Music Industry Predicts Guitar Comeback In 2013

British music industry figures are claiming that guitar-based music is coming back into the mainstream.

Head of BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra George Ergatoudis told NME that rock acts "are going to find public taste swinging their way." He made similar comments in November, when he said "guitar music is definitely on the way back."

Rough Trade records co-founder Jeannette Lee added: "Every seven to 10 years a new group comes along, shakes things up and injects new energy into music. It feels to me that we are on the brink of this kind of excitement again."

There's two things to note. First, we all know that rock didn't go anyway — it's just that mainstream media decided to say it was dying last year. Now the pundits are covering up their mistakes by turning their opinions around.

Second, many music industry figures rely on rock and guitar music for a lot of their income. To take an examples from the commentators above, the BBC has an interest in live festival coverage for its TV stations and Rough Trade manages dozens of guitar-based bands. Both would benefit from a 'rock is back' trend, and would lose out if rock went out of fashion because of the limited appeal of live alternatives.

Alternatively, they simply wanted to say something smart when NME pointed a mic at them. Still, they're powerful figures in UK music which has influence abroad, so we're happy to see support for our favorite genres.

Just remember: rock has always been here, and always will be.

Comments

[jwalk3r]

This entire article could have been cut to that last sentence.

[-Retro-]

Agreed. Anyone who thinks rock is dead and lone gone obviously does not invest enough time listening to rock nowadays.

[bastards]

Case in point.

[Mustaine1940]

hahah u shit on the article but your right, and every real non sellout musician says this, rock will never die!!!

[Kriggs]

Rock has died as many times as the world has ended.

[Calymos]

This pretty much sums up every article here on UG.

[chickenfoot]

Thanks, you saved me a couple minutes on reading the article. I now spent part of the time saved on commenting though.
ah well.

[ClassicFloyder]

i think rock sucks nowadays with a few exceptions like coldplay and 3dg, there are no Beatles, pink floyd, Zeppelin..All we got is Avenged sevenfold and Muse and both sucks.

[shreddguitarist]

Fuck you MUSE IS AMAZING!!!!!

[cha33 armstrong]

muse is awesome go **** yourself

[Petey D]

I agree with you to a point, ClassicFloyder. Music in general with a few exceptions has been in a downward spiral for the last ten - twenty years imo. Too much formulaic media ($) driven garbage has been shoved down our throats in recent years. That being said, there are a lot of bands out there worth listening to, you just have to look a lot harder to find them. I agree with you, Avenged Sevenfold is a terrible band (they're the Backstreet Boys of Hard Rock/Nu Metal,)and I don't understand the appeal of Muse although they seem to have legions of rabid fans all over the world. But I disagree with you and I have to say that Cold Play is also a terrible band. They are a prime example of the $ driven formulaic garbage that mass media spews out constantly and conditions the people of the world to spend $ on. Cold play's music was once pretty good, they used to be in the same vien as Stone Roses, but A Rush of Blood to The Head was a brutal sellout album for them, and everything since has been uncreative, sterile and generic.

I think your heart's in the right place, but your vision is a bit skewed.

Cheers, & keep rockin' (but not to Coldplay.)

[saint_berzerker]

I wouldn't even call Muse "rock" anymore.

[DaFjory]

If "guitar music" means Razorlight, Arctic Monkeys, The Killers or other such middle-of-the-road crap, I'll pass and stick to my Shrapnel CDs from the '80s. But then, if they mean music videos for Tony MacAlpine, Yngwie Malmsteen or Joe Satriani will suddenly be played to the mainstream masses, then I'm keen.

[ItMightGetQuiet]

at least it's better than dubstep, pop and rap

[vppark2]

well...mainstream rap...theres quite a number of good rap acts nowadays. Aesop Rock, Jedi Mind Tricks, Hopsin, Nas, Common, Kid Cudi, and Wale for example.

[Kueller917]

Don't know why you got thumbed down for this. I really do think there have been some good rap albums coming out in the past few years.

