The Disappearance of bands in popular music.

[Mart68]

In a lot of cities the overheads have increased dramatically making that harder to do. Back then the cover charges didn't need to be so high and audiences could get some live music entertainment for less than the cost of their drinks. Here in Boston the number of live music venues has dwindled depressingly in the last quarter century. There are still plenty of students here but the cost of college education has also inflated badly and there are fewer undergrads taking the old casual approach to their studies.

Same here. Also back in the 1980s and early 1990s we had mass unemployment - lots of new bands emerged. Now youngsters have to stay in education until they are 18 and there are jobs available after that. Much harder to start a 'state-sponsored' band.

 

[Multicore]

Same here. Also back in the 1980s and early 1990s we had mass unemployment - lots of new bands emerged. Now youngsters have to stay in education until they are 18 and there are jobs available after that. Much harder to start a 'state-sponsored' band.

Council housing and the dole were cultural infrastructure projects.

 

[Multicore]

one should Not merely disregard Rick Beato's videos,..

Cant do. I find him more annoying and Ricky Gervais and Mr. Beast combined.

 

[holdingpants01]

You have to remember he was, and mostly is in every of his videos, only talking about top charting pop music. Don't extrapolate it to music in general, there are more bands than ever just not in the extreme mainstream, but at this point no one who actually listen to current music cares about that anyway

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

I think people here have some good ideas on why this might be at the current time.

It seems to me, based on vague impressions of the times before me and about music I rarely listen to, that this is something old that is new again. Pre-1960 I can think of some names of singers, band leaders, and individual musicians. But no real bands (other than band leader names bands of course.) The band as the MAIN entity seems to start to rise late 50s early 60s. The main performer was the draw before that, the group around them not so much.

I just quickly looked at the top 10 songs for each decade, and "bands" seem to be higher in numbers in the 60s-90s, with maybe more names cropping up in the 90s. Before and after, names of people are in higher numbers. That's from a quick skim, not actually counting, btw.

Go back far enough, and you get sheet music sales figures. Song only, no performers at all on the list.

 

[Multicore]

They are but it's only in my dotage that I've started to appreciate them and I'll probably never get through their whole back catalogue now.

I wouldn't recommend trying. The Fall's catalog of recordings is not as bad as Laswell, Anthony Braxton, Noël Akchoté, or Buckethead but it's still too big for most people to get their arms around, myself included. I've been a fan since the 80s and I never even thought about trying to be completist with them. I don't think that's in the spirit of The Fall. There can be a point of negative returns when adding minor pieces can spoil the picture you have so far.

 

[Multicore]

It seems to me, based on vague impressions of the times before me and about music I rarely listen to, that this is something old that is new again. Pre-1960 I can think of some names of singers, band leaders, and individual musicians. But no real bands (other than band leader names bands of course.) The band as the MAIN entity seems to start to rise late 50s early 60s. The main performer was the draw before that, the group around them not so much.

I just quickly looked at the top 10 songs for each decade, and "bands" seem to be higher in numbers in the 60s-90s, with maybe more names cropping up in the 90s. Before and after, names of people are in higher numbers. That's from a quick skim, not actually counting, btw.

There were plenty of bands before that transition. What you're seeing there is the effects of mass marketing of recordings taking over in popular music.

Interestingly, one of the motives for the transition to singers as the front of stage stars of bands was the Musicians Union strike of 1942-44. The strike was against the recording companies and concerned royalties. The recording companies discovered that glamorous crooners sell just as well as if not better than union musicians. Then Elvis began the golden era of pop that grumpy dads and grandads like RB just won't effing stop moaning about having passed.

 

[Multicore]

You have to remember he was, and mostly is in every of his videos, only talking about top charting pop music.

Why should we care about a category of recordings defined in that way?

It's a serious question. I have my idea why RB cares but idk about others.

 

[Petevid]

Is another factor the diminishing number of live venues for bands to play?
It's no fun being in a band if you can't get gigs , less so if you're a solo artist just putting stuff out.

 

[Balle Clorin]

The last good band I got hooked on was Dire Straits,, in 1979. Since then new bands or artists became kind of boring

 

[Kagemusha]

but Oasis is back on track , I gess they will only play 90s song and is it only for the money.
I did like Oasis by the way.

 

[RayDunzl]

I have a tentative answer:

You form a band, it goes to hell, nobody gets paid.

