Is there literally too much music nowadays?

As I have started mulling over entries for my 2024 year-end lists, I have been struck by just how many releases I still need to listen to. Admittedly, my attention drifted from checking out current releases for a few months, but there is still a daunting amount out there. A quick glance at RYM genre pages says there have been over 9000 metal releases so far in 2024, with two months still to go, so by year end there will probably be 10-11k. There are 2500+ black metal releases alone ffs! So have we got to a point where there is, quite literally, too much to choose from? How do you determine what is truly worth your time when perusing new music and how do you sort the wheat from the chaff?

There's far too much music, yes.  I no longer take any pleasure in seeking out what is new in the current year.  Thinking about it logically, just because it has come out this year, why do I need to listen to it immediately?  Just my view of course as I find it hard to be arsed putting together year end lists of any length and the "hobby" aspect of seeking new music that some people enjoy is fine for them but just not something that interests me any longer.  I just don't bother.  

Nowadays I am extra lazy and just let the music streaming services suggest me a weekly playlist to run at which usually out of around 30 tracks churns out 2 decent records I listen to for the week.  I read no media publications online or in print (since Zero Tolerance mag appears to have died) and so do not have sight of what is coming out anyways.  Other than Bandcamp emails I am pretty out of touch with new music and certainly lack the time or gumption to search organically myself when the mood takes me. 

For me, life's too short to keep up with new music.

I don't think there's too much music out there to be honest. I don't think there can EVER be too much music at our disposal actually as the intention was never that people should attempt to listen to literally all of it. That's a post-internet concept that's the result of people growing up with Napster, YouTube, Spotify, etc. i.e. a quantity over quality approach. As someone with a very broad taste profile, that whole concept just seems like madness to me. If only there was an online resource that helped people to identify metal music that was likely to fall into their unique taste profile & provided a forum for discussion with like-minded fans from around the world. Hhmmm....

There really isn't THAT much more music than in a pre-streaming world. The major difference is the endless number ways for people to publish their music.

Gone are the days where you had to be on a major record label (Universal, Warner, EMI, etc.) in order for your music to be heard on a inter/national scale. Now you can just upload a video to YouTube and before you know it, you'll be famous for fifteen minutes. Unlike Vinny, I still keep up to date with modern releases, but on a vastly smaller scale than I did five years ago. Listening to new music for its own sake just to find out it isn't very good did a huge number on my mental health and I wondered if I should retire from music reviewing. 

For me, keeping up with the times is essential to know what the kids find "hip," even if I don't like it, and then try assisting them towards similar sounding music from the present or past that they may have never heard before. And as a musician myself, having a finger on the trigger ensures that I have steady work.

I don't think there's too much music out there to be honest. I don't think there can EVER be too much music at our disposal actually as the intention was never that people should attempt to listen to literally all of it. That's a post-internet concept that's the result of people growing up with Napster, YouTube, Spotify, etc. i.e. a quantity over quality approach. As someone with a very broad taste profile, that whole concept just seems like madness to me. If only there was an online resource that helped people to identify metal music that was likely to fall into their unique taste profile & provided a forum for discussion with like-minded fans from around the world. Hhmmm....

Yeah, I wasn't implying that anyone would want to listen to everything, but what I am curious about is, with the equivalent of 200 metal releases a week being issued, how do people decide what is worth their time?

I tend to, first of all, seek out the new releases of acts I already know that I enjoy. Secondly I look to releases that other people whose opinions I respect are recommending. Then, if I fancy any further exploring of the latest stuff then I will cast around a little and see if anything sounds interesting to me.

There really isn't THAT much more music than in a pre-streaming world. The major difference is the endless number ways for people to publish their music.

Gone are the days where you had to be on a major record label (Universal, Warner, EMI, etc.) in order for your music to be heard on a inter/national scale. Now you can just upload a video to YouTube and before you know it, you'll be famous for fifteen minutes. Unlike Vinny, I still keep up to date with modern releases, but on a vastly smaller scale than I did five years ago. Listening to new music for its own sake just to find out it isn't very good did a huge number on my mental health and I wondered if I should retire from music reviewing. 

For me, keeping up with the times is essential to know what the kids find "hip," even if I don't like it, and then try assisting them towards similar sounding music from the present or past that they may have never heard before. And as a musician myself, having a finger on the trigger ensures that I have steady work.

If you look at the stats, Saxy, then there is indeed much more metal released now than there were in days past. According to the RYM genre release graph in 1980 when the NWOBHM was kicking in in earnest there were 268 metal releases that year, then first hitting 1000+ in 1985. By 1990 it was just under 2500, by the year 2000 it was up to almost 4500 and by 2010 it hit 9k. 2020 & 2022 saw over 13000 metal releases each. 

I understand people who say they are no longer interested in following new music and, sure, I sometimes question the wisdom of doing it myself. If I only listened to the stuff I own as physical copies I would never be short of something I hadn't listened to in a good while, so why bother? Well, for me, I may well be like the smack addict trying to relive that incredible first high. I just keep chasing that unbeatable buzz I get when discovering something new that blows me away, no matter how much shit I have had to wade through to find it, it always seems worth while. Also, now I am getting into my twilight years, most of the surprises life throws your way are downright unpleasant, so it's great to find something unexpected that is amazing rather than fucking dreadful.

There’s no reason why you’d need to concentrate on brand-new releases over the incredible weight of the previous 53 years of metal to achieve that buzz though. You’re actually better off concentrating on older releases that you haven’t checked out yet but have stood the test of time.

There’s no reason why you’d need to concentrate on brand-new releases over the incredible weight of the previous 53 years of metal to achieve that buzz though. You’re actually better off concentrating on older releases that you haven’t checked out yet but have stood the test of time.

Absolutely, Daniel. And i do that too, as my embracing of the Horde and it's previously undiscovered (by me) wonders will attest and which provided me many such great moments. But, as is evident, my particular passion is all things doom and by now I have covered an awful lot of the older stuff worth listening to and, rightly or wrongly, I like to keep abreast of what is currently going on in the doom metal scene.

I have also been trying to fill in any gaps in my Fallen knowledge by going through the releases I haven't rated yet on the Academy clan chart. I know many of you will probably roll your eyes at my doom metal obsession and lack of diversity in my listening habits, but I make no apologies for it - I'm too old for that shit any more and nowadays I like to do what I like to do and fuck the rest (curmudgeonly old man rant ovet!)

But, as is evident, my particular passion is all things doom and by now I have covered an awful lot of the older stuff worth listening to

That’s a very good point actually. It hadn’t occurred to me previously,