[I got the boot]

That's why I feel bad for rap fans, they talk abut how rap originally had real meaning and dealt with complex issues. But now all they have as that face of rap is shit like "bitches on my dick, bitches on my diznick, yolo", it's like if all we had as the face of metal was BMTH.

[vppark2]

Very true. Ugh, and the whole thing with BMTH is that Im pretty sure they started the whole thing influencing all of these other bands like Attack Attack!, Asking Alexandria, Iwrestledabearonce, Emmure, etc. I mean they were one of the first metalcore bands I had heard about that I loathed, and in turn all of these other bands came out and yup...the genre kept going down from there..

[Camron62\m/]

BMTH was deathcore before they stupidly changed their sound.

[vppark2]

I hated their deathcore stuff tho...latest album I loved for a little while until I got sick of Oli's voice...btw they just released a new single from their new album coming out sometime soon and his voice has strangely gotten ****ed up...not a fan.

[Kueller917]

I think that's an unfortunate thing that tends to happen when a genre hits the mainstream. I dare someone to keep track of how many rock songs from the 80's were about girls, cars, or both. I have yet to find a genre that has absolutely nothing I like, at least if you look far enough.

[I got the boot]

Yeah, you just know it's the labels pushing all of these phonies like they're constipated

[MDoggDX316]

To be fair, that stuff about the early days of hip-hop tends to get exaggerated. There were always rappers who glorified money, cars, girls, etc. especially because the earliest rappers were just trying to entertain people at parties.

[Jozef23]

I agree in a way and disagree in a way. You have outlined what American mainstream raps face lookes like but there are still some great underground rappers (which are very famous in Australia) who are writing some real tunes and are the face of Hip-Hop. Check out 'Same Love' by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis or 'Sum of it all' by the Herd.

[Redfinton22]

I'm actually a huge Aesop Rock fan haha the dude is something of a genius

[iammclovin]

Hopsin is great, really angry but I like it when he rips on the cash money stooges. I like good rap but there's very little of it out there. The best imo is Shad, he's smart and he's a really humble fella.

[Scorpyin]

check out sage francis, i normally HATE hip hop, but for me to hear sage francis and say he sucks would be straight up lying...

[mitchgosche2011]

Hell yeah, Sage Francis is one of the most technically skilled rappers I've ever heard. Especially "Got Up This Morning".

[vppark2]

I forgot all about the guy...also Jurassic 5 and The Roots are also great.

[deadlydictator]

I remember them on Tony Hawks Underground, sick shit indeed, i bought a day at the races soon after. Another up and coming rap outfit, Death Grips.

Music Pah-Pah-Power!

[vppark2]

Hell yeah haha thats where I found out about most of my music from. Right when Rise Against wasnt so popular and Alkaline Trio and many other punk and ska bands.

[saint_berzerker]

No.

[RadioTape]

I bet you're the kind of person that if the arctic monkeys were underground and Satriani and Co were mainstream you'd be saying the arctic monkeys are great.

[beineken]

i'm sorry... yngwie malmsteen > arctic monkeys? wat? are we talking in the sense of physical girth or creativity?

[jtallen0496]

YOu have to understand that while very talented musicians, guitar virtuosos such as Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani really only appeal to people who love guitar. That being said, guitar instrumentals will most likely never be played i9n Mainstream music.

[beau05]

I think one of the few instrumental bands that has ever made it on the pop charts were The Shadows. Other than that, I'm not sure who else

[INSULIN]

THE VENTURES

[Petey D]

The Ventures. The Ventures were a huge instrumental act in from the same era as The Shadows. They're still touring.But no, for the most part instrumentals haven't been part of mainstream music since the 40's.

[Virtuosofreak]

Wrong. You don't have to be a guitarist to like guitar virtuosity and instrumentals.

[latinromans]

have you really listened to the arctic monkey's? cause there definitely not middle of the road in the same way as killers, after listening to as much prog as I do it's very rare for me to find rhythms and melody's that surprise me and the arctic monkey's pull this off. It's not like there groundbreaking revolutionary's on the music scene but they consistently have an interesting punk rock sound that comes off as unique.

[Petey D]

Artic Monkeys are way better than Killers. I'll give you that, but they in no way have any type of Punk sound. No idea where you're getting that from.