Or...

You contract with the backers of some wannabe to play a certain number of gigs or create a certain number of tracks, get paid, and repeat.

 

[RayDunzl]

I gotta admit this AI stuff has its uses:

You
zappa song where band members lament not making any money if they are so famous

Sent by Copilot:
The song you’re thinking of is likely “We’re Only In It for the Money” by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. This album, released in 1968, satirizes the music industry and the counterculture of the 1960s. The title itself is a sarcastic jab at the idea that the band was only interested in making money.

One notable instance is from the album “Uncle Meat”, where Zappa included a recorded conversation with band member Jimmy Carl Black, who complained about the band’s financial struggles.

Sent by you:
which song was that on uncle meat?

Sent by Copilot:
The song you’re referring to is “If We’d All Been Living in California…” from the album “Uncle Meat” by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. In this track, Jimmy Carl Black laments about the band’s financial struggles despite their fame.

 

[Multicore]

You form a band, it goes to hell, nobody gets paid.

Or...

You contract with the backers of some wannabe to play a certain number of gigs or create a certain number of tracks, get paid, and repeat.

Fair enough but that always applied and still does so it doesn't explain the transition from bands back to crooners.

 

[D2013]

Imo, its because an individual is easier to control/watch than a group of individuals, so i think labels just focus more on individuals.

It's also far easier to do something stupid and tank your career via social media today. Imagine how bad some of the bands from the 70's and 80's would look, if they had access to smartphones, social media, etc like artists today do.

 

[RayDunzl]

Fair enough but that always applied and still does so it doesn't explain the transition from bands back to crooners.

The dust blows forward and the dust blows back - Don Glen Vliet

 

[Chr1]

AI, Autotune, electronic, solo vs bands, crooners vs orchestras, way back to tribal drumming...

Music, like everything else evolves. I say embrace this evolution and diversity. Why not? Rock'nRoll is still alive and well. It's just not "pop music" anymore. Just cohabiting with numerous other genres now.
No one is saying that you have to like or listen to it all.
But choice is a good thing surely?

Anyhoo FFS, surely we can stop moaning about it not being like the good old days anymore.
Reckon it would get kinda boring if it was personally...

(Shouting at clouds.)

 

[spigot]

It's perhaps less likely that a group of people think they can make a living in music in a post-internet world, where a song can be uploaded by one person and downloaded for free by anyone. Might change when everything is connected and they go the videogame route with encryption, which could be another 50 years. Many 'solo' artists I like are a collaboration with producers, which has the advantage of them switching to a young songwriting partner still in their creative peak when someone hits the creative wall. I also don't follow the charts, just sample new releases. Like movies, I'm glad that sensibilities aren't pickled in aspic.

 

[Axo1989]

There were plenty of bands before that transition. What you're seeing there is the effects of mass marketing of recordings taking over in popular music.

Interestingly, one of the motives for the transition to singers as the front of stage stars of bands was the Musicians Union strike of 1942-44. The strike was against the recording companies and concerned royalties. The recording companies discovered that glamorous crooners sell just as well as if not better than union musicians. Then Elvis began the golden era of pop that grumpy dads and grandads like RB just won't effing stop moaning about having passed.

Yes, interesting. The economics/politics/logistics of production likely affected the music we get to hear for as long as music has existed.

 

[Axo1989]

Many of these bands also do everything (artworks, songwriting, production, distribution, marketing etc.) on their own. No need for production studios and record labels to be involved in the process. I also listen to a lot of electronic music / synthwave artists where one-person-projects are even more common. To me this is really impressive. In addition, these artists often have no problem crossing genre boundaries and providing some variety. In contrast, chart music is "orchestrated" in all aspects; the artist is just a small cog in the big machine. Originality cannot arise in this way because the end product is carefully tailored to the target group in all aspects.

I would listen to more electronic (and electronic variants of other genres) than actual metal, but the latter is particularly group-oriented so suited my reply to the OP, and as you say the former are often characterised by on-person projects.

I agree about chart music too, but we do see singer/songwriter in the charts (somewhat stochastically) who develop their own material, or do so in collaboration with producers. They also highlight the exigencies of music marketing, which even successful semi-independent artists are subject to: I recall an article a while back where FKA Twigs and others were struggling against demands to produce TikTok clips before singles, singles before albums, etc.