>>20491588this was intentionally done. they eventually took the same go to market approach with pop. basically they spent a generation diverging black music away from blues and jazz where is was excelling, consolidating it into the white rock and roll market, then diverging again the 80s with hip hop. distribution costs in urban centers and product sourcing (rappers themselves, there has never been a shortage of wannabe rap stars) were dirt cheap compared to sourcing decent rock groups. then another generation was spent watering down tastes to get rid of expensive rock acts and force pop onto everyone. then American idol arrived and allowed them to do what they did successfully with rap - make a bottom of the barrel, easily created, dogshit product (music), source the human capital for dirt cheap (never a shortage of wannabe pop stars). and they have started consolidating again now that the pop charts are now at least 40-50% indistinguishable from rap. in 2010-11 that big, over marketed bro country Aldean song signaled they had started aggressively taste changing country music.
