(I read this March 2021 article online and thought it was very interesting. I want to share a few excerpts. I'm bolding parts for emphasis.)
“It’s funny, when the first Maroon 5 album came out [in 2002] there were still other bands,” the band’s frontman Adam Levine told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe this month. “I feel like there aren’t any bands any more … I feel like they’re a dying breed.” Levine was quick to clarify that he meant bands “in the pop limelight” but the internet doesn’t really do clarification, [...]
When Maroon 5 broke through in the 00s, there were new bands forming all the time, many of which quickly proceeded to go platinum and headline arenas. In the realm of pure pop, meanwhile, talent shows such as The X Factor became a reliable incubator of girl groups and boybands, from Girls Aloud to One Direction. No longer. Popular music’s centre of gravity has undeniably moved towards solo artists, at least when it comes to serious commercial success. This paradigm shift has been obvious for a while now and has accelerated across genres.
Whichever metric you use, the picture is clear. Right now, there are only nine groups in the UK Top 100 singles, and only one in the Top 40. [...] There are duos and trios, but made up of solo artists guesting with each other. In Spotify’s Top 50 most-played songs globally right now, there are only three groups, [...] and only six of the 42 artists on the latest Radio 1 playlist are bands [...]
Rock and pop now exist in different spheres – even the biggest bands struggle to crack the streaming-driven Top 20 – but bands are on the back foot within alternative music itself. One theory is that major labels avoid bands because solo artists are cheaper and easier to handle. Not so, says Jamie Oborne, whose Dirty Hit label has found success with bands (the 1975, Wolf Alice) and solo artists (Beabadoobee, Rina Sawayama). “We’re actively trying to sign bands,” he says. “I’m desperate to find a really young band that I can help develop.”
The problem is, he says, there aren’t that many around. “It’s more likely now that a kid will make music in isolation because of technology. When I first met the 1975, they were all friends meeting in a room to make noise. So much is done in bedrooms these days, so you’re more likely to be by yourself.”
Ben Mortimer, co-president of Polydor Records, says that cost is more of an issue for artists than for labels. “If you’re young and inspired to become a musician, you face a choice. If you go the band route, you need to find bandmates with a similar vision, you need expensive instruments and equipment, and you need to get out on the road to hone your craft. On the other hand, you could download Ableton [production software], shut your bedroom door and get creating straight away. Culture is shaped by technology.”
“Starting a band is hugely expensive,” says Joff Oddie, guitarist with Wolf Alice. “You need an immense amount of equipment and a lot of space. I spent most of my student loan on rehearsal space. Travelling is expensive. Anything that can be done to make being in a band tenable for young artists is good, because the fear is that we’ll lose that tradition. I think it would be a disaster if it’s only open to middle-class kids.” [...]
The ability to create laptop symphonies has also changed the shape of those bands that have thrived. [...]
[Section talking about how band drama of previous years has been replaced by today's reality TV and social media.]
In Asia, though, it’s an entirely different story. “Idol” groups, painstakingly assembled, trained, styled and choreographed for maximum appeal, have been at the forefront of Japanese and Korean pop for decades. K-Pop stars BTS are the world’s biggest pop group. “Strategically, this system has more to offer to the fans than a solo artist,” says Shin Cho, head of K-Pop and J-Pop at Warner Music Asia. “Individual fans have their own favourite members but also appreciate the chemistry in a group. There can also be sub-group projects that offer something different. The group format is viewed as more dynamic because there is simply more to do and show compared to a solo artist.” [...]
The challenge posed by all pop cultural trends is to work out whether or not it is a permanent structural shift or just another phase. The right group at the right time, whether it is the Strokes or the Spice Girls, can change everything. In the short term, the pandemic has made it impossible for new bands to form and threatens the survival of the regional venue circuit on which they depend, [...] Yet Oborne remains optimistic.
“I’m excited about the wave of creativity that’s going to follow this period that we’ve just lived through,” he says. “I feel this hankering in youth culture for real experience and connection. I’m still quite the romantic when it comes to music. Look at Fontaines DC. I see a picture of them and wish I was in a band. It’s the same thing as walking down the street with your friends and feeling like you’re part of something. Anything’s possible.”
Regardless of trends in music technology, streaming and celebrity culture, there is still a lot to be said for being able to share the pleasures and pressures of life in the music industry with a group of peers. Having released four solo albums as well as seven with Maxïmo Park, Paul Smith is well-placed to compare the two scenarios.
“I can get things done a lot quicker as a solo artist,” he says. “I can choose the artwork, decide the tracklisting: little things that take us weeks because we have an egalitarian mindset. You can make a bit more money. But I love the communal aspect of being in a band. You’re sharing everything: sharing the profits but also sharing the load. If you’re a big solo star and you’re not enjoying it, it must be one of the loneliest places you can be.”
