Is Rock Dead?

[Johnny-Too-Good]

This is the question being posed in the latest edition of 'Classic Rock', and it is one that has been running through my mind for a number of years now. Right at the root of this question is the availability of music via the internet, be it downloads, streaming or Youtube. It could be said that younger rock devotees have 50-60 years of rock history to wade through without bothering with newer bands. Also the support of the record companies, with the huge advances to up and coming bands has all but gone.
You have to ask the question 'Who will be topping the bill' at the various festivals in 10 years time, when the current crop of (already fairly old) favourites are not around?
I admit to being as guilty as anybody in dwelling on the great music of the past, but I do fear for the future of rock music.

 

[LG]

^^I haven't got an answer, music itself will endure the good stuff anyway. The future looks bleak to me, Quincy Jones said as much when asked what he thought of the state of the music business.

We'll have to see where the digital age ends up, now that people don't want to buy full albums but singles we could be seeing the end of an era and a return to artists pouring everything into one or two songs and hoping for lightning to strike.

I'm getting old now, and many younger folks in the forum might be tired of hearing it but the Golden Age of Contemporary music is definitely over, we are watching the twilight right now.

 

[Aktivator]

I read the article and thought it was one of the worst articles I've read. rock is far from dead and fact it's been in a revival for several years these same articles were coming out in 2000 also. To me this article was written by someone who likes hard rock which could be loosing its audience . However, modern rock is still big(add in folk rock, singer/songwriter)although it's not about album sales anymore. It's about downloads, live shows and other ways to take in money.

This article also is written with the idea if the band isn't making millions it doesn't exist. Bands today understand it can be a nice living playing music but your not going to be a millionaire. I will post some real data on the state of music later if someone is interested.
The fact is there are more bands making music than ever before but the genres are very mixed together so you can't classify most of it as rock. By the way there are plenty of great festivals with great bands headlining. Hell I can only afford one or two this year and it's hard to pick which one.

the one genre people here know better than me is metal. What is the state of metal bands I've got no clue.

 

[mrJim]

I have no answer and I doubt any of us could really know. but I will this

it does take a genius to look around and see that the future is aging and there isn't a replacement plan. Who is honestly going to be able to replace the guy in Aktivator's signature .. Neil young or Iggy pop or Bowie, Alice Cooper, Ozzy... heck we don't even know who replaces Motley Crew (so here's to hoping they tour till their 70) think about it who replaced the Ramones. not who is the next to come and go but replace and stay.

Blues and jazz had others emerge when the guard left us.

I honestly don't think it has anything to do with the media. it has to do more with culture. Kids spend hour up on hour playing Xbox or with the text and smartphones. or scoring big with sports, where you can be rich and unaccountable for actions outside the law. they are not paying with guitars and drums so you never find the born talent or develop it. they think about what their entitled to not working their way out of where they are.

the media is just the most recent product of society... it doesn't make society what it is.

 

[LG]

While I respect your opinion AK I disagree with you.

Today's bands pale by comparison to the ones we grew up with in almost every aspect.

Apple and i-tunes and corporate FM homogenized radio has destroyed one of our greatest resources for music. Sure you can go online and stream a YT vid, but we've lost something precious the independent stations that had their own identity and would play anything.

Music business is in a state of flux, how it turns out is anyone's guess.

Singles are now the bread and butter for most artists, the days of albums being released could be at an end except for the massively successful artists.(When Lifeson stated RUSH might not do another full length album release that was a revelation to me.)

There will always be music, and musicians but to say things are great is to deny what's happened in the last 20 years. Ask just about any up and coming artist if they would love the contracts the labels offered in the 70's 80's and even 90's I'll bet it would be a deafening yes.

Is Rock dead, no I don't think it will ever die out but right now it's a struggle for the whole industry.

 

[mrJim]

LG spending on music overall is down across the board. no one (relatively speaking) is buying full albums.

yet and get this... statistics say Downloads are on the rise for singles and Albums.

all this and the music industry makes more money on Albums than on singles.

If something doesn't give this is going to be a Music issue not just Rock issue.

