Vid above is self explanatory. Is this a real thing? Or just a quirk of the data? Is it a problem? Does anyone care?
Music The death of bands?
- Thread starter Pogue Mahone
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Vid above is self explanatory. Is this a real thing? Or just a quirk of the data? Is it a problem? Does anyone care?
It's probably easier/cheaper and less risky to invest in a solo project than a band for the capital in music.
I think it's quite simplistic. Main thing is consumption of media has changed. It's fairly stark that many bands aren't topping the charts, but the "death of bands" narrative isn't relevant when you're looking at singles. Vinyl is having a resurgence, I think looking at album sales might be a better metric. Or even live gates.
The biggest thing is definitely the death of smaller live music venues where bands used to have every opportunity to learn their craft. It’s been replaced with TikTok and the like where the would be front men and women have a very easy place to have their ego fix as a solo artist
It's all Chappell Swift and Dua Roan and Taylor Eilish and Billie Spice and Ice Lipa.
And Hozier. Fecking Hozier is everywhere.
And Hozier. Fecking Hozier is everywhere.
You can extend that to R&B groups, boy bands, even hip hop groups.
Probably just related to the genres of music that are currently popular. It'd be good to see what charts he's talking about.
There’s loads of bands around I’ve seen a band every other week for the whole last year, they just don’t happen to be in genres that’ll ever chart
Its cheaper for a singer to pay for computerized backing and keep all the royalties than it is to split royalties 4 or 5 ways.
Add in that songs now seem to have a dozen writers, and the band are just in teh way of profits.
Add in that songs now seem to have a dozen writers, and the band are just in teh way of profits.
Yeah I still mainly go see bands when I go to shows. Even the solo artists I can think of have a proper band performing with them. I'm also selfishly quite happy that what I enjoy isn't chart topping meaning they'll generally play smaller venues at lower ticket prices.
I used to be bothered about this, but not anymore.
I saw a similar video the other day, maybe it was Richard Osman, highlighting festival line ups compared to ten twenty years ago.
You know, thinking about it, he’s being massively disingenuous. He’s ignoring the 2000s and 2010s, presumably because that’s when streaming started. So he’s comparing pre-streaming eras with peak streaming. It’s the way that the “number one” is calculated that’s changed radically more so than bands dying, surely?
Absolute megabore live too, I saw him at Jazz Fest where many many others chose him over the Foo Fighters (I saw both somehow) but god it was just that one song and bored to tears everything else
I would probably choose him over the Foo Fighters. And I don’t like Hozier at all.
Where have all the bands gone
Long time passing
Where have all the bands gone
Long long time ago
Where have all the bands gone
Gone to tiktok everyone
When will they ever learn
When will they ever learn
Long time passing
Where have all the bands gone
Long long time ago
Where have all the bands gone
Gone to tiktok everyone
When will they ever learn
When will they ever learn
As someone who has to calculate and manage all those profit splits, I’m all for it. I fecking hate working on bands. Don’t even get me started on the mess of band members leaving.
I'm inclined to think the idea that people like to form parasocial relationships with solo artists plays a big role.
It seems that people have a vested interest in forming some kind of personal connection with artists and hence solo artists are probably more popular because it's easier to think we're connecting with individuals rather than whole groups.
K-Pop is a good thing to bring up but not because it represents a difference to the band vs. individual artist dichotomy, but rather because it's the epitome of this trend. i.e. Heavily manufactured and intended to be relatable.
That's a big thing in Korea because they have a huge structure for artificially forming bands but in the West I think it's easier for an artist to start from the ground up themselves, and then afterwards branding comes in to manufacture their image as a solo artist. I would guess that's preferred over an entire band because you're able to control the amount of variables. Historically it's always been a challenge to control bands because people tend to leave and do their own things.
You can see some wider shifts on this front in terms of celebritisation of individuals. For instance, kids supporting individual footballers over teams. It's not the norm sure but it's a much bigger thing than it ever was in the past.
