Hello Tom B.and Mudcatters
It's called media mass marketing and goes back to the payola scandals. Even though there is no payolas, the industry is very much controlled by the giant money powered companies who know if they control the air waves by force feeding the puplic only certain kinds of music then the buying public will buy only the kinds of music they think is popular. Example is how kids are affected by Saturday morning cartoons. Those ads are aimed straight into the minds of those youngsters and Bingo, they already know before they're old enough to talk what it is they want when mommy/daddy go to the store.
Us folks who have disaplined ourselves to ignore those signals from the top forty Trash and More trash seem to have a distinctive taste in our choice of music. We are also guilty of being SNOBS of sorts when someone asks, "what kind of music to you play/or listen to"? Most folkies are into folk style music, celtic, bluegrass, traditional, acoustic, singer/songwriter, cajon,blues, jazz.
Another observation I've discovered is that adults for the most part are not the trend setters, the kids go out and spend parent's money on teen stuff and seem to establish what is popular by the all mighty dollar spent.(parent's dollars that is)These are of opinion (mine) and based only on what one has seen in the past years and like you Tom, ask, "What makes music SMELL?" oh I mean sell.Good thread Tom, thanks for the chance to shoot my opinions out there
Mudjack