Did rock music really die in 2008?

[Owain Taggart]

Spotify has made it extremely difficult for musicians to make a living. Then, tag on Live Nation along with their owning venues, and it's become almost impossible.

Yeah, I prefer smaller venues for that reason. Although I've noticed different ticket vendors have tended to follow the trends created by TicketMaster/LiveNation. Just recently, I bought two tickets to a Blue Rodeo concert, and they were $157 each. Just last year, tickets like these would have been $90.

On the side of the consumer, the Ontario government announced new scalping rules, in which tickets sold by third-parties can't be sold at above the original market price.

 

[Steve Roby]

I think I've paid over a hundred bucks for tickets for a show four times: Roxy Music in Toronto in 2022, Rosanne Cash in Ottawa in 2025, Kraftwerk in Montreal in 2025, and The Damned in Montreal in 2025. No regrets.

I've got tickets for a couple of shows later this year that are well under that amount (Swervedriver and Dale Watson, at different venues here in Ottawa). It helps that I'm not into a lot of hugely popular bands, I guess. But what really adds up is transportation and hotel costs for out of town shows.

 

[bdub76]

I think I've paid over a hundred bucks for tickets for a show four times: Roxy Music in Toronto in 2022, Rosanne Cash in Ottawa in 2025, Kraftwerk in Montreal in 2025, and The Damned in Montreal in 2025. No regrets.

I've got tickets for a couple of shows later this year that are well under that amount (Swervedriver and Dale Watson, at different venues here in Ottawa). It helps that I'm not into a lot of hugely popular bands, I guess. But what really adds up is transportation and hotel costs for out of town shows.

My best ticket purchase ever was 5th row center for Lnyrd Skynyrd for $10 off a scalper before the show started in the 90s.

Now, I spend a whole lot more to go to musicals.

 

[Rebel Scum]

I spent $17.50 each for two tickets to see The Greatful Dead in San Francisco back in 1982. Prices today are something else now.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I think I've paid over a hundred bucks for tickets for a show four times: Roxy Music in Toronto in 2022, Rosanne Cash in Ottawa in 2025, Kraftwerk in Montreal in 2025, and The Damned in Montreal in 2025. No regrets.

I've got tickets for a couple of shows later this year that are well under that amount (Swervedriver and Dale Watson, at different venues here in Ottawa). It helps that I'm not into a lot of hugely popular bands, I guess. But what really adds up is transportation and hotel costs for out of town shows.

I used to try to regularly go to our local musical festival. I would buy a weekend pass and just absorb everything and take it all in, and it was the best way to casually run into some of the performers. I've gotten to meet Fred Penner among others this way, and it was always a more affordable experience as to compared to some of the big concerts. Unfortunately, within the last few years, the price has increased too much, while focusing more on local performers, and this year they've said it might be their last.

 

[Steve Roby]

Ottawa has some big festivals, but I really don't enjoy the festival experience, so I don't go.

 

[Weyoun 251]

Spotify has made it extremely difficult for musicians to make a living. Then, tag on Live Nation along with their owning venues, and it's become almost impossible.

Spotify is a double edged sword - I have discovered (and rediscovered) so many bands that I'd have never heard otherwise (and have been to see some of them live as a result) but as you say it dilutes things and reduces the money they get so much!

 

[bdub76]

Spotify is a double edged sword - I have discovered (and rediscovered) so many bands that I'd have never heard otherwise (and have been to see some of them live as a result) but as you say it dilutes things and reduces the money they get so much!

Spotify has made it incredibly difficult for new talent to make a living creating music. It's fine looking back, but it's horrible looking forward. I don't think it's a good thing at all. Then, add onto it the travesty that is Live Nation, and I now know why I don't hear good, new music in TV shows anymore.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Spotify is a double edged sword - I have discovered (and rediscovered) so many bands that I'd have never heard otherwise (and have been to see some of them live as a result) but as you say it dilutes things and reduces the money they get so much!

Yeah, it definitely is. The problem as I see it, is that it ends up reinforcing a negative feedback loop. You're probably only going to end up hearing anything adjacent to your preferences, unlike say the radio where the radio will be much more varied with more of a chance for discovery. And even with radio, it's not a sure thing anymore as so many radio stations have become centralized syndicated lists, removing much of the regional identity some of these stations have in favour of homogeneity. You lose an identifying pilllar, something unique by which someone can identify you with. I've always found national broadcasts to be better at this, with actual hosts that can offer context and stories.

 

[bdub76]

Yeah, it definitely is. The problem as I see it, is that it ends up reinforcing a negative feedback loop. You're probably only going to end up hearing anything adjacent to your preferences, unlike say the radio where the radio will be much more varied with more of a chance for discovery. And even with radio, it's not a sure thing anymore as so many radio stations have become centralized syndicated lists, removing much of the regional identity some of these stations have in favour of homogeneity. You lose an identifying pilllar, something unique by which someone can identify you with. I've always found national broadcasts to be better at this, with actual hosts that can offer context and stories.

The problem is that it's become incredibly hard for folks to make a living at making music post Spotify. What I have a problem with is the lack of new stuff coming out by new bands. But I don't blame them since it's hard for new bands to make a living.

 

[Avro Arrow]

The problem is that it's become incredibly hard for folks to make a living at making music post Spotify. What I have a problem with is the lack of new stuff coming out by new bands. But I don't blame them since it's hard for new bands to make a living.

