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The demise of Rock Music has been well-documented and the only reminder of this genre are from the few "classic rock" radio stations around the country. Pop Music is the new genre of today's generation and Rock's last great band was in the early 1990s with Guns and Roses and Nirvana. Since then, music has consisted of pop music and hip-hop and there's no looking back because "rock and roll" may be dead (or in a 20 year coma, in this case) and it will never make a comeback.
The Music Charts Tell the Story
All non-believers, who don't think that "rock and roll" is dead, should take a look at today's music charts. Whether its Billboard or Rolling Stone or America's Top 40, the top of the charts are ruled by such artists as Rihanna, Lil' Wayne, Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars, and LMFAO, not one rock artist in the bunch.
If there was a "rock artist" in the top 40, many fans point to U2 or Coldplay or Maroon 5 or Hot Chelle Rae as the closest thing to represent rock and roll. These fans are surely mistaken because these bands have been sanitized to become pop music groups, playing "bubble gum" music for the masses.
If fans are going to talk about Rock Music, then we're talking such heavyweights like Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, and Nirvana just to name a few.
Back then, rock music was commercially-viable and had a heavy presence in the music charts but that hasn't been the case for the past 20 years.
Most important, rock fans who grew up in the "baby boomer" generation (born between 1946-1964) are getting older and with today's radio playing more pop music, their children will never know about Rock Music. These children will grow up looking at Rock Music in history books, thinking that the music is a "distant memory" and no longer relevant today.
All Music Has Been Turned into Pop Music
Today, the Pop Music has been represented by the likes of Lady Gaga, Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Lil' Wayne, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, and Rihanna.
Nowadays, record companies (only a few of them) have gone away from cultivating rock acts and moved to a factory of pop music stars. The individuality of a rock star has been made more into a "Barbie/Ken-type of singer" singing pop songs.
The primary goal for all talent scouts is to look for singers who will be a potential success in the mainstream. Most talent coordinators are not ashamed to say that they will only look for artists who fit the "commercial-appeal" category. Although the judges on the music reality shows like "American Idol," "America's Got Talent," and "X-Factor," praise the "individuality" of an artist, they are really looking for a mainstream artist above all else.
In other words, a talent scout would normally turn down a group or artist who would resemble a Jimi Hendrix or Led Zeppelin or Marvin Gaye and settle for another Britney Spears or Usher or Spice Girls.
The Future of Rock Music
Rock music was a force from the 1950s to the early 1990s but the genre was overcome by the commercially successful Pop Music. The only resemblance of rock music today has been reduced to "Classic Rock" in which the Rolling Stones, Rush, Neil Young, Steve Miller Band, AC/DC, Def Leppard, the Eagles, and Journey are still performing. Most of the band members average 60 years old and above. Most of these groups have released new albums, backed with a tour, but the records usually debut high on the charts but fade quickly and never heard from again.
The Classic Rock acts will soon reach their demise with no replacements in the future. Record companies and talents scouts have turned up their noses to look for any rock acts whatsoever. In the age of "did it, done it," a future rock star or band has to be above-exceptional in order to receive any notice from a talent scout.
The future of Rock Music will lie in the hands of independent rock acts and their fans. College students have done their best to keep the genre alive with local College rock stations. This segment is the lifeblood of independent rock and the genre's biggest fans. However, if there is "a saving grace," the social network may be the place where rock music as a whole can thrive. Nowadays, a rock artist or group may find a following from Facebook or Twitter and all it takes is a "movement" from this medium for a star to be born.
Pop Music Rules, Rock Music On "Life Support"
Record companies manipulated the rise of Pop Music and caused the demise of Rock and Roll. Many industry experts predicted the downfall of Rock and the record companies did not do a thing to prevent it. They failed to cultivate a new breed of rock stars and instead turned to commercial pop acts to boost their profits. The move is likened to a film company stopping itself from making "independent small films" and solely promoting "big budget films" with more commercial-appeal to the masses.
Music today has sapped itself of its "individuality" and turned to the mass appeal of today's pop stars who churn out corporate-approved songs for the masses.
Rock Music won't make a comeback and the record companies won't do anything to revive it. It's only a matter of time when rock fans may have to declare it "dead" then regulate it to history books and the hall of fame.
Your definition of rock is too narrow. You're focusing on grunge and metal, which are only two of the many branches of rock. Rock music includes alternative, indie, punk, prog, garage,experimental, psychedelic, folk rock and many others. There are many rock artists around who are very successful. Of Monsters and Men, Mumford and Sons, The Black Keys, Radiohead, Ben Folds Five, The Rubens, Tame Impala and several other rock bands draw huge crowds at festivals and gigs. Rock wont make a comeback because it never went away.
Your quite the negative person. Just because bands like Coldplay and U2 don't scream with their guitars and voices doesn't mean this isn't raw truly beautiful talent. Those bands have worked beyond hard if not harder than some of the "rock" bands of the past. You are undermining all bands but hard rock in your article and though some (and I say some very lightly) truth does come of it, it is definitely not the right state of mind to have. Rock music will of course come back. Look at bands like the Black Keyes blowing up audiences or "indie" artists such as Of Monsters and Men (though they aren't so indie anymore). People and definitely the kids of my generation are craving more independent music once more, and are beginning to lean towards the old "legends" of the past and sparking new ones to be born. Like the story of Romance Rock will always be a story worth telling over and over, and it will always come out of a slumber whenever wanted and or needed again.
This article is true, which is why I believe the revival of rock music (and real hip hop, from the people who live it) will come when the record companies collapse due to the ever so increasing presence of social networking and the internet in general. Indie music now makes up almost 40% of music sales, up from 30% ten years ago. Thanks to file sharing, promoting shitty music solely for making money is becoming more and more difficult, and with most of the big labels venturing into other markets anyway, I think it's only a matter of time before they jump ship. Music will reach a zenith when money is eliminated from it.
Interesting take, and a subject I am very familiar with. While the great super bads are really all gone, the market will rebound again. music always comes full circle, and it will again. At present I have a hip hop site up and it is doing well, actually, my article is next to yours on the front page, lol but it will all come back around again hopefully in my lifetime. Nice article.
So what of the millions of people that attend festivals during the summer months? Rock music is best experienced live and probably that is the problem impacting on commercial track sales but it is still thriving in the UK
Stephen, I believe that rock music is left to live audiences anyway. The music has a bigger impact when experienced that way. Too bad the rock music I grew up with like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Aerosmith, won't be witnessed by me anymore because the rawness of the music today is missing. I agree with your statement definitely.
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