Have we reached the end of the band era? When you think about some of the biggest names in music today, what comes to mind? Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Billie Eilish, Harry Styles. Notice something? Most of the biggest stars are individuals.
That got me wondering whether we’ve quietly come full circle in the music industry. It all started with individual stars, not bands. If we wind the clock back to the birth of modern rock and roll, one name towers above almost everyone else: Elvis Presley. Of course, Elvis had a band. He worked with incredibly talented musicians throughout his career. But ask the average person who played guitar or drums behind him and most people couldn’t tell you. The star was Elvis. The musicians supported the performance, but they weren’t the front-and-center attraction.
Then came the golden age of bands. Something changed through the 1960s and beyond as bands became the stars. The Beatles weren’t just four musicians playing together – they became a cultural phenomenon – you could argue each of them was an individual star, but none singularly were bigger than the collective. The Animals, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin… suddenly it wasn’t just one person carrying the spotlight. The entire group became famous and for decades, bands were a huge part of popular music.
Yes, there were still hugely successful solo artists like Tom Jones and Rod Stewart, but bands became a defining part of the music industry. It felt normal and even permanent, though perhaps it wasn’t. Have we gone full circle?
Looking around today’s charts, I can’t help wondering whether the pendulum has swung back again. Today’s music industry seems increasingly built around solo personalities rather than groups. Taylor Swift isn’t simply a singer, she’s a brand. So are Ed Sheeran and Billie Eilish. That’s not a criticism, it’s simply an observation.
Why aren’t there as many bands in the charts and littered throughout popular culture now?
If bands were to make a major comeback, several things would need to happen. Young people would need to pick up instruments in large numbers. They’d need garages, rehearsal rooms and school music programmes where bands could form naturally. There would need to be plenty of small venues willing to give unknown groups a chance. It’s through local gigs that bands learn to perform, learn from mistakes, develop chemistry and gradually build an audience. The problem is many of those stepping stones don’t exist like they once did. Without that ecosystem, fewer bands can emerge.
Celebrity has become the product. Even when bands do become successful, it’s often one member who eventually becomes the public face. One personality attracts the headlines and one person becomes the celebrity. The public naturally gravitates towards individuals because they’re easier to identify with and easier for the music business to market. Perhaps that’s always been true. The difference today is that the industry seems to embrace it more proactively than ever before.
Will bands ever return?
Maybe. Music has always moved in cycles, and history has a habit of surprising us. But if I had to guess, I think we’re likely to see individual artists continue to dominate for quite some time. Not because bands don’t exist – there are numerous bands out there. Not because people don’t enjoy them, because they do. But because today’s music industry seems to reward personality and individual branding more than collective identity. Perhaps we’ve simply come full circle.
The modern music industry began with individual celebrities like Elvis Presley. After decades where bands were the norm, we may now be returning to exactly where we started.
