I think this is along the lines of my thoughts.
... most of todays music seems to be easily forgotten/ fades away after its hype...
This happens because there is no deliverable, strong meaning or message, to the lyrics. Unfortunately the artists that take the opposite approach to this are shut down by record companies and have to resort to recording their own songs and self promote everything.
In many cases artists wrote their songs in the past because it meant something to them and they are telling the listeners what is going on in their lives or the world through a means of artistic enhancement. Listen to Johnny cash, Bruce Springsteen, & Merle Haggard... or even Rage Against the Machine or Rancid.
"Born in the USA" - Springsteen... for example is one of the most misunderstood songs of the 80's. Reagan used it in his campain to endorse patriotism when in fact Springsteen was conveying the loss of a real sense of patriotic pride. In the song he talks about how the working class no longer had a say in the foreign policy or decisions made by the government as a whole. The chorus of “Born in the U.S.A.” was a exclamation of sorrow. It was a hollow cry of patriotism that once was, but now ceased to exist.
If the president and his campaign didn't pay attention to anything but the title of the song, how can we expect posterity to think differently.
...I think music plays a huge role these days...
The role of music of today does not play the same part as it used to play for older fellas or younger "thinkers", if you will.
Many young people today are spoon-fed meanings of things and take them for what they are told those meanings are instead of what the are truly meant to be interpreted as.
The fact of whether an artist writes their own music or not, is a direct reflection of what they are in the business for. Some people have a good voice, good looks, or they can dance; therefore, they are not in it to say "Hey! this is what I feel and think about a particular aspect of something" they are in it to display their talent, and make money off of it.