How Digital Music Production Completely Transformed Pop Music
The term “pop music” has always been very flexible. As time progresses and cultures evolve, so does the music that constitutes pop music. Specifically, over the past two decades, pop music has evolved more frequently and dramatically than it ever has before--largely because of the rise of digital music production.
Digital music production has shifted what used to be mainstream music from primarily acoustic, to now primarily synthesized. Many people credit this to the increasing public acceptance of EDM and hip-hop music. Artists like Kanye West and T-Pain are responsible for popularizing the use of tools like Auto-Tune, which artificially alters the pitch in vocals. Auto-Tune can either be used on primary vocal tracks, or on supplementary vocal chops in an instrumental. The synth melodies artists use to make instrumentals were previously made using excessively expensive physical synthesizers from companies like Yamaha and Roland, but are now made electronically using Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) such as FL Studio, Ableton, and Logic Pro.
DAWs have been instrumental--pun intended--in the shift to synthesized music because they host plugins that give producers the power to use the sounds from physical synthesizers without costing an arm and a leg. Digital synths and tools make it substantially easier to manipulate vocals and sounds like Kanye West and T-Pain did. Additionally, just how digital music production has changed pop music from acoustic to synthesized, it has also lowered the industry’s barrier of entry.
Pop music was previously only welcoming to those who could afford expensive equipment or had strong connections within the industry. However, with the newfound availability of DAWs, producers like Nick Mira and Finneas have created platinum-selling songs such as “Lucid Dreams'' by Juice WRLD and “Ocean Eyes'' by Billie Eilish from home, without expensive equipment like physical synthesizers.
What was once an exclusive, gate-kept, commercialized industry, has now become an inclusive hobby for many.
Genres like EDM, trap, and hip-hop have always existed, but this very shift towards music’s inclusivity allowed these genres to integrate themselves into pop music.
As technology advances, it is important that culture does as well. Digital music production has transformed not just pop music, but the way the entire music industry is structured. Gone are the days where sounds would cost thousands of dollars and acoustic instruments were the only tools that made up a track. Due to digital music production, pop music has not only become more synthesized but also more accessible to musicians.
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