That’s an interesting idea, but I believe your right that much modern music have the problem that it all sounds similar. Once in a while some artist stands out, but so much modern R&B, pop and rock is so simular that you can switch songs between artists and no one would know.

It might be survivour bias and was always the case that most music sounded similar within a given time period, but it could also be a result of high prompted and manufactured artists. The article does sort of touches on this subject when talking about which artists get promoted. That’s really what we’re seeing in movies, TV, design and much more. The risk is eliminated and only the safest option is push forward.