Jarred Walker
In Motion Staff Writer
Many believe rock music has decreased in popularity over the last two decades, so much that some say it is dead all together.
The death of rock music is an opinion by Gene Simmons that went viral in 2014. Simmons is the bassist and co-lead singer of the largely successful hard-rock band Kiss.
In an interview for Esquire magazine, Simmons said, “There was an entire industry to help the next Beatles, Stones, Prince, Hendrix, to prop them up and support them every step of the way. There are still record companies, and it does apply to pop, rap, and country to an extent. But for performers who are also songwriters — the creators — for rock music, for soul, for the blues — it’s finally dead. Rock is finally dead.”
The article immediately became a topic that was widely debated among many fans, including artists such as Scott Ian, and pundits such as music historian Eddie Trunk.
Modern technology is a huge reason why some people might invest in the notion. Computer technology has advanced so much in the last 20 years that it’s hurt entertainment sales, especially in the music industry. It is so easy to steal and share music now because of the simplicity of manual file sharing and file-sharing websites.
Jeffrey Wiggin is an IT analysis major at Daytona State College and a millennial rock music fanatic who likes to wear old rock-band shirts every day. He said, “Sites like LimeWire and ThePirateBay have done major damage to the music and film industries. The amount of money lost out on these people’s products has been crazy because of the illegal stealing and sharing.”
Record labels are also far more interested in selling a single musician rather than an entire band because of how much cheaper it is. Axl Rose, lead singer of the hard rock band Guns N’ Roses, did an interview in 2016 where he stated that, “For their (the record company’s) business, why deal with a band? All they need is a star and a producer. It just has to do with what’s easiest and what’s going to make the most money.”
Much of rock has thrived due to the fact that there are whole bands where each individual member is just as important as the next. Record labels have realized how much cheaper and easier it is to invest in single, non-rock musicians such as Lady Gaga.
Although the genre may have taken a hit in the industry, as have a lot of other genres such as jazz and the blues, there are many old and new rock bands on the rise still to this day such as the aforementioned Guns N’ Roses, as well as A Brilliant Lie, Brand of Julez, and The Crowned.
Hundreds of rock festivals per year still happen where tens of thousands of people sell out stadiums. For example, last year’s Rock on the Range festival at the Mapfire Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, brought in a total of 120,000 people over the course of three days.
Central Florida rock radio stations such as 95.7 The Hog and 101.1 WJRR, along with satellite channels such as Ozzy’s Boneyard on Sirius XM Radio, still exist and play old and new music all day long. Not only this, but popular music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora have a huge variety of rock music to listen to.
T.J. Hooper, who majored in music theory at the University of Central Florida, says, “No, rock is not dead. A lot of people might think that it is, but it really isn’t. It’s more of an underground genre now, but there are still fans all around the world who love it.”
In a 2017 New York Daily News article, Veronica Harris said, “While rock has long ruled, holding the top genre spot since Nielsen began to measure music consumption in the U.S. in 1991, the tables have turned, with R&B/hip hop now surpassing the popularity of rock and pop.”
Clearly, rock is still popular. It took all the way until 2017 to be dethroned from the most popular genre of music in the United States.
Along with all of this, vintage clothing and memorabilia such as vinyl record sales have been on the rise over the last few years.
A 2015 Time magazine article notes that, “According to data by Nielsen Soundscan, more than 9.2 million vinyl records were sold in the U.S. last year, marking a 52 percent increase over the year before.”
And the trade industry Bible, Billboard, reports that sales were 14.32 million 2017, a rise of 9 percent. The previous one-year high, registered in 2016, was 13.1 million. In fact, 2017 marks the twelfth straight year of growth in vinyl album sales. The format continues to increase in sales as more new and classic albums are issued on vinyl, along with promotion from retailers like Amazon, Urban Outfitters and Barnes & Noble, as well as annual vinyl-oriented celebrations like Record Store Day.
As for 2018, retailers expect that trend will continue largely due to millennials who are the main catalysts for this movement, which is exposing rock to a brand-new audience.