*DarkStorm sighs deeply*

I guess I should explain.

Take a look around you. Note the state of the specific genres.

Rap, Pop, Rock, Metal, Punk, Gothic... These are the primary genres we're concerned with in the text I'm composing here.

Keep in mind, these were all once very seperate genres. However, today we may observe that what was once defined, is slowly losing its definition. The lines between the genres are becoming more and more blurred.

I will now refer to the blurring of the genres as "assaults." This is what they are to me, and I hope that by the end of this text you, as well, might see it this way.

Enough setup, let us discuss the state of the music industry, starting with the basic background.

Try to remember the order in which the genres were assaulted. The first attack occured between Pop and Rap. Back in the early nineties, Rap and Pop began to share many similarities. We've established the approximate time, now, think of what Pop 'stands for'. I'm sure you'll agree that it stands for nothing but, what is the primary content of the songs. Feeling good, partying, and, above all, sex. Now we know that rap was once incredibly violent in content. What is it now? "I fucked those bitches while drinking this beer in my phat ride down with my brothers." Rap has taken on a modified label as well Rap/Hip-Hop is what it is now primarily referred to. The very nature of most rap has changed to be something more teenagers can identify with.

No time for observations yet, let's move on to the next subculture.

Rock, in virtually the same period of Rap's assault was confronted by the Pop culture. As a matter of fact, many will argue over which fell first, but it really doesn't matter, as the end result is the same. I'm not sure when modern-rock acquired the label "alternative" but I know it was before its assault. Before the assault Rock was very diverse, and spoke on any number of things. From pure emotion to politics, it was a staple to the many, but it was always considered different. Something special, never truly succumbing to the the pointless content of the Pop culture. Yet the early nineties saw its demise as well, and now much of the overwhelming content of modern-rock (read "alternative") deals with emotions and girl/boyfriends. Emotions are important, yes, but there's more to life than emotion.

Don't think about it too long, it's on to Metal.

Metal was assaulted in the mid to late nineties. They're still suffering a never ending series of attacks. It seems to have withstood it the longest, but this genre is also giving way. From what I can tell, the idea seems to be to turn it into the same thing modern-rock has been turned into. I believe many people refer to this music as "emo." There's not much to say as we're yet to see the outcome of the endless assaults on this genre, and its diverse and highly populated subculture. However it's probably safe to assume that the only reason it has survived this long is due purely to the number of people belonging to the various metal cultures. One thing can be said for certain, the label has already been chosen for the future crippling of metal, if it happens, and that is "NuMetal."

Light on the horizon? Don't get too hopefull...

Punk was next. In the late nineties, pop began to invade the Punk subculture. A strange thing happened here, I don't know too much about it since I wasn't associated with anyone of this subculture at the time, yet somehow a very strong following based primarily on politics and getting messages of freedom or anarchy out to the public was circumvented. Pop took a very quick and effective stab here. Punk's own chaotic nature, both in the music and the subculture, seems to have given way to its death from what I can tell. Today "Pop-Punk" overshadows any political movements made by the punks. Pop-Punk thrives on the party, and feel-good emotions brought on by the freeing of oneself of their responsibilities. It's a sick interpritation of the Punk subculture... if only there were a way to honor the dead musicians. I'll tell you one thing I know for certain: both living and dead punk musicians would not appreciate what has risen to take their place.

As you can see, I've yet to mention my own subculture... well here it goes.

Gothic actually took its stab in the mid-nineties. This probably would have been more successful if it wasn't for the clear focus on Grunge. The popularization of bands such as Marilyn Manson and NIN and their mis-portrayals by the media made gothic the cool thing to do. I'm of the belief that we would have seen more artists doing this and that our subculture would be dead now if it wasn't for the attack on Grunge. Grunge was a problem due to the artist's own messages and the fact that merchandisers couldn't capitalize on the Grunge subculture. Grunge naturally resisted such commercial gestures and was promptly assaulted after someone had this realization.

I hope this has established a clear direction for you. I don't know how hard this is to follow, but after going over the last decade in my head a million times I can't shake the feeling that this has been orchestrated. Now by now, one might ask, "by who?"

The answer, is simple. The Recording Industry did this. Before the accusations of paranoia fly, I'd like to have you contemplate one simple fact. Is it easier to advertise, and create products for a plethora of different people with different tastes and opinions, or one group that is of one mind?

The potential savings in cost of advertising alone are staggering. Also, less artists would have to be signed, meaning yet more money for the recording industry. With one primary group to cater to, with the recording industry being their only supplier, CD prices will be approximately whatever the hell the recording industry wants them to be.

Even the recording industry's stance on the now popular MP3 trading software is evidence of this. MP3 trading gives listeners a chance to share bands with independant labels, or no labels at all! That's no money for the RIAA, and that's a cardinal sin. Think not about the fantasy I've constructed here, but rather the cold hard realities. This is the smallest synopsis I could assemble and it has taken me 40 minutes of typing and contemplation to create this. It's taken years of pondering and research to come to this conclusion myself though, I'm hoping that with an outline such as this, you yourself will not have to study for such a length of time.

Thank you for reading this far. I'd like to let you know that this was written in a calm and peaceful manner, it wasn't a rant. I was angry when I realized this more than a year ago, today I merely operate in quiet disapproval of the truth, and am constantly analyzing the entire system for the possibility of righting what's wrong. By my view, Metal and Gothic are two of the few subcultures which remain intact today. No protest or letters to executives is going to solve this, they have four out of six genres within their control, they will not stop now. Retaliation must be drastic, and some have already started. Me? I'm still looking for my chance...