Québécois rock duo Angine de poitrine tops Spotify’s global charts, earns enough to pay for Spotify Premium

SAGUENAY, QC – After topping Spotify’s global charts, the Québécois rock duo Angine de poitrine has reportedly earned enough from the streaming service to pay for the equivalent of “one month of Spotify ad-free.”

thebeaverton.com

 

[Owain Taggart]

The problem is that it's become incredibly hard for folks to make a living at making music post Spotify. What I have a problem with is the lack of new stuff coming out by new bands. But I don't blame them since it's hard for new bands to make a living.

Actually, I feel the lack of new material is very much a myth. There are plenty of bands that are releasing new material. You just need to know where to look. They just don't release it on Spotify. The problem is that it's the smaller bands/indie artists that need the exposure the most, and the Spotify model clearly isn't working for them. Meanwhile the bigger artists are on Spotify, and have already attained the exposure, so any hit taken from Spotify likely isn't noticed very much by them.

It feels much like a tool that was created by industry executives to replace physical media which was on its way out. Only problem is that I think the model has been largely untouched since the physical media days, so you see many artists signed to labels that are getting bum deals via Spotify.

This is why there was a big deal surrounding the narrative of Taylor Swift removing her music from Spotify, re-recording her material and re-releasing it. It was a way of getting out of her contract and reclaiming her music, and it's far from the only time I've seen an artist do this.

 

[Captain Marsh]

I sometimes attend free concerts in local parks, festivals, and libraries. You can find a lot of good local rock bands this way, however some bands only do covers of songs. And some of them do sell physical copies of their albums at said free concerts.

Hell, at the Traditional Music Festival (which is a mostly Bluegrass festival) in Festus, Missouri, there is a stand on the park grounds that sells CD albums of the bands at the festival.

 

[bdub76]

Actually, I feel the lack of new material is very much a myth. There are plenty of bands that are releasing new material. You just need to know where to look. They just don't release it on Spotify. The problem is that it's the smaller bands/indie artists that need the exposure the most, and the Spotify model clearly isn't working for them. Meanwhile the bigger artists are on Spotify, and have already attained the exposure, so any hit taken from Spotify likely isn't noticed very much by them.

It feels much like a tool that was created by industry executives to replace physical media which was on its way out. Only problem is that I think the model has been largely untouched since the physical media days, so you see many artists signed to labels that are getting bum deals via Spotify.

This is why there was a big deal surrounding the narrative of Taylor Swift removing her music from Spotify, re-recording her material and re-releasing it. It was a way of getting out of her contract and reclaiming her music, and it's far from the only time I've seen an artist do this.

The streaming services are causing all of the problems for both TV series and music.

Remember when TV shows use to outro with current songs. That's not really happening anymore post streaming. It's more of the old stuff that you hear or covers.

 

[Owain Taggart]

The streaming services are causing all of the problems for both TV series and music.

Remember when TV shows use to outro with current songs. That's not really happening anymore post streaming. It's more of the old stuff that you hear or covers.

True. They don't even really have any intros anymore either, if you consider 15 second intro sequences.

 

[bdub76]

True. They don't even really have any intros anymore either, if you consider 15 second intro sequences.

Good/New music in films and TV feels like it's been dying for a while now.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Rock died for me years ago. I was dating this girl, Susie. Had this gold Chevy and my own place. We'd dance to some crazy song. And boy, the way she dressed. Long story short, she left me for some foreign dude. I was devastated. Haven't listen to Rock music since.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Good/New music in films and TV feels like it's been dying for a while now.

Yeah, it is rare now for a movie to get a unique film score/soundtrack. One of my favs is An Officer and A Gentleman, and how the score builds up thematically via riffs throughout the course of the movie until the very end when it breaks out into the song the riffs were building up to. It's a technique that feels quite powerful.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Québécois rock duo Angine de poitrine tops Spotify’s global charts, earns enough to pay for Spotify Premium

SAGUENAY, QC – After topping Spotify’s global charts, the Québécois rock duo Angine de poitrine has reportedly earned enough from the streaming service to pay for the equivalent of “one month of Spotify ad-free.”

thebeaverton.com

By the way, in relation to this rock duo and also my local music festival being considered as a 'tastemaker' festival, where you get to see artists before they get big, the festival director explained that the organizers were on the cusp of making a deal with the rock duo, but were just outside the window where they would been able to afford them before they became a global phenomenon and raising their prices. That paints an interesting pictures of the careful negotiations that go behind the scenes at music festivals, and of the windows of opportunity that they have when it comes to negotiations. The bigger festivals likely have less of an issue with this, as they likely can afford hiring already popular artists due to the crowds they draw.

It reminds me of the time I asked the organizers if it would ever be possible to book a favourite Canadian band of mine, as I thought they would have been perfect for the festival. I was disappointed but understood, when their answer was that because they were already popular on the festival circuit in the U.S, that they were not affordable. I found that interesting as it meant the window of oppportunity was rather brief in the first place, given that the band in question kind of blew up in popularity, and that a festival in the country of origin (longest running festival at that) could not afford them. You know it's serious when your own country of origin can't afford you While I understood, I did feel a bit sad that it it means I'll likely never get to see them as a result.

 

[bdub76]

Yeah, it is rare now for a movie to get a unique film score/soundtrack. One of my favs is An Officer and A Gentleman, and how the score builds up thematically via riffs throughout the course of the movie until the very end when it breaks out into the song the riffs were building up to. It's a technique that feels quite powerful.

Check out the music on Iron Eagle or The Wraith.

These are both relatively low budget films, but the rock soundtracks are fantastic. I really miss not having this anymore.