What’s Happened To Industrial Music?

How Pop Culture Sometimes Ain’t That Great

We at CSS Music have a question for you guys: Why is today’s corporate music so…wimpy? Has American business become too “chickafied?” What ever happened to red-blooded, rise-to-the-challenge messaging and the music that supports that message? Since we cut our teeth creating many volumes of Industrial music, we have our own thoughts and a challenge.

Just like the advertising business that looks to popular trends to “borrow” musical styles, the AV-Video crowd soon follows. With the introduction of Indie artists and the sudden rise in slightly-less-than-perfect timing of groove, ukeleles, accordions, acoustic guitars, orchestra bells, static melodies and repetitious chord progressions, the trend away from the traditional,  Light Industrial was born. While it can be said that this form of music offers a whimsical vibe, we wonder where the power and punch—even if it’s created via a strong melody and good arrangement—went? And should this new Light Industrial truly be categorized as Corporate? Really?!? Is American business now wearing flannel shirts and choosing to identify themselves as hipsters?

We think not. And CSS Music believes that like all popular trends, the public will grow weary of this musical style and revert back to music that has “emotionality” instead of light motifs with no balls. To do a comparison—and we do have hipster/Indie tracks in our library—let’s take “A Road Trip Quietly” (Powertrax 33) and pit it against “Picture Perfect.” (Super Themes 21) Both tracks have a sense of motion/forward progression and both are orchestrated with light rhythm sections, but which track stirs you? Does the laid back nature of “A Road Trip Quietly” evoke emotions like pride, can-do attitude and corporate strength? We don’t think so either.

Maybe it’s time for everyone to gaze into their crystal balls and think about what’s coming next—or where we were--and look at what really sells a scene. Do you really believe a corporate client wouldn’t like a melody they could call their own that inspires and motivates, versus a track that just sits there? We ask you to spend a few minutes with our database and explore what (we believe) is truly Corporate or Light Industrial. As mentioned, we do have Indie-inspired tracks, but exploring music with thematic continuity and a sense of purpose may put you on the path to being a real trendsetter!