When David Crosby helped found the Byrds, the idea of being in a band like the Beatles was intoxicating. The musician, who died last week, and his bandmates were so obsessed with the Beatles that they saw A hard day’s Night and went directly to buy the same instruments.
A modern Crosby would do well not to bother: bands are almost completely absent from music charts. Only four new songs by groups made the official Top 100 singles last year, which was dominated by solo artists and some classics from the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Arctic Monkeys.
There is no shortage of new music. Lucian Grainge, president of Universal Music, complained earlier this month that some streaming services upload 100,000 tracks a day.
So why have bands struggled to find success compared to solo megastars like Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift? The obvious culprit is social media, according to Chris Price, head of music for Radio 1 and 1Xtra, and the executive in charge of the stations’ playlists.
“Social media is more of a solo activity,” he said. “It’s easier as a solo artist to convey who you are and what kind of artist you are on TikTok or Instagram than four guys doing the same thing.”
Record company A&R departments are far more likely to look for talent online, checking follower count and engagement metrics, rather than trying to size up a foursome performing in a sweaty pub. Breaking up a band now means going viral or getting a “sync” deal with a TV show or ad.
It’s not just about rock and roll. “When I first got into rap music in the ’80s and ’90s, it was Public Enemy, NWA, Wu-Tang Clan,” Price said. “In the last 10 years, it’s Drake and, in the UK, it’s Stormzy and Dave.”
The same goes for dance music. “The Chemical Brothers were a band. Orbital was a band,” Price said. “I guess I have a more sentimental attachment to gangs than to people born in the last 20 years.
“At Radio 1, we have this balancing act every week, making sure we have an ethnically diverse playlist and a balanced playlist in terms of male and female artists. Are we actively looking for bands over solo artists? Not necessarily, but I won’t pretend I’m not delighted that Wet Leg are the breakout band of 2022, and I’m delighted when the 1975s headline Radio 1’s Big Weekend.
The rapid development of music technology is another factor, with software like Ableton Live allowing people to blast studio-quality music from their bedrooms for less than the cost of an electric guitar and amp.
“In the heyday of the band, in the ’60s, if you wanted to make noise so people would dance, you needed a band,” said David Hepworth, author of Overpaid, overexcited and thereand former editor of greatest hits. “Now you only need a laptop. When the Beatles arrived in 1964 [in the US]What was amazing about people like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty was that they were a band. Americans didn’t really have gangs.”
From Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis to Madonna, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga, the American tradition has been toward solo artists, Hepworth said.
“Whereas with the British invasion, what was appealing was that there was a gang you wanted to join. And there was the implicit promise that you could have a similar gang with your friends at school or university.”
Although websites like Join My Band have replaced the melody maker classified ads as a way to find that band, new bands like FLO and Yard Act also need places to play.
“It’s expensive to buy instruments, rent rehearsal space and go on tour,” said Louis Bloom, chairman of Island Records UK. “We are seeing music venues close in city centers where prime real estate is being converted to flats and offices.” Independent Venues Week kicks off tomorrow to support 300 grassroots venues – the UK has lost around a third of its venues in the last 20 years.
Even so, “incredible and inspiring bands continue to emerge,” Bloom said. “The demand is there because it’s still one of the best things any of us can experience, seeing a band we love play live, whether it’s in a small club or on the main stage of a festival.”
Electronic music makers may look like solo artists, but they are often part of a larger group, like a hip-hop crew or DJ collective.
LF System was one of four groups to crack the Top 100 last year with a new song, their dance anthem Afraid To Feel, along with fellow dance acts Belters Only and the Bad Boy Chiller Crew, and guitar band OneRepublic.
The duo, Conor Larkman and Sean Finnigan, met at nightclubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
“We realized we played and liked very similar music, so we started DJing together,” Larkman said. “Even if you think an artist is on his own, chances are he has a whole team behind him, helping him out.”
Stormzy may be one of the most successful British solo artists of the last decade, but when he appeared on the cover of the January magazine sound on sound magazine, he insisted that his team was also in the picture and equally prominent.
“Maybe there are some signs that we are seeing the return of bands and groups,” Price said. “It’s hard to argue that Wet Leg isn’t the biggest emerging artist of 2022. FLO won Radio 1’s 2023 Sound Off poll and won Rising Star of the Brits. [award] too. That is significant. I would love to see more bands.”
