FEATURE:
Generations Rock
IN THIS PHOTO: St. Vincent at the Way Out West Festival, Gothenburg, Sweden in 2018
How New and Classic Rock, Through Streaming and Cross-Pollination, Is Alive and Kicking in 2020
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EVERY year…
IN THIS PHOTO: Brooklyn’s Charly Bliss are among the best Rock bands of the moment
there are these questions as to whether Rock is alive and well or whether it is a spent force. Certainly, the scene and feel of Rock is very different to what it was a couple of decades ago! Rock is not as part of the mainstream as it once was, and I think other genres have been fused with Rock to create new sounds. If the days of Rock bands dominating and soundtracking music is perhaps distant in the past, one cannot say that Rock has waned and there has been this decline. Music Week have been putting Rock in the spotlight this week, and they spoke to various people as to how streaming is promoting Rock and how artists are using these platforms. Last year, Kerrang! wrote how Rock is in rude health:
“Let’s be real: in the recent past, rock music — specifically hard rock, punk, metal, and their many offshoots — has been relatively underground. Sure, huge bands like Guns N’ Roses and Foo Fighters have remained in the public eye their whole career, but even they have felt a level more entrenched than the average rap star or pop singer over the past decade. But while plenty of critics have often made the tired “rock is dead” argument, or wondered if rock will ever “reclaim its throne”, fans and artists within this community have been focusing on what’s important. If rock isn’t the flavor of the week, we’ve realized, then we have to work to make it happen.
IN THIS PHOTO: Foo Fighters/PHOTO CREDIT: Brantley Gutierrez
Maybe that’s why it felt like 2019 was one of rock’s biggest years to date. Huge bands reunited, underground stars rose to the forefront, and once again the community rallying behind these musical subcultures became too loud to ignore. On top of that, these self-contained and culturally-devout genres became fascinating to those outside of them, who are fascinated by the idea of people believing in something after being fed a whole lot of nothing. It feels as though rock’s power has built in 2019 — and 2020 will be the year the dam breaks, and all the riffs surge forth upon the world at large”.
I do feel that modern music is as eclectic and broad as it has ever been, so I think it is harder to gauge Rock’s impact and popularity. Certainly, there are some great artists shaking up the scene. Louder Sound highlighted artists who will shake up this year, and I have been following inclusions like The Glorious Sons, and John (TimeTwo) closely. As you can see from the playlist below (which I have assembled from Louder Sound’s suggestions), there is such a lot of character and some fascinating sounds being made. I would keep an eye out for these acts, as they are terrific indeed.
I will come to the Music Week and their features soon, but one thing I wanted to highlight was women in Rock. I think there are so many solo and female-led Rock bands around at the moment, but playlists and features are still largely skewed towards men. From classic artists to newcomers, there are some terrific women in Rock. I am a particularly big fan of Nadine Shah, Jehnny Beth, and Haim, and there has been some tremendous Rock albums released this year. Again, Louder Sound nominated their pick, and I have made another playlist here. Kerrang! have chosen their favourite albums of the year (I have compiled a few songs from some of the albums). SPIN have also suggested Rock bands to keep an eye out for this year (or the rest of the year and moving forward), and I do think things are looking very promising for Rock. In terms of the question as to whether Rock is dead, one can see it is definitely not, but it is evident that there is more cross-pollination and diversity in the genre. If Pop and other genres share a bigger share of the market, I think Rock is poised for another breakthrough and wave next year.
Before coming to the articles and narrowing in, I wanted to highlight a couple of incredible women in Rock who have delivered some brilliant Nine Inch Nails covers – as the band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. As Pitchfork reported, Vincent and Jehnny Beth put their spin on some terrific Nine Inch Nails songs:
“This Saturday night (November 7), Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Whitney Houston, the Notorious B.I.G, the Doobie Brothers, and T. Rex are getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Ahead of the ceremony, Amazon Music has recruited various artists to cover some of the inductees’ songs.
St. Vincent has covered Nine Inch Nails’ “Piggy,” while Jehnny Beth takes on NIN’s “Closer.” Real Estate play the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes.” The Kills covered T. Rex’s “Cosmic Dancer.” And Eyelids put their spin on Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence.” Hear the covers below. (Pitchfork earns a commission from purchases made through affiliate links on our site.)
In a press release, St. Vincent said:
[“Piggy”] remains one of my favorite Nails songs to this day.… I am obsessed with the slinky tambourine that is just a little lazy in feel. And when I took this song apart to cover it, it took me a long time to really understand the immensity of the groove. It’s a dark, industrial reggae. Muscular, but never as distorted as you imagined it when you think of it in your head…. They made a complicated thing seem easy and made big, bold sonic choices.
