[Reporter’s Reading] Will Rock Revive After the COVID Crisis Ends?

Rock Band Beatles Gains Popularity at US Mets Stadium Concert with 'British Invasion' Expression
Marginalized in Mainstream Since 2000s

Post-COVID Era Begins
Will It Revive Alongside Economic Growth?

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The legendary British rock band The Beatles first performed as popular musicians at Shea Stadium, the home of the New York Mets, in 1965. This event marked the origin of the term "British Invasion." The term metaphorically describes the socio-economic phenomenon where British rock bands like The Beatles and various cultural artists successively entered the U.S. market and achieved great success.

Recently, the phrase "Korean Invasion" has been heard quite often. When the group BTS topped the U.S. Billboard main singles chart "Hot 100" with their disco-pop hit "Dynamite" and were nominated for the prestigious American music award, the Grammy Awards, many American audiences and some critics recalled that moment from 56 years ago.

Alongside BTS's success, the attention given to director Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" and actress Youn Yuh-jung from "Minari" also resembles the British Invasion. The difference between the past and present is that while rock was the mainstream music genre then, today it has been completely replaced by pop and hip-hop.

Why does a particular genre of music gain immense popularity and even spark a cultural boom during certain eras? Music can be seen as a matter of personal taste. However, the author of "Rockonomics" argues that the process of music consumption and its transition into a trend is closely related to economic conditions and technological advancements.

Rock, which dominated the global music market from the post-World War II era until the 1990s, has its roots in American "rock and roll." Rock and roll is a music genre created by combining country music favored by white males and the uniquely lyrical and improvisational blues of African Americans.

The 1950s, when rock and roll was popular, was a period of economic prosperity in the U.S. From 1951 to 1960, the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate reached 37%. Income was also distributed evenly. Between 1928 and 1946, the top 5% of high-income earners in the U.S. accounted for one-third of the total national income. However, in the 1950s, this ratio dropped to less than one-fifth. During this economically affluent time, rock and roll, which represented the emotions of teenagers, was fast and exciting. They did not hesitate to spend money on rock and roll records.

The rock and roll craze that started in the U.S. later spread to the U.K. In the 1960s, the framework of the genre now called rock was established. Rock often consists of at least four members: vocals, guitar, bass, and drums. The Beatles created this archetype. A boom in forming bands imitating The Beatles led to explosive growth in rock. This period is known as the "Golden Age" of the British economy. From 1950 to 1965, the real income of the British people increased by 40%, and the unemployment rate averaged only 2%.

Even in the 1970s, when the global economy was in recession due to the oil shock and the Vietnam War, rock's popularity did not fade. On the contrary, it expanded its influence worldwide, fueled by the success in the U.S. and the U.K. However, due to the economic downturn and polarization, heavier and more rebellious genres like heavy metal and punk dominated the mainstream music market. In the 1980s and 1990s, as the Cold War system between the U.S. and the Soviet Union collapsed and the economy stabilized, the public pursued freedom and pleasure rather than anti-war or resistance themes. Many rock songs from this era praised women, alcohol, and drugs. Various attempts to transcend rock also took place during this time. Nirvana led the alternative rock boom as an alternative to heavy metal. In the late 1990s, when rock's popularity waned, post-rock emerged as an attempt to go beyond rock.

In the 2000s, rock was pushed out of the mainstream. One reason critics cite for the assessment that "rock is dead" in the 2000s is the genre's saturation due to rapid development. "All musical experiments possible with rock have been tried," they say.

The author pays attention to the spread of the internet in the 2000s. In the past, people accessed music via radio and purchased records at stores, but in the internet era, music became accessible cheaply through streaming services. In this environment, accessing music by singles rather than albums became easier. These conditions contributed to the decline of rock, which values the concept and completeness of entire albums.

The author hopes that the economic and technological changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic might lead to a revival of rock. "As long as music exists in this world, new forms of rock will emerge again. As rock's history shows, the recession caused by the pandemic and the economic growth in the post-COVID era may lead to the resurgence of certain rock music genres."

(Rockonomics / Written by Pyong-ik Pi / Saebit / 16,000 KRW)

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.