The World of Music in 2018

The music industry is a weird place. It's a place of creativity, collaboration, and community because it spans internationally. Music is one of the best things that's on this planet at the moment. It becomes an everyday thing, there's music wherever you go and people can't seem to live without it.

I experienced a lot of music in 2017 and I hope to see that grow in 2018. I experienced a lot of concerts this year and met some pretty cool people. The crowds at these concerts were ones that I could never forget because it's always the same crowd following the same genre.

Let's start with country. There are a lot of fake country people that come out to these concerts. They will strap on cowboy(girl) boots and hats and go to the concert. Nothing wrong with that at all, I just find it a little humorous. But the crowd is usually rowdy and drunk where a lot of people are kicked out because of the fights they start, it's typically among the men more so than the women. But when there's a guy on stage singing about tractors, his truck, and the spurs on his boots, they all have a good time otherwise.

Classic rock. These crowds are chill. These people are usually older because this was their 80s childhood (Guns N' Roses, AC/DC, Metallica, Iron Maiden, etc). Modern classic rock goes towards younger people, like Sum 41, Jimmy Eat World, Blink 182, and other bands like those. These crowds are relaxed and they're just enjoying themselves.

Metal. If you never felt an amazing sense of community, then go to a metal concert. Go see Slayer on their farewell tour, or go see Beartooth, Bullet For My Valentine, or whatever your favorite metal band is because life in the Mosh Pit and The Circle Of Death is probably the best thing that you will experience because even if you're knocked down, you're picked right back up just so you can do it all again. It's a bonding experience, guys! I say they're a community because metal is so underrated, there are only a few of us metalheads left, myself included.

EDM. This genre is a little underrated too, but it's slowly on the rise because mixing is a great thing. The only artist is a DJ, that's it. He's not Justin Bieber, he might not look too good, but your DJ will probably make a better version of Bieber's song right? Right. They're as much of a community as myself and the metalheads because there's not too many of them either. Stay strong guys, we'll be mainstream one day! (Or not, that's fine too).

Rap. There's a lot of positives here, it's probably one of the most diverse groups of fans I've witnessed. In fact, they're so diverse and so big of a community that they all have the same thought whenever they come to the concert. They're thought is, "Nevermind the rules of the arena, let's move to the front of the stage despite what people want us to do. Better yet, let's stand on the chairs as well." Yeah, I didn't say they were the most well-behaved crowd either, but they are what they are. Musically, people just like it to like it. Some raps are about Chicago, Detroit, Miami, or wherever the artist was from and how rugged they were/are and how they rose from nothing. I mean, they might be telling a story about themselves, it doesn't sound original by any means, but I think they rap about themselves. Plus, I can't relate to half the things they rap about anyway, except when it's Bad and Boujee. I can get down to that, that rap is pretty good and it's on my party playlist. I relate more to Logic though because that speaks to a lot more people. Relevance is everything guys, it's all about how you market yourselves.

Pop. These crowds are interesting, let me explain. First of all, do you know how many subgenres there are? Good, me neither. And second, you can tell who's musically inclined and who isn't in these crowds. Three chords is a song, right? Wrong. But look at this, they're doing a modulation up a half step, isn't that great? That's one way to make yourself look musically inclined. That's what I call "Cookie-cutter" pop; it's the most basic form. I'm actually totally kidding because pop has evolved to the point where I find it more musically advanced compared to where it was in the early 2000s, and I actually kind of like it. However pop, depending on who it is, has the least diverse crowds, with a few exceptions. There are some artists where there are a bunch of 13-year-olds and the sorry moms/pops that had to take them to the concert. That's what I keep seeing, and I laugh every time. However, there are people like Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber who take pop to that next level to make it sound like it should be a different genre but it's still pop. Those guys are more diverse with their crowd though because the main fan base has already grown up with them and they matured. But these crowds are similar to the classic rock crowds, they're chill and they have a decent time, same with all these genres.

I guess the main thing to take away here is that coming from a guy who plays several instruments and knows a lot about music, the music industry is evolving in a positive direction. We are lacking in the realm of metal, but I know that more will be on the rise soon, especially since Slayer is doing their farewell tour.

My final words to you are to go see some concerts and jam out, life is short and you should make the most of it. If you want to go the extra mile, save up and get VIP tickets for yourself too, you deserve it.