As others say too, it's likely easier for people to get started as solo artists now the medium for delivery is largely focused on them as individuals. i.e. social media.
It seems that people have a vested interest in forming some kind of personal connection with artists and hence solo artists are probably more popular because it's easier to think we're connecting with individuals rather than whole groups.
K-Pop is a good thing to bring up but not because it represents a difference to the band vs. individual artist dichotomy, but rather because it's the epitome of this trend. i.e. Heavily manufactured and intended to be relatable.
That's a big thing in Korea because they have a huge structure for artificially forming bands but in the West I think it's easier for an artist to start from the ground up themselves, and then afterwards branding comes in to manufacture their image as a solo artist. I would guess that's preferred over an entire band because you're able to control the amount of variables. Historically it's always been a challenge to control bands because people tend to leave and do their own things.
You can see some wider shifts on this front in terms of celebritisation of individuals. For instance, kids supporting individual footballers over teams. It's not the norm sure but it's a much bigger thing than it ever was in the past.
As others say too, it's likely easier for people to get started as solo artists now the medium for delivery is largely focused on them as individuals. i.e. social media.
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Pretty much this.
Saw him at a festival this year. Thought he sounded great live but yeah, no song was memorable.
I was thinking about that earlier , but actually from the view that a wider, more musical audience has more interest in bands. Does the majority of the crowd care much about the rented band members backing up a solo artist? With bands that have recorded several albums together, each member is likely to have sections of the crowd that connect with them individually.
Perhaps there's less bands in the charts, though does anyone pay attention to charts anymore? Has streaming made that somewhat irrelevant? If you look beneath that even slightly, it doesn't feel like there are less bands in general.
I often feel overwhelmed, moreso than ever, about the amount of bands out there within the genres of music I like. Punk rock, indie/alt rock, the bajillion subgenres of heavy metal, and all the experimental stuff that blurs between those genres, all feel more populated than ever. Couple that with just how easy it is to access music now, even from the tiniest of artists, there might actually be too many bands. Well, not really, but it's impossible to hear them all, and my attention span and constant FOMO means I want to try and hear them all, and it's exhausting.
TLDR loads of bands. Just scratch the surface of the mainstream just a little bit, and there are a million billion bands. Go on Bandcamp, type in a genre of music you like, sort by 'new arrivals', you'll have hundreds of records released this week.
I often feel overwhelmed, moreso than ever, about the amount of bands out there within the genres of music I like. Punk rock, indie/alt rock, the bajillion subgenres of heavy metal, and all the experimental stuff that blurs between those genres, all feel more populated than ever. Couple that with just how easy it is to access music now, even from the tiniest of artists, there might actually be too many bands. Well, not really, but it's impossible to hear them all, and my attention span and constant FOMO means I want to try and hear them all, and it's exhausting.
TLDR loads of bands. Just scratch the surface of the mainstream just a little bit, and there are a million billion bands. Go on Bandcamp, type in a genre of music you like, sort by 'new arrivals', you'll have hundreds of records released this week.
Where have all the bands gone? Well, everywhere but Number 1, and that’s never really been a good barometer of success.
Loads of bands nowadays. Just go to a proper venue. Admittedly that’s becoming increasingly harder as so many close… but bands are doing just fine.
Loads of bands nowadays. Just go to a proper venue. Admittedly that’s becoming increasingly harder as so many close… but bands are doing just fine.
Rock music got relegated from mainstream popularity and into the “indie” scene. 90’s was the last great decade for it with some good stuff in the 000s but the start of the end.
Are they? I've heard British bands are really struggling since Brexit
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-uk-musicians-eu-tour-b2407129.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/news...xit-red-tape-hurts-uk-bands-touring-in-europe
Ive seen loads of bands this summer to packed out arenas big and small. but nearly all are from 90's early 00's
But sometimes I wonder am I just too lazy to discover new music?
But sometimes I wonder am I just too lazy to discover new music?
You dont need a band as much anymore as you did before i guess.