[Joss_Frusciante]

About time. It seems to be a trend, the whole "Rock n Roll is dead, Rock n Roll lives thing"

[T00DEEPBLUE]

Nobody cares as mainstream rock sucks.

[D4CE]

Ah ****, I liked this band, but they started playing songs of the band on the radio. I guess I'll have to stop liking them..

[Mr. Baloonhands]

hipster mentality, i'll never understand this

[SwoobGuitar]

It's not about the radio, it's about the songs themselves. If they can be on the radio without changing their style, you shouldn't have to hate them.

[Camron62\m/]

it's about the sound of the song/band, if it's overproduced and not original as most of mainstream rock today is. i'm looking at you, Theory of a Deadman.

[paulohd2]

You're so cool.

[latinromans]

radiohead has been on the radio, it's not like people are calling them sellouts, having popular songs doesn't make you lame, sacrificing musical variety and sticking to generic song formats however does disappoint fans who became big fans of the band because of a their unique varied sound. fun's a good example, I found there first album to be infinitely more musically interesting and varied than there second one which was obviously conforming to radio pop standards much more than their first. when where listening to bands to avoid the crap playing on the radio of course where going to get upset when they start generically imitating it.

[Burgery]

yes

[Joss_Frusciante]

No

[Zerath]

Stop

[pete-c]

Hammertime.

[6-String_Madman]

STAPH!

[brndnstffrd]

Burg, this is why we dont let you leave OMGUS

[Burgery]

lol

i dont even remember posting this

[iommi600]

Isn't this quite the Captain Obvious speech? I mean, there's a ton of bands for every rock genre out there, one of those bands are eventually going to break into the mainstream. Last decade it happened to The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, etc etc... It's just imminent.

Also, why is it such a big deal?

[webber243]

So Key$has releasing another album this year then???

[MR.LZZYHALE]

hey has anyone listned to the new bvb cd?? Is it terrible

[Danish752]

...wait, you listened to black veil brides expecting it to be good?!?

[MR.LZZYHALE]

Oh nice one you had a zinger

[staceap]

I don't hate BVB, but it's most definitely an album I will be streaming illegally. I ain't payin' for that shit unless it's world-beating, which from all accounts, it isn't.

[vppark2]

ew, Hollywood Undead's is pretty damn bad too...

[CoolMcAwesome]

guitar never went away for me.

[Sherlock_Bones]

!00% certain that there was a similar, if not identical, article to this at the beginning of last year. Some things just don't need to be said

[Chronologo]

Yeah I'm pretty sure about that too

[Mustaine1940]

yeah but some bands that were supposed to deliver didnt in the last year there really was nnothing big last year, theres tons of bands expected for albums this year, black sabbath never delivered last year and theyre in studio now

[Cavalcade]

Just like last year.

[ferilyne]

Protest The Hero anybody?

[link no1]

No thanks but thanks for offering.

[vppark2]

stitch, is that you??

[vppark2]

hey its prog-metal.

[metalhead983877]

Hell. Fucking. YEAH !!!!

[LazyHardRocker]

If it's real rock, I'm in. If it's just more emo/pop shit, then no, go away, I don't care.

[Sloan7]

I just want riffs.....

[Cavalcade]

I want songs.

[captainsnazz]

"rock is dead"
"rock is making a comeback"
Neither of these phrases mean anything.
UG, stahp.

[bastards]

For some reason I feel like they predicted this for 2012, 2011, 2010.... I think there's a pattern here.

[JAHellraiser]

It's been a long time since the music industry has rock n rolled...

[UncleBluck]

I'll believe it when I actually hear it happen....Aint holding my breath.....

[Mustaine1940]

think about this

megadeth, alice in chains, soundgarden,metallica,avenged sevonfold, queens of the stone age, black sabbath,jimmy page, all these bands are in the studio or going to be in the studio for this years expectant albums, and alice in chains new song is pretty badass i think we can agree.....it will be a big year for us to take the musical comeback **** all this pop

[kratos379]

Soundgarden already released their album last November. It was actually pretty good, so look it up. Also as much as I like a lot of those bands, new bands are needed to start a new generation of rock music. Hopefully someone new comes along and shakes it up.

