I'm sure you are right. That's why I pretty much quit paying much attention in the '80's. Of course the producers and record companies have always exerted influence (re: the payola scandals of the late 50's), but it "turned the corner" around the 80's and popular music became just a product created, for the most part, by focus groups for maximum profit above "the art". A few major artists have tried, both successfully and more not, to buck the trend, Tom Petty being a well-known example.
I'm sure you are right. That's why I pretty much quit paying much attention in the '80's. Of course the producers and record companies have always exerted influence (re: the payola scandals of the late 50's), but it "turned the corner" around the 80's and popular music became just a product created, for the most part, by focus groups for maximum profit above "the art". A few major artists have tried, both successfully and more not, to buck the trend, Tom Petty being a well-known example.
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