Yeah, I see bands all the time. I don’t think Richard Osman and his data from The Hit Parade are exactly fingers on the pulse stuff.
Death of bands within the charts Osman is referring to. Which says more about how those charts have changed, how streaming works and how mainstream success is now achieved than an actual lack of bands in the world.
In reality people have access to countless more bands now than they did in the past given how much easier it is to access music. The issue is more in how those acts get curated for a mainstream audience (i.e. there aren't the same sort of outlets for a select number of those bands to be framed and presented to a wider audience).
Though I do also think the ease of making music with fewer people involved and the financial realities of trying to make a living on tour lend themselves to more solo acts and duos.
In reality people have access to countless more bands now than they did in the past given how much easier it is to access music. The issue is more in how those acts get curated for a mainstream audience (i.e. there aren't the same sort of outlets for a select number of those bands to be framed and presented to a wider audience).
Though I do also think the ease of making music with fewer people involved and the financial realities of trying to make a living on tour lend themselves to more solo acts and duos.
There’s quite a big internal contradiction in that second paragraph.
The charts are no longer a good indicator of the music landscape.
When my teachers used to say "music isn't what it was back in my day" I promised myself I wouldn't become like that but I have.
112, Dru Hill, Next, Jagged Edge, Bone Thugz, Backstreet Boys, N*Sync, Boyz II Men....
I miss the music I grew up with
Does anyone really give a feck about the charts anymore? Christ, I used to sit there for hours with a cassette and the fingers hovering over the play/record button taping the entire top 40. These days nobody gives a flying feck what's number one with the exception of the artists themselves.
Partly it's that the sort of music that bands tend to make is just less popular right now. But the numbers are also skewed by the simple band/non-band comparison. A lot of bands are really just one person who writes everything with a more or less permanent band around them; that's really barely any different from a solo artist touring with a band. I mean, Jethro Tull is a band, but it's really close to 100% Ian Anderson's project. The band even changed members quite regularly, sometimes in fact everyone but Anderson himself in one fell swoop. In terms of band vs. solo artist, that dynamic is really no different from Kate Bush. And then you can go into whether New Kids on the Block or Take That really qualify as 'band music'.
I'm sure if you correct for that, you will still find a much smaller number of 'bands' topping the charts (again, due to evolving music preferences). But I do think the statistic as such isn't what this guy thinks it is.
I'm sure if you correct for that, you will still find a much smaller number of 'bands' topping the charts (again, due to evolving music preferences). But I do think the statistic as such isn't what this guy thinks it is.
Hozier deserves all the attention
It's a change in what's in the mainstream. There are many bands that are quite popular but they're not really selling well necessarily so they won't chart.
Streaming has killed the charts.
Even with the advent of downloads, there still had to be a parting of cash for someone to contribute to a song's chart position. The people who only ever put Radio 1 (or equivalent chart radio station on) without ever really buying anything weren't having any impact whatsoever. However, they're now all logging into Spotify, etc., putting on the "Top 40 Hits" playlist that's pushed to the top of their home screen, and just listening to that.
There were just two new entries in the latest UK top 40, none the week before, one the week before that, and another the week before that. Four weeks and just four new songs in the charts. There were 45 new entries in the charts across the same period 20 years ago.
Even with the advent of downloads, there still had to be a parting of cash for someone to contribute to a song's chart position. The people who only ever put Radio 1 (or equivalent chart radio station on) without ever really buying anything weren't having any impact whatsoever. However, they're now all logging into Spotify, etc., putting on the "Top 40 Hits" playlist that's pushed to the top of their home screen, and just listening to that.
There were just two new entries in the latest UK top 40, none the week before, one the week before that, and another the week before that. Four weeks and just four new songs in the charts. There were 45 new entries in the charts across the same period 20 years ago.
I hope you step on a Lego brick today.
I hope Dave Grohl does. Weird and annoying prick whose band makes music that is so dull, I already forget it while listening to it.
His stats about bands formed in the last 10 years are pretty wild. More convincing than the stats in the OP.