I'm not so sure @JohnnyV 🙂 ... it's so easy to dismiss the next generation (my dad came of age in the mid-fifties and still says anything from the sixties onwards 'isn't music' 😀)
But the scenes I'm involved in (not pop - more jazz, funk, all sorts of electronic and yes ... even a little hip-hop) are full of bewilderingly amazing players, plus many who can't really play instruments in the traditional sense but still create fantastic (at least for my taste) music.
It's also full of DJs, but they're an equally valuable part of the scene and the musicians love the DJs as much as the other way around. Without the DJs and the promoters, the musicians have nowhere to play and it's also really fascinating to see how the musicians are inspired by the DJs and what a pivotal role they play. No one makes much money, most still have to keep their day jobs. But there's a huge community impact and there are organisations that are really improving lives (e.g. https://tomorrowswarriors.org/) which are a core part of this.
When it comes to distribution, bandcamp has been a gamechanger. There are so many small independent labels run by people in their spare time with full rosters and a lot of A&R behind the scenes. The sales are low and they only just break even (this is not mainstream pop!), but I'm still a fan of the current state of affairs versus the days when a few 'majors' controlled everything.
I don't need to tell anyone how hard it is to make money from music these days - up until a few years ago 'merch' seemed to be the new way to make it work, but now I hear even that's not breaking even - productions costs are high and money is tights for fans. But I'm still positive about everything that's going on and people who love music will continue to make and play music.
More power to Cakewalk - long may it carry on for the players, the button pushers and the DJs - and I'm happy to pay 😀
