The year
is coming to an end, and usually at this time music writers and the like are
prepping their best of lists of the year for albums and singles etc. Many of
these lists are just carbon copies of each other and at the end of the day can
be quite subjective. So instead of following the pack I have decided to reflect
on 2014 and what went down in the music world by compiling a list of the ten
things that stood out for me in 2014 music-wise.
·
The
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame remains a bit of a farce as an institution, and a charade
when it comes to the inductions. This comes with the shenanigans this year around
KISS’s induction, and the debate that occurs every year around who should be
inducted and who is ultimately passed over, with the list of eligible inductees
and those passed over growing every year. Expect this to continue to be the
case in 2015.
·
The
issue of streaming and music distribution online continued to be debated this
year with YouTube and Spotify at the centre of industry, artist, and fan debate
around how people get their music and what this means in terms of artist
royalties. YouTube threatened to take down content from independent labels from
the platform, while Spotify has had its fair share of detractors, especially
when it comes to how much artists receive from having their music on this very
popular streaming site. The issue of music distribution will not go away any
time soon, especially when you consider the rise in online streaming and the
decline of physical sales of music.
·
2014
was going to be the first year that there had not been a newly released album
go on to sell a million copies, until Taylor Swift’s 1989 saved the industry
from what could have been a significant moment. Despite TayTay’s saving grace,
does 2014 signal the beginning of the end for physical album sales? Or will the
odd international release and constant flood of re-issues save this failing
commercial model? My crystal ball is telling me to continue to wait and see on
this one.
·
It
was quite a news-worthy year for the music scene in New Zealand with Lorde reigning
supreme at the Grammys, the Big Day Out festival closing up shop for good now
it seems, and Eminem suing the New Zealand National Party for copyright
infringement.
·
2014
was a year of hellos and final goodbye’s, with Pink Floyd bowing out with the
release of what they say will be their final, final album “The Endless River”.
On the reunion circuit Outkast reunited for a series of concerts and festival
appearances, while Christine McVie is back with Fleetwood Mac after a 17 year
absence.
·
In
2014 the music world sadly witnessed the passing of Jack Bruce, Bobby Womack, Tommy
Ramone and Pete Seeger, Bobby Keys, and Ian McLagan among others. Rest in Peace.
·
In
another weird and wacky way of releasing your new album, U2 released their new
album “Songs of Innocence” for free through iTunes much to the annoyance of
most iTunes subscribers and much to the ridicule of the music press in
particular. In the end, this episode really only resulted in bolstering Bono’s
ego even more [if that is even possible] as he attempted to defend the move in
the wake of the waves of publicity that came the bands way as a result,
negative of otherwise.
·
Band
Aid came back in 2014, this time in support of Ebola, with Bob, Bono and many
others singing [not] for snow in Africa this Christmas time, with major lyric
changes made to make the song more suitable I guess. At least they got rid of
that horrible line “well tonight thank god it’s them instead of you”.
·
The
Rolling Stones continued their 50th anniversary jaunt, finishing
with a concert in Auckland, New Zealand. We shall wait and see as to whether
this final show will go down in history as their final ever show, 52 years
after their first.
·
In
2014, live music continued to boom at the expense of the album among others
things, with major festivals and sell out tours dominating all over the globe.
This is now the major money earner for artists the world over and arguably [as
it probably always has been] the most popular way to listen to music.
- - Sam
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