Who has been the biggest band of the 2020s so far?
The popularity of any rock band seems arbitrary at the end of the day. There may be artists that try to reach the largest demographic possible, but sometimes being able to relate to a smaller audience is much more rewarding than playing to stadiums of people worldwide. The royalty checks often tell a different story, though, and the amount of money rolling in from the music industry is still staggering.
When you look at the new wave of rock bands, there’s always a different way that they present themselves. Compared to the artists who were looking to strut their stuff with a guitar in their hand throughout the 1970s up until the 2000s, the guitar has been considered more of a texture in modern music, with only the more high-profile rock acts like The Struts using them prominently in recent years.
When looking at the raw sales, though, the dominant force of many active rock bands seems to be the relics of yesteryear. Either through the streaming figures or the digital sales, many of the biggest names in music on paper are still clogged up with artists like The Beatles and Billy Joel, each of whom hasn’t exactly been the most prolific since their glory days.
If anything, modern rock bands are still dominated by synth textures, with the highest-viewed music video by a band online coming down to Maroon 5’s version of ‘Sugar’, which is far closer to pop than it is rock. Whereas most people think that rock is dying, the popular rock bands out today are proving that it’s far from dead…it’s just evolving.
What defines today’s new wave of bands?
In the early years of the 2000s, most rock and roll started to split between two different factions of the genre. Although there were the indie darlings that still racked up sales by the boatload, there was also the surge of bands that tried their best to pull from their old influences, like Metallica and Led Zeppelin. Though that style of rock and roll is still profitable (those Nickelback albums didn’t sell themselves), the next phase of rock has been moving towards blending every genre they can.
Starting with Linkin Park, many modern rock bands have been known to take different textures and put them under one roof. Although many like to roll their eyes at songs that don’t have a structure, everyone from Arctic Monkeys to Muse have been taking to put a different spin on the old favourites, either through making pieces that are closer to pop or branching out into genres that no one knew they were capable of, such as Alex Turner’s surprising turn with The Monkeys on The Car. The new wave of bands might be different than many thought, but it’s sometimes better to be genre-fluid than have to rely on the same formula.
Who are the biggest musical icons of the 2020s?
In fact, most of the biggest music icons of the past few years haven’t really been bands; instead, they are typically solo artists. Compared to the era when bands dominated the charts, most of the biggest names in music come from just one artist, with a host of songwriters coming in to help flesh out their arrangements, with Drake still holding the title of one of the biggest chart stars of his time. But what makes these artists more appealing than the band mentality?
Simple: it’s just one person. While many rock fans would have no problem naming every single Beatle, it’s easier to relate to one person’s story than having to learn the lore behind everyone’s favourite acts. For all of the fans that she earned this decade so far, Taylor Swift has created an empire strictly on her ability to relate to her audience much better than anyone else ever could. Considering how other acts are finding their way onto the charts brandishing guitars, though, there is still time for rock to have its time in the sun.
Where are the new indie rock bands?
When looking at the raw data of sales, the biggest band that’s still selling consistently in the 2020s is Imagine Dragons, selling upwards of 103.5 million units online alone. Then again, Imagine Dragons have even seemed to fall by the wayside in recent years, giving way to bands that don’t have to rely on radio airplay or even sales figures to get people to hear them.
Since the streaming model has been the order of the day, bands have taken to earning their stripes online, either posting their videos and getting as much exposure as they can or leaving the major labels behind altogether to work from Soundcloud and Bandcamp to get their numbers. Band popularity may not be as much of a concern at this point, but considering how many bands have moved to the smaller labels and have tried making it on their own, the punk rock mentality of doing it yourself is more alive now than ever.
