Are Music Production Values Still Improving?

While it’s debatable whether or not the songwriting, performing and arranging skills of the average musician have consistently improved over the years – in fact, some would categorically argue that they’ve got worse – it’s widely assumed that music production standards have improved.

Even played through the cheapest speakers or headphones, mixes from ten, 20 and 30 years ago have a very different sound to those that are being created today, and – on a technical level at least – you’ll often hear it said that songs that are released now sound “better” than those from the past.

Indeed, in most cases, they certainly sound more polished. However, although there are rules that can be applied to it and techniques that can be learnt, music production is not an exact science.

One person’s understanding and opinion of what sounds ‘good’ might be completely different to someone else’s, and it’s tempting to ascribe quality to something simply because it sounds familiar and ‘of its time’.

It’s worth asking, then, if music production values really have improved. And, if they have, how much better can they get before some sort of quality ceiling might be reached?

Mixes from the 80s and early 90s are often really bright with clicky bass drums and ridiculous snares. Particularly before that period, records often sound unfinished because there are so many things that you could do now to improve them technically.

Go back 20 years and it’s even more marked. In part, this is down to analogue desks, and tape in particular rounding off the edges.

So, is it really true to say that today’s mixes are technically better than those from the past?