There was once a time, many years ago, when I used to go to the movies a lot. For a long time, I used to go at least once a week. Eventually, both time and money became an issue, and going to the movies just didn’t happen very much any more. Sure, I’d get out to anything that had the name Marvel stamped on it, but by and large, trips to the theatre became much rarer. In 2015, I think I probably saw a total of three movies in the theatre.
It seems like I’ve been going to significantly more movies as of late (this Friday will be the fourth Friday in a row that I’ve gone to the theatre), and while the experience is obviously a little different from how it used to be, there’s one relatively minor change that’s really bugging me.
Back in the day, the pre-show used to feature a music segment where one of the hosts would talk to some musician or another about their upcoming or recently released album. These would almost always be Canadian indie musicians that nobody has ever heard of, and almost never would their musical styles appeal to me back then, but I think that nowadays I’d definitely look up some of the artists that were featured.
Now, there are just commercials for whatever mass-produced pop garbage is hot at the moment. Not even interviews, just the same commercials that you’d see on TV or YouTube.
Why did it disappear? I have no idea, really, but a little Googling suggests that the music segment was sponsored by SiriusXM. Presumably the sponsorship deal came to an end and the music interviews got axed in the process.
Like I said, I never really cared for most of the indie stuff that was featured before, but I definitely held a certain appreciation for the segment. It highlighted music that is underrepresented and tried to push people in the direction of finding something new. It was nice to see a mainstream media avenue give exposure to non-mainstream music; a painless way to introduce people to the idea that music exists outside of radio garbage.
Of course, the interviews were never long or in-depth, because it was just a short segment during the pre-show, but it was easily the most interesting segment. But that’s dead now. Instead, we just get told to buy the godawful new Ariana Grande album. It’s so disheartening.
The music segment wasn’t the only thing to go either. Nearly every segment with any sort of thought put into it has been axed in favour of more commercials and Toys R Us ads hosted by the most obnoxious kids on the planet. There aren’t even periodic trivia bits any more. I used to try to get to the movies early because I enjoyed the pre-show, but now I just get there early to make sure I get a decent seat.