The business really isn't any more professionalised than it used to be. The popular music business has a long history going all the way back to popular printed

The business really isn't any more professionalised than it used to be. The popular music business has a long history going all the way back to popular printed sheet music in the 19th century. It's always been mercenary, manipulative, and cynical. Simon Napier-Bell - who used to manage Wham! and other familiar names - has written some fascinating books about it. They're a must read for anyone interested in the history. There are always competing forces pulling music towards simplicity and complexity. Whenever the complexity is squashed in one place it comes back in another. The biggest change over the last decade or so has been increasingly ornate production. In the 80s mixes were semi-automated, but you couldn't do much except change levels. Now you can automate everything - levels, EQ, EQ type, effects, effect parameters - with extreme precision and accuracy. So most modern mixes have constant subtle changes. They don't leap out like a key change, but (for example) the vocal tone and the effects on the vocal will often change phrase by phrase. Or even word by word.