“It’s funny, when the first Maroon 5 album came out [in 2002] there were still other bands,” the band’s frontman Adam Levine told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe this month. “I feel like there aren’t any bands any more … I feel like they’re a dying breed.” Levine was quick to clarify that he meant bands “in the pop limelight” but the internet doesn’t really do clarification, [...]
When Maroon 5 broke through in the 00s, there were new bands forming all the time, many of which quickly proceeded to go platinum and headline arenas. In the realm of pure pop, meanwhile, talent shows such as The X Factor became a reliable incubator of girl groups and boybands, from Girls Aloud to One Direction. No longer. Popular music’s centre of gravity has undeniably moved towards solo artists, at least when it comes to serious commercial success. This paradigm shift has been obvious for a while now and has accelerated across genres.
Whichever metric you use, the picture is clear. Right now, there are only nine groups in the UK Top 100 singles, and only one in the Top 40. [...] There are duos and trios, but made up of solo artists guesting with each other. In Spotify’s Top 50 most-played songs globally right now, there are only three groups, [...] and only six of the 42 artists on the latest Radio 1 playlist are bands [...]
Rock and pop now exist in different spheres – even the biggest bands struggle to crack the streaming-driven Top 20 – but bands are on the back foot within alternative music itself. One theory is that major labels avoid bands because solo artists are cheaper and easier to handle. Not so, says Jamie Oborne, whose Dirty Hit label has found success with bands (the 1975, Wolf Alice) and solo artists (Beabadoobee, Rina Sawayama). “We’re actively trying to sign bands,” he says. “I’m desperate to find a really young band that I can help develop.”
The problem is, he says, there aren’t that many around. “It’s more likely now that a kid will make music in isolation because of technology. When I first met the 1975, they were all friends meeting in a room to make noise. So much is done in bedrooms these days, so you’re more likely to be by yourself.”
Ben Mortimer, co-president of Polydor Records, says that cost is more of an issue for artists than for labels. “If you’re young and inspired to become a musician, you face a choice. If you go the band route, you need to find bandmates with a similar vision, you need expensive instruments and equipment, and you need to get out on the road to hone your craft. On the other hand, you could download Ableton [production software], shut your bedroom door and get creating straight away. Culture is shaped by technology.”
“Starting a band is hugely expensive,” says Joff Oddie, guitarist with Wolf Alice. “You need an immense amount of equipment and a lot of space. I spent most of my student loan on rehearsal space. Travelling is expensive. Anything that can be done to make being in a band tenable for young artists is good, because the fear is that we’ll lose that tradition. I think it would be a disaster if it’s only open to middle-class kids.” [...]
The ability to create laptop symphonies has also changed the shape of those bands that have thrived. [...]
[Section talking about how band drama of previous years has been replaced by today's reality TV and social media.]
In Asia, though, it’s an entirely different story. “Idol” groups, painstakingly assembled, trained, styled and choreographed for maximum appeal, have been at the forefront of Japanese and Korean pop for decades. K-Pop stars BTS are the world’s biggest pop group. “Strategically, this system has more to offer to the fans than a solo artist,” says Shin Cho, head of K-Pop and J-Pop at Warner Music Asia. “Individual fans have their own favourite members but also appreciate the chemistry in a group. There can also be sub-group projects that offer something different. The group format is viewed as more dynamic because there is simply more to do and show compared to a solo artist.” [...]
The challenge posed by all pop cultural trends is to work out whether or not it is a permanent structural shift or just another phase. The right group at the right time, whether it is the Strokes or the Spice Girls, can change everything. In the short term, the pandemic has made it impossible for new bands to form and threatens the survival of the regional venue circuit on which they depend, [...] Yet Oborne remains optimistic.
“I’m excited about the wave of creativity that’s going to follow this period that we’ve just lived through,” he says. “I feel this hankering in youth culture for real experience and connection. I’m still quite the romantic when it comes to music. Look at Fontaines DC. I see a picture of them and wish I was in a band. It’s the same thing as walking down the street with your friends and feeling like you’re part of something. Anything’s possible.”
Regardless of trends in music technology, streaming and celebrity culture, there is still a lot to be said for being able to share the pleasures and pressures of life in the music industry with a group of peers. Having released four solo albums as well as seven with Maxïmo Park, Paul Smith is well-placed to compare the two scenarios.
“I can get things done a lot quicker as a solo artist,” he says. “I can choose the artwork, decide the tracklisting: little things that take us weeks because we have an egalitarian mindset. You can make a bit more money. But I love the communal aspect of being in a band. You’re sharing everything: sharing the profits but also sharing the load. If you’re a big solo star and you’re not enjoying it, it must be one of the loneliest places you can be.”
