Are We Post-Rock 'n' Roll?

It is no surprise that the music tastes of the purchasing public has changed over the years. The 1960s were marked by soul and rock, while the emergence of psychedelic pop/rock coming at the tail-end of the decade. The 1970s had disco, while the 1980s had some of the biggest hard rock and heavy metal bands sell huge. The 1990s solidified the presence of superstars Madonna, Michael Jackson, and superbands Metallica and AC/DC, and hip hop became a formidable force of the 2000s. Notably during these various periods of evolving sounds, rock remained a significant portion of music sales. But if 2010 is any indication, rock n' roll may be a thing of the past, at least for the UK.

Of the top 100 best selling singles of 2010 in the UK, an astoundingly pitiful three songs classified as rock made it to the list. A number that small is unsurprisingly the record for the fewest number of rock songs on the list in fifty years. The most successful rock song of the last year happened to be Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," a track whose resurgence in popularity three decades after its release is due to Glee's cover of the 1981 hit. Although rock albums performed somewhat better than the singles released, it begs the question, is rock on its way out?


Firstly, most of the success of rock music today is from artists of a different generation than those of the emerging young consumer population. Bon Jovi, Metallica, and AC/DC are among the best selling rock artists of recent years, while newer bands are not attaining the success or longevity of their older counterparts. However, the lack of success of new bands may have a lot to do with the iTunes generation of music consumers. Rock music has largely been a conceptual genre of music, with albums having more weight than singles. However, iTunes has propelled singles to overtake albums as the main unit of music consumption. Songs priced at $0.99 to $1.29 are more attractive to younger buyers, and younger bands have particular trouble in competing with pop and hip hop, which have become stronger genres of late.

This is not a UK issue to begin with, as rock music sales have fallen in the US as well, although not is such a dramatic fashion. Rock music may not be completely dead, and new releases anticipated in 2011 from Metallica and other bands may provide ephemeral relief to the decaying genre. But, once again, the void of new rock bands is something we'll just have to see if it can be filled soon.