[Cavalcade]

All the bands you listed are coasting on an established fanbase. They won't do anything new or innovative because they don't need to, and if they do, there's a good chance their fans will accuse them of selling out. None of them are going to "save rock 'n roll".

[JAHellraiser]

I don't think Metallica could do that anymore lol. Of course their fans would be the first to call something different shit or an attempt to sell out.

[Axl_Styx1]

They can change there sound to an extent. Avenged Sevenfold have the best chance at doing that. Having lost an important member of the song writing process, it'll be different, as well as having their new drummer's influences and most Avenged Sevenfold records sound different, in some form or another. I don't believe that there will be a massive rock revival, but I'd love it!

[Redfinton22]

Don't forget Dream Theater

[latinromans]

Dream theater getting better but they've kinda written themselves into a corner, at least as far most of their fans are concerned. Funny thing is their fanbase is probably the group that would be most likely to love a musical upheaval, but they've gone bigger and more technical on every album and them constantly having to top themselves doesn't seem to be having a good effect on their ability to write memorable groundbreaking material.

[Zeldrack]

Who gives a **** if the music industry is pop-oriented. As long as there still is at least one rock band on the face of this planet, I shall be listening to them, cranking up the volume to 11!

[Badmoon79]

any idea of when the Tool's new album release?

[jonathan.keeler]

no word yet buddy, just hold on. Just think, the longer we wait once they have started writing, the better its going to be.

[Redfinton22]

We at least know that new Tool music EXISTS, according to recent articles. That's enough to keep me going for a while.

[Churp]

Well, 7 years have passed since their last album so I guess we'll have the new one by 2033 or so

[latinromans]

god, your math is just so off their, now this is how you do it 1996-1992=4 2000-1996=4 2005-2000=5 4+4+5=13 13%3=4+1/3 so the average is 4 and a third years and they say there about halfway done now which most likely means about a year till release left to go so my estimate would be early 2014, wait did I just do all that math for nothing? wow I guess the other kids weren't joking when they said how little use you'd have this shit.

[miahdoll]

What about Slash's new C.D.? That's the best c.d.to come out last year.

[CinderellaFan14]

Were you locked in a closet somewhere and missed the rest of the year's releases? Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth, Rush - Clockwork Angels, Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball, Lita Ford - Living Like A Runaway, Asia - XXX, ZZ Top - La Futura, Kiss - Monster, and Aerosmith - Music From Another Dimension all were dynamically powerful albums from 2012.

[Metallican39]

It's about time. Honestly I don't care if it is Mainstream Rock or Nu-Metal or whatever.
If it has a Guitar, Bass, Drummer, Vocalist, and Beat to it, then good. I'm tired of "YOLO" (Drake Version not Suicide Silence) and this "SWAG" talk. I want more people to pick up guitars or drums and make some real awesome music.

[xplosive59]

Which leads to an over saturation of amateur bands making it harder to get gigs, If fewer people were musicians we would not have this problem.

[Camron62\m/]

key word: REAL.

[xplosive59]

Let it stay "dead", otherwise we are just gonna go through another shitty Hair-Metal, Metalcore or Nu-Metal wave. Does anybody here give a shit about whats popular anyway?

[kratos379]

In all fairness, if good rock music is popular, they'll be easier to find. Also it would mean less exposure to the shitty music that's popular now, so yes it would be nice if rock was popular again.

[jonathan.keeler]

Obviously you do. You don't want to listen to mainstream stuff because you enjoy being a niche market.

[AARWave]

I'd sell my both hands and right foot to be sent back in time and allowed to live the 80's glam/hair time in california.

What comes to the article, I'm eagerly awaiting this year to roll on to see what kind of music pops up in the rock-zone but the years are just numbers, just like age, so who gives a shiet when you can rock out on your own and be happy.

[Philiptalk]

Always be here? Not even our solar system will always be here.

[SocksAndTrees]

The aliens will keep rocking out.

[Cavalcade]

Aliens listen to djent. Why else do djent bands like space so much?

