I blame my friend Simon Cowell and - to an extent - myself. Me for working out how to hype the chart (but only after I had proof my product was a real hit - as opposed to the majors who then hyped top priority crap and wrecked the charts as a promotional tool). And Simon and his ilk for showing the public have no idea what a star is, allowing labels to push commercial product instead of real talent.

Isnt everybody a star nowadays??

Reading your post brought to mind this song from 1977.

A star is usually someone who's impact is remembered for decades, even by those who are not fans.

Not everybody likes Elvis, Johnny Cash or The Rolling Stones, but most people know who they are.

Social media has made a different by making it easier for unsigned acts to be heard, and the field is bigger now.
I think, also, that most new music is not really new, and those who would be stars are trying too much to be like the greats instead of doing their own thing.

As Pop Music peeked?

It is simple. The industry has lost the plot and YouTube, Instagram and Twitter have created other types of stars to fill the void. Vlogging is more important than pop music now and social media has made more people 'famous' and as a result the mega stars are few and far between. The labels lost the plot in the late 90s thanks to the Spice Girls. Everyone has copied their formula and as a result artistry has been devalued. It's going to get worse as pop singers will soon be jettisoned completely in favour of virtual singers/session singers/models etc.

Essentially disagree; yes the industry lost the plot years ago (I never realised by how much until I was no longer in it). The main problem is that the importance of music has been devalued. It only achieved the heights it did in the 60s thanks to Top of the Pops and Pirate Radio. Then it spread into other countries because the music was so great and infectious. What is needed is a way to revive that crucial importance for music; hard now because of instant gratification and the rise of superficiality.

JK2006 wrote:
I blame my friend Simon Cowell and - to an extent - myself. Me for working out how to hype the chart (but only after I had proof my product was a real hit - as opposed to the majors who then hyped top priority crap and wrecked the charts as a promotional tool). And Simon and his ilk for showing the public have no idea what a star is, allowing labels to push commercial product instead of real talent.

I think this is a very honest post. But, it would have happened anyway. I am not a friend of, and certainly not a fan of Simon Cowell, but you were both in the grip of forces bigger than both of you.

If anything controls the world, it's free market capitalism.

Paul McGuinness, formerly the manager of U2, has been shouting about this for years, but no-one listened.

McGuinness always maintained that allowing music for free on the net would be the death of the music industry. Granted, the music industry has always been imperfect, corrupt and flawed (which industries aren't, btw? Answers on a postcard, please!) but the labourer is worthy of hire, as it were.

In other words, if you can get art for free, why pay for it? But they don't get a McDonald's meal for free, so why do the public think they can download any music they want on the net for free?

tdf wrote:
Paul McGuinness, formerly the manager of U2, has been shouting about this for years, but no-one listened.

McGuinness always maintained that allowing music for free on the net would be the death of the music industry. Granted, the music industry has always been imperfect, corrupt and flawed (which industries aren't, btw? Answers on a postcard, please!) but the labourer is worthy of hire, as it were.

In other words, if you can get art for free, why pay for it? But they don't get a McDonald's meal for free, so why do the public think they can download any music they want on the net for free?

I still buy CD's on Amazon and browse in HMV. Last CD's I bought in HMV were KISS solo albums and a FM broadcast gig by them also.

I have noticed that HMV stores are now getting smaller and limited on CD'S's. I do admit I did download in my younger days, soon realised that I was missing on low quality and artwork. Rock and metal is now getting more corporate and commercial.

The only real star of the 21st century was Amy Winehouse, and this is partly due to the fact that she is no longer with us.

In the 80s we had Duran, Boy George, Spandau, Soft Cell, Jacko, and Madonna.

In the 90s nobody really, we were still living on the 80s stars (Madonna and Jacko, and prince to a lesser extent). Blur and Oasis were really offering nothing new.

Nostalgia time; in the 60s the labels tried to build stars; here's my mentor Tony Hall hosting a Decca night at the Marquee Club in London's Wardour Street. Go to Previous to see me!

www.kingofhits.co.uk/component/option,co...d,64/?g2_itemId=4559

Disagree, Drake is a star, as is Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, One Direction etc etc...

Ah definition of words again. As with RAPE - these days giving someone a peck on the cheek 40 years ago is considered rape. Friends. These days someone you've never met is a friend. Stars - what is a star? I come from the era which remembers the massive star power of a Monroe or a Sinatra or an Elvis or (my favourite) Marlene. Dare I suggest that the vast majority who have heard of Justin Bieber couldn't name or sing one of his hits. Exposure yes; depth of fame no. It is superficial world these days. Very little global, multi generational celebrity, let alone stardom. The most recent real "star"? Probably David Beckham.

// wrote:
Disagree, Drake is a star, as is Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, One Direction etc etc...

Drake, well I couldn't even picture him or know any of his songs, therefore he is not a star. Ed Sheeran is just a ginger minger. Justin Bieber is massively well known but again I don't know any of his songs ditto One direction. Lady Gaga, maybe, but her star seems to have gone out now.

What is a STAR? For me the last great star was Marlene Dietrich. But Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, David Beckham were stars... Maggie Thatcher was a star - no British PM since has been a star. Like him or hate him, Trump is a star.