I personally think you are going to see more direct independent sales.. that's if there actually any real talent left out there.

Jim

 

[LG]

^^Quincy Jones commented that Justin Timberlake sold the most CD's of any artist last year, 2 million more or less. It might seem like a lot but not compared to the glory days. I know he's not a rock artist, it's hard to really describe his music in one category and even though I'm not a fan I respect his talent.

Downloading, counterfeiting, i-tunes, FM radio changing for the worse, add it all up and you have a recipe for disaster. That's what I mean about the industry being in a state of flux, it will sort itself out for better or worse within a few years then we'll see how it looks.

As far as Hard Rock/Metal goes, they have been my haven the last 5+ years especially European bands which have put out great music that rekindled my interest. But they are not getting rich either, it's a struggle for everyone to keep making enough money to keep making music.

 

[Aero]

...I honestly don't think it has anything to do with the media. it has to do more with culture. Kids spend hour up on hour playing Xbox or with the text and smartphones. or scoring big with sports, where you can be rich and unaccountable for actions outside the law. they are not paying with guitars and drums so you never find the born talent or develop it. they think about what their entitled to not working their way out of where they are.

the media is just the most recent product of society... it doesn't make society what it is.

I agree with the theory that kids just aren't growing up mastering their craft like they once did. These young musicians nowadays barely know how to play their instruments because they're just not spending the time learning the instrument. Too many distractions around them.

Of course, this is just part of the problem and I've already written posts about this subject before so I don't want to post some long rant. Put simply, the record companies don't even want to invest in talented bands if they can't market them and recoup their investment immediately. So instead of finding the talent and nurturing it, they are creating a cheap model to reproduce time and time again that is easily marketable.

That's why rock music and for that matter, every other genre out there has taken a steep decline in musicianship and creativity.

 

[Aktivator]

^^Quincy Jones commented that Justin Timberlake sold the most CD's of any artist last year, 2 million more or less. It might seem like a lot but not compared to the glory days. I know he's not a rock artist, it's hard to really describe his music in one category and even though I'm not a fan I respect his talent.

Downloading, counterfeiting, i-tunes, FM radio changing for the worse, add it all up and you have a recipe for disaster. That's what I mean about the industry being in a state of flux, it will sort itself out for better or worse within a few years then we'll see how it looks.

As far as Hard Rock/Metal goes, they have been my haven the last 5+ years especially European bands which have put out great music that rekindled my interest. But they are not getting rich either, it's a struggle for everyone to keep making enough money to keep making music.

LG live music out sells albums sales these days. It's a very changed world. You need to stop looking at album sales as the only revenue stream. Festivals are a machine now and they have mix music with gaming, sports and other entertainment. The major festivals in America are growing and expending to two weeks, they are selling out immediately too.

The music industry has comeback from its low in the mid 00's. Piracy is down and streaming, vinyl sales are up (yes a small niche market at 5 million, downloads purchasing up(mostly singles). The outlook is for music revenue to increase at least up to 2017. Sites like spotify are what is the wild card right now if it keeps growing the music industry can real grow.

Worldwide music is growing not declining. many untapped markets.

guitar sales are up since 2004. most other instruments too.

its not about mega bucks bands today can make a decent living and a few do strike gold. However music continues to diversify making more sub genre and tapping into other bands income, its why you hear bands complaining. its not lack of music but too much music.

go look up the stats.

 

[Musikwala]

You're asking this question about 14 years too late.

This was a hot topic around the year 2000 or so. My stance on this is as follows:

Rock is definitely not dead. But it has gone underground. There are currently tons and tons of rock bands on independent labels. I think, and this is only my personal opinion... I think we have compromised quality for quantity. It is much easier to promote and distribute music nowadays via the internet. So there are too many amateur musicians that have come out of the woodwork. These thousands and thousands of indie bands with weird freaking band names have saturated the whole music space right now. We are drowning in bands. But how many can stand side by side along with greats like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Who etc.? Hardly any.

I also agree with Aktivator that the genres are all muddled right now. It is hard to classify new bands that are busy with a crazy mix of post rock, shoegaze and folk rock, for example.