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Who will slip of the radar in, say, 50 years or less?

Woodface

pfm Member
There has been a recent trend of musicians & songwriters selling off their catalogue in return for large chunks of cash. A recent list of the WIYE podcast prompted my thoughts as to who will stand the test of time.

I feel many relatively recent acts are in danger of dropping off the radar completely; seldom heard on radio, perhaps persona non grata?

One example is Michael Jackson, his capital is lower than ever, will he even be mentioned in 10 years time. Another is Prince, utterly brilliant as he is, but seemingly little talked about?

Even the likes of Louis Armstrong are in danger of obscurity, without a reappraisal for his centenary, this would probably have already happened?

There are many reasons for this phenomenon; probably effects women & black artists more? Will Joni Mitchell be talked about as long as Dylan? I doubt it even though she is infinitely more talented.

Thoughts of the esteemed panel?
 
Depends on whose radar you're referring to I suppose?

There's artists I still listen to regularly from my youth i.e The Clash, The Jam etc etc , They've always been on my radar and always will, however they've fell off many peoples radar years ago

Likewise there's relatively recent artists that certainly won't stand the test of time,

I think genre is a big factor in all of this though
 
Depends on whose radar you're referring to I suppose?

There's artists I still listen to regularly from my youth i.e The Clash, The Jam etc etc , They've always been on my radar and always will, however they've fell off many peoples radar years ago

Likewise there's relatively recent artists that certainly won't stand the test of time,

I think genre is a big factor in all of this though
I think The Clash & The Jam are two bands who will die off with their fans (rather morbid thought sorry). I think they are of their time & appealed to a particular sub culture. It doesn’t help that Paul Weller is rather dismissive of his old band & doesn’t pander to nostalgia.

The Beatles, for example, have cross generational appeal but they had very low capital in the 80s, britpop & the Anthology probably jump started them again. Will they survive past the boomers though? Difficult to predict.
 
I think The Clash & The Jam are two bands who will die off with their fans (rather morbid thought sorry). I think they are of their time & appealed to a particular sub culture. It doesn’t help that Paul Weller is rather dismissive of his old band & doesn’t pander to nostalgia.

I think you're spot on there, and it probably applies to a lot of my record collection

As I said i think genre will play a big factor and as you say sub culture or youth movement etc

It's interesting when you go and see older established bands live how many young fans there are / aren't
 
I think you're spot on there, and it probably applies to a lot of my record collection

As I said i think genre will play a big factor and as you say sub culture or youth movement etc

It's interesting when you go and see older established bands live how many young fans there are / aren't
I’ve seen the Specials relatively recently & Weller a few times; there is always a subset of slightly tragic looking men who dress like they did in secondary school. Harrington’s, feather cuts etc. Always makes me laugh as Weller himself generally keeps up with more modern looks.

The Smiths are another who are well on the way to being forgotten.
 
If you look back 50 years, you're in 1971, and not many pop/rock artists from before then are still on the radar. The Beatles, The Stones, and Motown, not much else.
 
I'm pretty sure Cliff Richard will be gone with the generation that grew up with him.

Madonna seems less and less relevant these days too.

And I'd say zero of the pop idol/voice/got talent artists have a hope in hell of being remembered.
 
If you look back 50 years, you're in 1971, and not many pop/rock artists from before then are still on the radar. The Beatles, The Stones, and Motown, not much else.
Interesting, if you look pre 71, quite a few artists who were around in the 50’s still have capital but not many from the early 60s pre Beatles.

Buddy Holly
Elvis Presley
Chuck Berry
Johnny Cash

Jazz seems to have more longevity, perhaps?
 
I think a lot of the 90s bands that were all over the place at the time will be long forgotten too, Suede, Garbage, Elastica and the like. I rarely hear anything of them now.

Even the bigger bands like Blur and The verve are likely to fade away. Oasis?
 
Funny how ubiquitous U2 were and now...nothing.

Er... they still sell out stadiums all over the world on every tour and they tour... a lot! * They also still produce new music regularly... yes I know no one claims to like it except me, but I am not the only one buying it!

* pre-Covid.
 
I guess some sort of definition is required for slipping off the radar, do we mean just completely vanished and forgotten, not making new music or touring the oldies? Loads of bands are long gone out of popular consciousness but are still active both recording and gigging.
 
Er... they still sell out stadiums all over the world on every tour and they tour... a lot! * They also still produce new music regularly... yes I know no one claims to like it except me, but I am not the only one buying it!

* pre-Covid.
That isn’t the question though?

Lots of acts do well live but will they be remembered in 50 years? I doubt it.

REM seem almost forgotten for example.
 


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