The concept of innovation has continued to balance at the tip of relevance in the past few years. The current lack of creativity in the minds that populate the entertainment business have made it obvious that new ideas are no longer required to please an audience.

By definition, innovation is “the introduction of something new,” as taken from the Merriam-Webster dictionary. If one wants to make it big in music, that meaning needs to escape their mind at once. It is an understandable that molding completely new material is near impossible, but after scanning the products that are being released to consumers, it is evident and clear that the effort that was once included in the art forms is no longer present.

The multi-genre melting pot that is music is a recent casualty in this horror that is sweeping the market. Award winning artists fall under the hypnosis of their producers and release music that is appealing to the radio waves and the ears of young adults regardless if there is already a song with the same rhythm or melody. In the end money claims an artist’s credibility as a free mind with an opinion on the world around them. Selling capital amount of records is apparently more important than the message that is being sent through the lyrics or riffs on a guitar.  In 2007, a battle erupted between Rappers Curtis Jackson (50 cent) and Kanye West. West’s album “Graduation” and Jackson’s album, “Curtis” were to both be released on the date September 11. Curtis said in a Fox News interview “I just don't view him as competition based on our previous sales histories.” The feud raged on until the release where “Graduation” decimated its opponent 957,000 units to 691,000.

Rapper Kanye West has recently fallen to the “flashing lights” of media and mediocrity after implementing the old but popular voice program known as Auto-tune into his album, “808s & Heartbreak”. Multiple artists in the pop genre have completed songs using this program such as Brittany Spears, but West has given it a new life and fueled the fire to the ever growing fad.

“I got a lot of backlash for the medium that I wanted to do this in,” said West in an interview hosted by www.hiphopdx.com. West should probably reevaluate how he creates his music if he truly wants to be seen as a great artist by his fans and critics. Building off a gimmick that has been run into the ground by previous artists does not advance the music industry in any way.

The decline of creativity is not only prominent in mainstream genres such as Hip-Hop, but also in lesser more niche areas like Death Metal or Hardcore. Genuine ideas by artists, no matter the genre will be few and far between among the mainstream and it does not seem like it will change. Spending more time developing ideas and writing is the most beneficial task that needs to be completed. Rushing out multiple albums and sacrificing something interesting just to meet a quota will not help the industry in anyway and it needs to be avoided at all costs.