In the past, there has been snobbishness regarding Pop artists covering Rock songs, but I think Pop and Rock are integrating more. One artist who knows her way around great Rock songs is Miley Cyrus. Her album, Plastic Hearts, is out on 27tyh November, and I think she is one of the finest voices in modern Rock. There are a lot of terrific artists out there who are taking Rock to new places and, as we head towards 2021, there will be many asking that age-old question as to the genres validity. I think Rock festivals need to be more open-minded and progressive regarding their line-ups to include more women and minority artists on the bill, in addition to not leaning on the same bands to headline. With great Rock artists from around the world putting their stamp on the scene and creating their own sound, I am excited to see where Rock heads in the next year or so.
I want to bring in a Music Week article shows how Rock has fared in a very tough year – and how popular artists from other genres have joined forces with established Rock musicians and how that has resonated in terms of streaming:
“There are a great many lingering assumptions about rock music that are grating. While the classic ‘rock is dead’ theory is the most commonly cited (not to mention the most demonstrably untrue), here I’d rather explore a different one. It’s the belief that, for a good while now, it has been behind the curve of other genres. As explored in the new issue of Music Week, in the unforgiving world of streaming data alone this is true. But the more you look at it, the more you realise how these metrics don’t tell the full story of the role rock has in permeating music and culture right now.
The argument that rock’s influence has been greatly diminished is a strange one in a year that has seen so many contemporary superstars turn to it as a veritable source of rock-et fuel. Post Malone – he of 42 million monthly Spotify listeners – not only united with Ozzy Osbourne for a track, but also played a whole Nirvana covers set in lockdown (14m views on YouTube). Elsewhere, Miley Cyrus has covered Pearl Jam and even hinted that she has a Metallica covers album in the works. Machine Gun Kelly, meanwhile, who first made his name in the hip-hop world, has just released a pop-punk album and scored a No.1 in America and No.3 in the UK charts. The point is this: rock’s impact isn’t always fully accounted by streaming data.
That said, lest we forget, even in a year in which big albums left, right and centre have been pushed back or delayed, 2020 still delivered UK No.1 records for Green Day, Biffy Clyro, Queen and Idles, with Metallica, Enter Shikari, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Deftones, Creeper, Neck Deep, Five Finger Death Punch, Deep Purple, Bon Jovi, Nothing But Thieves and Massive Wagons all securing Top 10 finishes”.
Whilst I think streaming services need to do a bit more regarding gender and racial equalisation in terms of promotion, the big players in the streaming market each have their own strategies and goals regarding Rock. In a further Music Week feature, Deezer were in the spotlight:
“Here, Rod Glacial, Deezer’s global rock and metal editor reveals his big ambitions for the genre on the global streaming platform…
How are you supporting rock as a genre on the platform?
"There are lots of exciting things we can do to shine the spotlight on rock. It doesn’t matter if it’s an up-and-coming new band with 300 fans or a huge comeback of a famous artist. For example, every month, I celebrate a band’s anniversary or a comeback by making them cover stars of our most important Rock & Metal playlist – Best Rock Of All Time. I also regularly update the Essential albums and 100% carousels, to showcase different artists and forgotten masterpieces.
“Our artist marketing team also supports rock with creative campaigns that aim to bring the fans even closer to their favourite artist. Earlier this year, we transformed our flagship playlist Rocket into a live event in Paris, with performances from Twin Atlantic and Circa Waves. We also hosted an exciting Halloween Zoom Party with Yungblud, to give fans a chance to connect directly with a rock superstar.”
Has rock grown in terms of streams, and what are the opportunities for further growth?
“Rock is very much alive and kicking! The genre has loyal and dedicated fans around the world streaming their favourite rock music. We’ve also had some big surprises lately, like the resurgence of 80s Pop Rock. It has been really interesting to see how people are engaging with the vibe of 80s legends. We’re really excited to see the future streaming growth of rock, especially given it’s one of our biggest played genres on Deezer”
I want to highlight two more Music Week features, as it is interesting seeing the relationship between various streaming platforms and their relationship with the Rock genre. It seems that Spotify have some plans in the pipeline:
“Here, James Foley, editorial lead at Spotify, and Annika Walsh, artist and label partnerships lead, open up about the streaming giant’s backing for rock…
How are you supporting rock as a genre on the platform?
James Foley: “We are supporting rock as a genre on the platform in a number of ways. I’m responsible for the editorial side of music at Spotify, and so for me and my team it’s about having a robust playlist ecosystem, which we continue to develop on an ongoing basis. Flagship playlists like The Rock List, The Punk List and Metal UK have all become popular destinations for rock fans in the UK and Ireland and beyond. More recently we have launched The Pit for heavier rock and Misfits 2.0 speaks to the new generation of artists with large, hyper-engaged audiences who are making music that crosses out of, and beyond, the traditional rock sound.
