Thank the suits - lawyers, accountants, that have hijacked the music business (& just about everything else). These are people that know little to nothing about the creative process. All they care about is results, which to them means money. They aren’t happy unless they can fit something into a category. Thanks to them and their marketing there are now main genres; rock, jazz, etc., but under each there can be as many sub-genres as these clowns can make up.
Yacht Rock - really?!
And yes I get that it’s a business and money has to be made in order for it to survive. But in such a creative field it can’t be the sole driving factor.
These days recordings can be made in someone’s bedroom but still, to achieve much success one must rely on the marketing muscle of about 3 major corporations and if it don’t fit their category . . .
I think Chris Blackwell was one of the last major label owners that gave more independent minded artists a chance. He was partially responsible for helping make Reggae popular. But now his labels have been sucked up by the mega marketing corps.
To be fair, some sub-genres can be helpful descriptives of certain types of music, but it’s become ridiculous. If an artist doesn’t quite fit a category they might as well quit because the industry bigwigs can’t/won’t market them.
At one time radio would play all across various genres. That would now be almost unheard of to hear on a single station. Now there’s separate stations for each genre. Of course radio is now controlled by only about 3 large corporations. It’s been years since I’ve had a radio in my home.
You need to avoid people like this. They proliferate because too few people (especially politicians) have the backbone to simply tell them to F Off. Common words & phrases have had their meanings skewed to suit whatever agenda might be popular that month. Largely thanks social media & the attention hounds it attracts.