I see it as more of the same corporate 'streamlining' that's gone into other media. Much like movies and video games, pop music is being produced for a mass international audience. I've got friends in Indonesia and the Philippines that know more about modern American pop music, movies and video games than I do. Other than what comes on the radio at work I have no idea what's really popular these days.
That being said. I've heard lots of great modern music being produced you just have to look for it. Kinda like the way some of the best video games I've seen being made these days aren't giant AAA games with huge a Dev staff and budget, but small indie games with one or a few developers seem to be the real leaders in game innovation these days, a lot of the 'good' music being made isn't the stuff that comes on the radio or hits the top song lists of Spotify or whatever the kids use these days.
Loudness is kind of ridiculous these days though. But, I've noticed a big difference in songs I listen to that are intended to be released on vinyl(this still happens) vs songs that are intended for digital or CD release. The vinyl tracks are far less compressed, have moredynamic range, and are 'quieter', even for dance type tunes, than the digital ones, which have peaked red lots without any kind of amplification and their waveforms are basically just one big blob from start to finish. Compression and normalization have kinda wrecked the quality of a lot of music. One of Metallica's newer albums suffered from that badly, the song's weren't terrible but the mastering made them sound like shit. Then there's autotune...but that's a whole other pile of bullshit right there.
Famous for being so bad, Guitar Hero's development team asked for the original unmastered files, was granted their request, and then properly mastered them just so they could be included in the game without destroying the experience.
Guitar Hero's version of Death Magnetic was apparently pirated more times than rips of the authentic release. It was heavily praised for being a more clear, detailed mix, that didn't shove highs under the bus for muddy lows and generally ruined vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Nfqpr3ygSg for a comparison on the least ruined song on the album, that the author volume matched for the video. The original release had to be decreased 14dB to match the level of the GH3 release for this comparison.
Music is global, but it's also infinitely more diverse than it's ever been. There are no record company gate keepers anymore. There are more artists and genres than anyone can keep up with. A ton of it is fantastic, but it's so hard to find among the garbage :)
That being said. I've heard lots of great modern music being produced you just have to look for it. Kinda like the way some of the best video games I've seen being made these days aren't giant AAA games with huge a Dev staff and budget, but small indie games with one or a few developers seem to be the real leaders in game innovation these days, a lot of the 'good' music being made isn't the stuff that comes on the radio or hits the top song lists of Spotify or whatever the kids use these days.
Loudness is kind of ridiculous these days though. But, I've noticed a big difference in songs I listen to that are intended to be released on vinyl(this still happens) vs songs that are intended for digital or CD release. The vinyl tracks are far less compressed, have moredynamic range, and are 'quieter', even for dance type tunes, than the digital ones, which have peaked red lots without any kind of amplification and their waveforms are basically just one big blob from start to finish. Compression and normalization have kinda wrecked the quality of a lot of music. One of Metallica's newer albums suffered from that badly, the song's weren't terrible but the mastering made them sound like shit. Then there's autotune...but that's a whole other pile of bullshit right there.