[CinderellaFan14]

I don't know about you, but my future generations will be blasting some Rush - 2112 to the rest of the universe in 3410.

[gunsnroses#1]

#The Treatment

[Abacus11]

These kind of articles are so pointless. "Rock is Dead", "Rock is Back", etc. Who cares. Play and listen to what you like. If you worry about what's back or dead or cool or popular you're missing the point of being a musician... or even a music fan.

[Pm.nz45]

it was never gone.

[pitch154]

Steel panther.

[bee5ify]

Every time I see that band name I instantly think that Mark Walburg is singing vocals for them.....Sorry if I offended

[Redfinton22]

^Hahahaha I thought I was the only one!

[Shavyi]

Yes please, tell me how One Direction is going to learn the guitar.

[jay3213]

Omg One Erection is so taluntud, dey ar butter then d beetles. show sum repect for talunted musicianz like dem. you are jealous!

[nicksword87]

There are too many sub-genres of Rock for it to ever die at this point. But who is straight up rock these days? That doesn't exist anymore.

[Cavalcade]

Define "die".

[VikingMiguel]

Guitar based music...great. It just means that lil wayne will collab with metallica and one direction will try to become the beatles. And there might be more BFMV songs on the radio. Hurray.

[vppark2]

Yeah, throw in some Five Finger Death Punch as well for those wannabe metallers.

[jay3213]

Let me correct this:
Guitar music will comeback to THE MAINSTREAM*
It isn't dead, there are lots of rock bands.. but you never see them on MTV.

[Cavalcade]

Please, no. A "guitar comeback" will lead to a glut of bands that all sound the same, and all want to get big just to get big. Starting a rock band is the most obvious, "traditional" way to get big in music, making it more attractive to wannabes, but it doesn't work because it's 2013, and rock won't get you a platinum anymore (at least in the US). Not that that stops some people from trying (and inevitably failing).
The bottom line is that you shouldn't play rock expecting to make bank off it, because you won't. You should play rock because you want to play rock. If you want a Grammy, pick up FL Studio and Massive, and learn to make a decent beat. Sad, but true.

[funkyrocker24]

I'm pretty sure they have an article like this every year...

[iammclovin]

Don't really care if it goes mainstream or not. I'll still be listening to the same music regardless of whether or not it's on the radio. That being said, if Monster Truck got some mainstream love I'd be a very content individual.

[bigalpringle]

"Every seven to 10 years a new group comes along, shakes things up and injects new energy into music. It feels to me that we are on the brink of this kind of excitement again."

I think they mean "there's a rock group who become popular that gets pushed into the mainstream by the record company".

The article is just referring to rock music's place within the pop world, but real rock fans pay little or no attention to the popularity contest approach to music. Hence why no rock bands on X Factor, So-and-so's Got Talent etc.

[petruzh]

Rock and Roll can never die!

[badfish_lewis]

I'm sorry but I really could care less what gets played on terrestrial radio. I've been hooked on satellite radio for the last 4 years. I can listen to pretty much whatever genre I want and I can even provide them with feedback on what I'd like to hear more or less of. The funny thing is, they listen. Since their income is coming from subscriptions and not advertisements they have to cater to the listener.
Terrestrial radio will always drive you nuts. Hell, it hasn't been decent for the last few decades. Don't expect radio to get any better over the next 100 years.

Take solace in the fact that you have an Ipod or MP3 player and can listen to whatever you want or subscribe to satellite radio.

[I got the boot]

Who really cares whether some record company that's up it's own ass thinks rock is dead or is making a comeback? As long as you enjoy it it shouldn't matter how many other people do as well. For example, how many times have you discovered a not very well known band with badass riffage and thought "Wow these guys are amazing, but because nobody else likes them I won't either"... Exactly, so why should the inverse be true?

[i_am_metalhead]

Whoever wrote this article is a total dumbass.

1) There are just as many rock bands on the charts these days as there are artists from other genres. Rock never died (and sales have not decreased), its just the media decided to give more coverage to pop stars in recent years.

2) Guitar-based music made a comeback like ten years ago.

