

Synthesizers are killing film and TV music, say British composers - anigbrowl
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/dec/15/electronicmusic-television

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anigbrowl
I think this article is poorly written and researched; when you read it's
apparent that the actual complaint are about samples/library music (the
equivalent of stock photos) and sequencing, rather than synthesis _per se_.
Synthesizers _qua_ electronic instruments can be enormously expressive and the
contributors acknowledge this. However that takes significant work in sound
programming and sequence composition, and in the vast majority of cases people
find it easier to just use a sample instead. This is true even in electronic
music; there are genres where people obsess slavishly overgetting a uniquely
and distinctive kick drum sound and then repeat it on every beat with some
'unretouched' riff from a Vengeance sample library laid over the top as
melodic decoration. Someone recently did an amusing mash-up demonstrating that
20 different tracks in the dance music 'top 50' chart were using the exact
same sound from a popular sample library.

As someone who prefers making every sound from scratch with synthesizers I
find this just as irritating as these 'old school' composers, so I don't think
this is a case of buggy whip nostalgia. Rather, I posted this because it
neatly illustrates the economic pressures on many artists resulting from the
content cornucopia mindset that has accompanied the rise of the internet.

