    Its one thing to lament pop music. It doesnt even make sense anymore - and I like songs about butts.

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    This is neither here nor their, but a good friend of mine since high school is the son of producer Arif Mardin. He produced stuff like Average White Band, Roberta Flack, Chakha Khan, Anita Baker, etc. Old school. Before I knew who his dad was, I always wondered why my friend was so into stuff like Toto, Kenny Loggins, and Supertramp - it was the engineering and production!

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