Former Smiths front-man Morrissey has launched a scathing attack on the music industry and has reserved special criticism for two of today’s biggest selling artists.
Chart toppers Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith were both attacked by Morrissey as he made his withering observations on the current music scene.
According to NME, Morrissey told the Colorado based Boulder Weekly that the music industry is totally under the control of a couple of major labels who force feed the public a diet of artists like Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran. Morrissey claims that the likes of Smith and Sheeran are only successful because of the overwhelming levels of promotion supplied by their labels.
According to Spin Magazine, Morrissey claims that the level of control exerted by record companies means that music has become boring, safe, obvious and predictable. Sheeran and Smith are cited as the worst offenders.
“It’s very rare that a record label does something for the good of music. Thus we are force-fed such as Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith, which at least means that things can’t possibly get any worse. It is sad.”
This is hardly the first time that Sheeran and Smith have been attacked in this way. Earlier this year the Guardian called Sheeran the king of “bland pop” and suggested that poor Ed represented everything that was wrong with the music industry. When it came to the music award season Smith, Sheeran and George Ezra continue to win awards by the armload. As reported in Inquisitr this lead to accusations that Smith and Sheeran were a “nice, safe, predictable choice.”
According to Entertainment Weekly, Morrissey regrets that the dominance of acts like Sheeran and Smith means that it it is almost impossible for “surprise success stories” to break through. He says “there is no no spontaneity now and it all seems to be unsalvageable.”
Whilst Morrissey may not appreciate the talents of Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith the public most certainly does. Earlier this week, Smith won rave reviews for his performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Moon and Stars Festival in Switzerland. This evening sees Ed Sheeran play the first of three consecutive sold out shows at London’s 80,000-capacity Wembley Stadium. Sheeran’s shows sold out months in advance.
Earlier today Sheeran tweeted pictures of the final preparations for his Wembley show, joking with his 15 million followers that “they told me it was sold out, but no ones turned up yet.”
https://twitter.com/edsheeran/status/619453751682842624
What do Inquisitr readers think of Morrissey’s comments? Is he right to single out Smith and Sheeran for criticism, or is he just sad that he no longer gets the exposure that they do?
[Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]