IMAGE CREDIT: Spotify
“We have long supported rock not just through playlists that speak to fans of that genre but also through mood and activity playlists that can appeal outside the core rock listener. Walk Like A Badass, Rock Workout and Air Punch are all examples of this and they perform really well for us. Then you have Blood, Shred and Tears – a mood playlist that showcases a more delicate rock sound, which is also proving popular. Catalogue lists are still vital within the overall ecosystem too with Rock Classics and Legendary among the big titles.”
Annika Walsh: “Outside of editorial and playlists, Spotify partners on rock releases in the UK and Ireland all year round. We’re always looking at new ways to support existing and up and coming artists through artist partnerships. This includes significant marketing investment, be it on-platform with our tools such as push notification, home banner or CRM email, or off platform with organic social content, paid social campaigns, and comprehensive artist marketing campaigns which can include ATL support, PR, events and more.
What are the opportunities for further growth for the genre?
JF: “Building on audiences who interpret and connect with rock in its modern form, who have really redefined the genre for the streaming era, presents some really exciting growth opportunities for the next wave of British and Irish rock stars on Spotify. I would also say that surfacing the relatively untapped wealth of catalogue, which is still loved by audiences young and old can fuel even more growth. Creating spaces for previously underrepresented talent also provides a massive and important opportunity to let new voices through”.
There are different ways that Rock artists are having an impact on streaming services. Some are covering popular Pop hits; there is crossover and collaborations, and many are covering classic hits and introducing that song and themselves to a new audience. In this feature, Neck Deep’s manager, Leander Gloversmith talked about how the band made am impression regarding streaming:
“How have Neck Deep cracked streaming and how can they go further?
“I’d say that it’s at least in part a generational thing. The band and their fanbase are digital natives; Neck Deep’s career has co-existed and developed alongside the growth and evolution of streaming platforms, and of streaming as a listener habit. So the band have benefitted from the simple fact that consuming and discovering music via DSPs is what a portion of their demographic accepts as normal. The internet, social media, smartphones, etc, are all totally standard tools for the band and their fans alike. But that said, the balance of Neck Deep’s physical unit sales and streaming presence remains very much tilted in favour of physical, so there is a lot of room for them to grow in the digital space still.
“In terms of going further, we have discussed embracing features and crossover collaborations with other artists who straddle the worlds of rock and what I suppose one might call the ‘streaming mainstream’, to introduce Neck Deep to the emerging next generation of listeners, where genre has become almost totally irrelevant.”
IN THIS PHOTO: Neck Deep
What do DSPs need to do to support the genre – are there encouraging signs?
“Encouraging signs for sure: Ali Hagendorf is champion for the genre at Spotify, and very much in tune with the genre’s heritage but also where it’s headed next. Spotify recently launched the Rock This podcast on the platform which Ali hosts (tied in with the biggest rock-geared editorial playlist on the platform, Rock This – 4.5m followers). On that show, Ali is highlighting that new generation of artists, who are essentially reframing rock and alternative for the next generation of listeners. Elise Cobain at Amazon Music UK is also doing amazing things for the genre, and is really invested in bringing the weight of the brand to helping rock music and culture grow, evolve and reach new people.
And what do bands/labels need to look at to boost streaming results? Are rock covers of pop hits a good idea?
“I think the willingness to collaborate with DSPs and super-serve audiences is absolutely there. There are just not enough toolkits available to the labels and bands of the genre as of yet, and not enough conversations are happening about how to best help rock and alternative culture translate and transpose into these digital spaces. As I said, there are some awesome lone wolves on staff at DSPs, but single people can only do so much.
IMAGE CREDIT: Amazon Music
And it’s likely a cycle: why would you double down on a genre that looks like it’s underperforming? So many of the successes in this space occur in the ‘real’ world, at massive shows and festivals and in merchandise sales etc, and these things just aren’t being communicated or quantified in the streaming data. I think everyone who really watches and gets this world totally understands that phenomenon, but there’s a bit of a glitch in the communication chain, as it were.
“In terms of covers, I think that’s totally subjective. Personally I believe that they’re for the most part counterproductive in the long run. It’s a culture that thrives, ultimately, on integrity over novelty”.
It has been interesting, not only looking at the great Rock artists emerging, and the terrific albums released, but how streaming sites are marketing Rock; the different ways the genre is evolving and how its future looks. After such a bleak year, it would be nice to think that there would be a 2021 version of Britpop, where Rock artists come to the forefront. Maybe there would not be the same anthemic and chorus-rich songs as we heard back in the 1990s, but I think there is an urgency and physicality in the genre that is perfect for a new explosion and revolution. From terrific new Rock bands to established artists like System of a Down, St. Vincent, Jehnny Beth, Green Day and Deftones, there has been plenty to suggest that Rock is as potent and popular as ever. For those who keep asking whether Rock is alive and means anything, I hope that we can…
PUT that question to bed.