[Cavalcade]

Sales have decreased quite a bit, actually. And the media covers what people want them to cover, which is pop.

[whietwulf]

People here say rap is shit, but what you hear on the radio is not rap. Beastie boys and the NWA are rappers. Niki Minaj and justin beiber are "singers who string a meaningless jumble of words together and say it really fast. Rage Against the Machine are one of the finest examples of rock and rap working together in perfect harmony. Can't really say I'm up for modern rock or pop punk though.

[megaslaythrax]

for me, the fact that Crimson Glory- a band that's been off the radar for years- is finally making a 5th album proves that good rock and metal will never die

[Fishmania]

I gotta give it to Time Relapse, they are killin it in Philly

[manicmuso]

If rock is gonna make a comeback in the mainstream, it'll do it of its own accord, not because some music industry bosses declare it so.
If you're looking for a new, upcoming rock n roll band with attitude and energy, check out Heaven's Basement. They're the best rock band I've seen in years

[Ironpriest]

My band will bring back the rock!

[im not mental]

i feel like hip-hop is particularly being influenced by indie rock nowadays. if anything's gonna save the guitar, it's hip-hop.

[RocknRory]

Electronic music is going to be the decades mainstream music, I can pretty much say that without doubt. I do love some kinds of electronic music, but unfortunately I believe that radio stations will still tend to play the "eh" stuff of genre. There is plenty of great Hip-Hop, you just most likely won't find it on the radio or in the mainstream at all, at least not for long.

Search for new music, it's always there waiting to be discovered.

[Kueller917]

Really, radio stations always play the meh and the watered down. Accessibility is what sells, by definition. It doesn't always mean it's gonna be bad, but you're not really going to see the experimental or the niche played on big radio stations, at least not until the style can develop a subgenre that's accessible enough for widespread easy listening.

[RocknRory]

Definitely. I'm not against mainstream music, as many bands/artists I like and enjoy are widely known and recognized. The great thing about music is that there is so much of it, so everyone can be happy listening to whatever they enjoy!

[kerguitar08]

Hopefully that means some interesting guitar bands will arise as opposed to some boring post-punk/garage rock revival bands like in the past 10 years.

If hip hop can stay innovative and fresh in 2013, then rock can too.

[gtcspider]

Who cares about mainstream? What is mainstream? MTV?

What matters is that anybody can choose to listen to rock. There are great bands out there. Airbourne, The Answer, Rival Sons... etc. All those amazing underground bands.

Rock was never about mainstream.

[rabidgoon]

most 'guitar-based music' sucks.

[latinromans]

hmmmmm

[staceap]

Cherri Bomb for mainstream superstardom

[Music&Soul]

The problem isn't really if it's "mainstream" or not, the real problem lies in the so-called rock of today period, if it's on the radio or isn't, it's missing one very key element.....SOUL. 90% of todays bands are all rock, and no roll. They're all cock, and no soul. We need more bands with the same heart as Zep, Black Crowes, Allman Bros, Doobie Bros, Stones, STP, Rival Sons, CSN&Young, early Smashing Pumpkins, Dada, etc. you get the picture. Shit at least in the 90's for the most part even the pop music was way more talented and listenable. All today's bands riffs and songs are completely uninspired and forgettable. Not timeless or truly artistic at all! Thus affecting the new generation of kids picking up instruments for the wrong reasons, image, money, sex, etc. And THAT my friends, is truly where the real problem is.

[INSULIN]

i want to hear some guitar with 6 strings and tuned normal ha ha kill the dam 7 and 8 string and i wnat to hear people play some chords .andsing .thankgodi got ols records from 60 and 70's .thank you mommie

[venom1stas]

Why downrate DaFjory? He has a valid point. Whatever comeback rock is making wont be anywhere near as good as the old stuff.

[Northernmight]

So.. Rhianna is going to start strumming a guitar next?

[Zell182]

This guitar comeback will probably just involve a load of boring acoustic singer-songwriters like Jake Bugg.

[Virtuosofreak]

That's a bit wrong. You don't have to be crazy about guitars to like a virtuoso instrumental.