What I have personally noticed over the last 15 years or so is the move away from melody and towards chord progressions and layering. This has the effect of producing more complex music (many times courtesy of modern digital technology) but nevertheless music that generally is forgettable. When I have my family in the car on the weekends and I'm forced to listen to the radio, I'm amazed at the lack of melody in most songs as well as the same progression, structure, and timbre between songs. They are so similar it's extremely difficult to recall which song is which if you take away the vocals. I think modern pop has attempted to replace instrumental melody with a sort of vocal melody that stands out for easy identification. This, I presume, is because of the nature of modern pop. Many "artists" are solo performers who have a brand to sell so the people writing songs for them make it such that the song is built to bolster the brand/image rather than attempting to structure the song in the best way musically.
The switch away from melody is also extremely present in soundtracks. Think about John Williams who, in my opinion, is the "master of melody". Every time he creates a soundtrack there are instantly recognizable melodies and motifs. Just reading the following words - Harry Potter, Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, The Godfather - and you could probably hum any of those melodies on command. Or at least you could instantly identify it if you heard it. Contrast that with someone like Hans Zimmer (who is excellent, BTW). But he's a more "modern" composer, right? And if you look at his stuff you'll see that he's basically a "master of timbre", which is why someone like Hans Zimmer stands out in the modern era where, as the article states, timbral variety has gone down. In fact, I would argue that some of Zimmer's best work are the ones where he actually combines his timbral mastery with melody. Things like Gladiator and Pirates of the Caribbean.
The switch away from melody is also extremely present in soundtracks. Think about John Williams who, in my opinion, is the "master of melody". Every time he creates a soundtrack there are instantly recognizable melodies and motifs. Just reading the following words - Harry Potter, Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, The Godfather - and you could probably hum any of those melodies on command. Or at least you could instantly identify it if you heard it. Contrast that with someone like Hans Zimmer (who is excellent, BTW). But he's a more "modern" composer, right? And if you look at his stuff you'll see that he's basically a "master of timbre", which is why someone like Hans Zimmer stands out in the modern era where, as the article states, timbral variety has gone down. In fact, I would argue that some of Zimmer's best work are the ones where he actually combines his timbral mastery with melody. Things like Gladiator and Pirates of the Caribbean.