What happened to Rock and Roll’s place in the music world? (Photo: Instagram)

By Carly Levy

At the end of the year 2016, it was discovered by Spotify that the top artists of the year included rappers such as Drake and Kanye West, pop stars such Justin Bieber, R&B stylings of Rihanna, and even electro-pop from Twenty One Pilots. Hip-hop/Rap and Pop music continues to take over the award ceremonies, the radio, streaming sites, and the ears of many Americans today. My question is, where has the rock music genre gone to; the music that would get your head banging as you belt out the lyrics feeling invincible?

The Nielsen 2016 survey said that rock music was more successful than any other genre in album sales with bands like Metallica, Disturbed, Bon Jovi and may other bands. What seems apparent is how we do not see these bands very often make the headlines that the top five Spotify artists make. Has the rock genre become so nonexistent that bands like Twenty One Pilots are filling in the blank for this category now? I believe that rock music is not buried in the ground gathering dust but just living in obscurity because a new generation of people are seeking to hear something different than previous generations wanted to hear.
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