>>24644372
This is more a /mu/ thing but I was thinking about it when that boomer Rick keeps harping on the fragmentation of the music biz. Gaylord is the biggest selling star in music but name recognition is fuckall compared to a medium band from the 70s-90s. There can’t be a new Michael Jackson, some kind of inescapable cultural touchstone. The Swiftie fanatics live on an isolated island.

Books have the same problem but the peak is even lower. Best selling shit currently includes romantasy titles nobody knows jack shit about outside their gooner fanbase. The “big names” tend to have started in a different era. Everyone still knows Stephen King because of previous decades of sales and adaptations. Even more niche names like a John Grisham or Tom Clancy has name recognition modern best sellers (even in airport sloppa) can’t compete with.

I think it’s partly why we keep recycling shit from about the 70s-early 00s. Movies, music, books. Same looks, ideas, even games. Stuck on repeat, sequels, legacy/spiritual sequels.
There’s a whole book trend that does only this. Julia (aka female pov 1984), James (black pov Twain), what if Shakespeare but woman pov has at least 4 books, greek myths but woman or gay have entire series. It’s like we’re waiting for a world war to shake culture out of complacency.