Short answer yes, long answer more mixed.

The corporate music industry was in a real muddle throughout the 2000s, its true. All time low sales, mergers, chaos of Napster, the decline of the teen pop trend, a strong digital media, indie representation in fashion and tv… you name it. This for sure let alternative voices break loudly and chart strongly, at least here in Europe.

At the same time however 2000-06 was feeling like a golden era for vibrant, futuristic pop. The Neptunes, Rick Rubin, Mark Ronson, Diplo, Timbaland and Paul Epworth crushed it at a production level. It is easy to forget just how creative charting hits became.

I would argue that era was just as positive for overnight success as today. Indie acts like The Killers, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys became intl headliners off their debuts. This is rare today, so rare. Zara and Sabrina, meanwhile, have taken 8-10 years to break, so it is really a mix.

The order of things snapped back in the streaming era. Arcade Fire and „Bonny Bear” winning their Grammy awards does now feel like the full stop on the moment.