Lack Of True Emerging Talent Proves The UK Music Industry Is Stagnating

The economic downturn has hit a variety of industries, no more so than the music business. Watching The Brit Awards last week made that painfully clear. It’s never pretty but this year was particularly bland - not only in its reliance on old stalwarts like Robbie and a Gallagher to provide entertainment/controversy, but in the awards. Granted this is no Mercury music prize, but there was perhaps an over abundance this year of Cowell by-products queuing up for their statuette. I have as much love for this type of event as the average dog turd one might step in but perhaps the Brits in some way highlighted the lack of emerging talent.

Take best new comer Ellie Goulding. A talented, amiable sounding singer/song writer yes. But as the pinnacle of the UK’s emerging talent in the past year, it really goes to show the pressure the industry is under. Its clear that if a band doesn’t have immense selling potential (and thus usually a bland uncontroversial musical product) then the labels just won’t take the risk. Personally I feel cheated by this because economic deprivation has a tendency to produce brilliant music. The 70s discontent had punk, the slump of the early 90s gave birth to grunge. What do I get? Owl City.

Of course you could say this is an unfair measure. Maybe not as epoch defining but there are good bands out there, underground and ready to emerge in say 6 months time when perhaps it will finally have stopped snowing. True, but look at what’s coming through. The Drums and Surfer Blood are literally making critics salivate with anticipation. Yet both are from the US. No problem with that, but when are the home grown talent going to catch up – or at least be given the chance to by the industry.

There are plenty of good bands out on the touring circuit of the UK’s public toiler-esque venues. But you can’t help but feel without any major label support they’ll be going around in circles (or at least the M25) for some time to come.

Saying the industry is out of date, needs to update its ideas about new formats and embrace new acts emerging is as much of a cliché as a UFO conspiracy theory. But what else can be said? Until someone is ready to take the risk, we’re never going to move forward. The bland vanilla rock/pop/rap/electro will continue to bore the majority. And then labels will wonder why CD sales have decreased.