I’ve just published my latest article on this topic – rock music (my preferred genre for decades) has been taking a nosedive in terms of presence and popularity over the past 20 years. Check out my musings in the article; feedback/insights welcome!
I just wanna rock and roll all night, and party everyday 
- I have been working at a Piano Karaoke bar in Detroit and hear the song don’t stop believing every night. I’m wondering if the presence/popularity of certain genres of music depends on marketing factors in the industry and that’s why certain music is popular in a time period and we miss out on some really good music because it is not promoted as much or just not discovered. Some of the best music I have heard is in local cafe’s and more intimate settings than large productions in stadiums.
Kelli, I think you would enjoy this article about Sugar Man “the greatest 1970’s music icon that never was” It really made me think about the presence of music like you mentioned, for example the public in the united states did not accept him but somehow his music made it to south Africa and everyone in the country adored his music. - https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-18974892
thanks for this recommendation Sean; I’ve heard good things about “Sugar Man” (the film) and will add it to my list of things to watch when I’m able!
you make a great point here Sean in that it’s entirely feasible that certain genres of music (even rock!) may be popular for a period of time with a certain demographic audience – and then the appetite changes for different genres. History bears that out. And marketing factors do play a big role in terms of getting the music in front of the right audiences in a way that works for them (as when MTV first arrived on the scene - and during its heyday - only to fade away over time). Discovery is, and always has been, among the most important facets of music’s success - whether by referral or direct marketing efforts.
When I was a kid, I saw a movie in which a record promoter went around buying out the albums from a bunch of stores and dumped them in his car. The idea being that he was manipulating sales to force radios to rotate the hit song from the album more often. Things are different now, I suppose, but people are not. I imagine there are new ways to influence ‘rotation’.