Rock Bands Are Dying Out in the 2020s; Here’s Why More Musicians Need To Collaborate in Groups To Keep the Genre Alive

Take a look at the top albums on the Billboard 200 so far this year, compiled via Wikipedia. Notice anything interesting? Only one rock band can be found among the 16 albums that made it to the top over the last few months. That band is Megadeth, a thrash metal outfit that has been around since the early 1980s. There are no “new” rock bands anywhere close to the top.

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This isn’t a new phenomenon, either. Last year, in 2025, it took until May for two rock band albums to make it to the top of the Billboard 200. Those are Skeletá by Ghost and Even In Arcadia by Sleep Token, respectively. The only other rock band to make it to No. 1 on the coveted chart in 2025 was Twenty One Pilots. That’s an alt-rock electropop duo that some would struggle to define as a “rock band” in the traditional sense.

This is a phenomenon that has been steadily increasing in its obviousness over the last decade or two. Rock bands are dying out, and the biggest musicians to dominate the charts are just that: individual musicians, not bands.

Is it really time for rock bands to call it quits? Or can the era of the rock band take back the charts? Personally, the last thing I want is for rock bands to disappear. But I understand how we got here. And I think more musicians need to huddle together in groups and self-release their material.

Why Rock Bands Are Dying Out in the 2020s

It’s simple, really. Large labels don’t want to deal with a “diverse” group of musicians to market, manage, and protect from cancellation. By “diverse” here, I mean “some might do what we [the labels] say and be good, others might go off on a drug binge and run someone over with their car.” This is the struggle that just about every rock label in the 20th century and early 21st century had to deal with. It’s much easier to manage and curate one sole musician instead of a “mixed bag” of band members in a genre known for promoting a debauched way of living on the edge with tons of money. They don’t call it the “rock star lifestyle” for no reason.

There are also a number of complex economic factors to consider, too. Merch from bands doesn’t sell as well as it used to. Hastily printed and dropshipped band shirts are readily available online from retailers. Touring, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, has been difficult. Tyson Ritter of All-American Rejects, among many other well-known members of rock bands, noted that bands are losing money when touring now. With all of these factors considered, and already slim earnings being split among multiple band members instead of just one musician, it makes sense why rock bands are dying off.

But not all is lost. I encourage any musician out there of any age and any genre to get together with like-minded musicians to form a band. Touring isn’t exactly profitable, and large labels don’t want to deal with bands anymore. But you’re quite literally in the best position to form a band on your own, for virtually no cost. This is the age of the Internet, baby. The digital age has made it possible to connect with musicians to form a band, use a free DAW to mix and master tracks, learn how to play an instrument via YouTube videos, and promote one’s band’s albums via social media. Perhaps the age of DIY will come back with a vengeance soon. It’s up to us in the end.

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