Why Are Bands Mysteriously Disappearing?

The Decline of Bands in the Charts

Rick Beato opens with a clip from British presenter Richard Osman, who notes how rarely bands now top the UK charts. Osman compares the first halves of the 1980s and ’90s, when bands spent 146 and 141 weeks at No. 1, respectively, with the first half of the 2020s, when groups accounted for just three No. 1 weeks. Beato notes that even those examples included an all-star charity lineup, the Beatles, and Little Mix.

Beato traces the change against a history of bands that wrote and performed their own music, from the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, and Queen to Nirvana, Radiohead, and Oasis. He argues that the shift began as record labels increasingly relied on outside songwriter-producers to deliver guaranteed hits. By the 2000s, he says, some groups were “bands” in name, while producers and hired musicians did much of the songwriting and recording. As a result, signing full bands became less worthwhile for labels.

How Rare Are New Bands?

To illustrate the scarcity of new groups, Beato says he checked Spotify’s top 400 artists by monthly listeners and found only three bands formed in the last decade: Grupo Frontera, Måneskin, and Richie Mitch & the Coal Miners. He contrasts their rankings with those of much more prominent solo artists.

Possible Reasons for the Decline

Beato offers several possible explanations:

• Rock has become less popular among young listeners.
• Laptops allow solo artists to make polished recordings without a band.
• Managing relationships within a band can be difficult.
• Marketing one artist is simpler and less expensive than marketing a group.

He jokes about the friction of band life with an imagined Modern Drummer cover devoted to a single drum fill. He also points to TikTok as a way for a solo artist to create and promote a hit independently, and doubts the trend will change soon.

Personalities Mentioned

• Rick Beato
• Richard Osman