Ed Sheeran receives the gong for Best Pop Solo Performance, for "Thinking Out Loud," at the Grammys on Monday night
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Is the great British rock group becoming an endangered species? Solo stars, led by Adele and Ed Sheeran, now account for 60 per cent of sales, crowding out the musical collective from the charts.
A decade ago, bands including Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol, Razorlight, Arctic Monkeys and Oasis enjoyed multi-platinum sales as UK Rock enjoyed a revival.
Gorillaz and Faithless represented Dance music whilst Westlife flew the flag for pop groups among the best-sellers.
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Today the situation is reversed. New analysis of the top 1,000 selling artist albums of 2015 by industry body BPI found that the market share for solo artists has soared to 60 per cent.
Coldplay’s A Head Full Of Dreams was the only non-solo artist title to feature in the top ten best-sellers of 2015 with Elvis Presley and Justin Bieber joining Adele, Sheeran and Sam Smith in an all solo top five.
Duos - once a staple of the 80s synth pop scene with the Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and Eurythmics - are also struggling.
The trend has continued into 2016 - solo albums dominate with just Coldplay and Little Mix enjoying group status in this week’s Top 20.
The trend for solo best-sellers has coincided with the decline of Rock. The genre accounted for 40 per cent of album sales in the guitar-heavy years between 2005 and 2008, whilst Pop languished with just 20 per cent. Last year Pop soared to a 34.5 per cent market share of UK album sales, surpassing rock music’s 33.2 per cent.
The BPI warned that the widespread closure of small venues that gave bands like Coldplay and Arctic Monkeys their first break was hindering the opportunities for new groups to develop.
Grammys 2016: in pictures
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Grammys 2016: in pictures
1/30
Taylor Swift channels Anna Wintour at the Grammys with a new bob haircut
Getty Images
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John Legend, Demi Lovato, Lionel Richie, Meghan Trainor, Tyrese and Luke Bryan perform together
3/30
Lady Gaga performs a David Bowie tribute with Nile Rodgers
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Joe Perry, Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp perform as Hollywood Vampires
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Kendrick Lamar wins best rap album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly'
6/30
Taylor Swift took three Grammys home
7/30
Gaga unveils her Aladdin Sane
8/30
British superstar Adele was accompanied by just a pianist for her highly anticipated performance of "All I Ask" from her album 25. Dressed in a floor-length sparkly red dress, the singer was introduced on stage by Bruno Mars, who wrote the song with her
9/30
Ed Sheeran accepts the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance, for 'Thinking Out Loud,'
10/30
Justin Bieber, who won his first Grammy for best dance recording for "Where Are U Now" with Skrillex and Diplo, performed an acoustic version of Love Yourself before throwing his guitar to the floor and running to another stage to perform the award-winning hit with his collaborators
11/30
Musicians Pitbull and Jon Perry perform onstage during the Grammys
12/30
Chris Stapleton (2nd from L) and producer Dave Cobb (R) accept the Best Country Album award for 'Traveller'
13/30
Kendrick Lamar (R) accepts the award for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly' from actor O'Shea Jackson Jr. (L) and rapper/actor Ice Cube (C)
14/30
Kendra Foster accepts the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for, 'Really Love'
15/30
Tori Kelly and James Bay perform onstage during the Grammys
16/30
Singer Ariana Grande attends the Grammys
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(L-R) Musicians Heath Fogg, Brittany Howard, Steve Johnson, and Zac Cockrell of Alabama Shakes, winners of Best Alternative Music Album for 'Sound & Color' and Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for 'Don't Wanna Fight'
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Meghan Trainor, winner of the Best New Artist award
19/30
Demi Lovato and Tyrese Gibson perform at the Grammys
20/30
Producers Jeff Bhasker (L) and recording artist Bruno Mars accept the record of the year award for 'Uptown Funk'
21/30
Justin Bieber speaks with Sam Smith during the Grammys
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Rapper Kendrick Lamar performs during Grammys
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Musician The Weeknd performs at the Grammys
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Taylor Swift channels Anna Wintour at the Grammys with a new bob haircut
Getty Images
2/30
John Legend, Demi Lovato, Lionel Richie, Meghan Trainor, Tyrese and Luke Bryan perform together
3/30
Lady Gaga performs a David Bowie tribute with Nile Rodgers
4/30
Joe Perry, Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp perform as Hollywood Vampires
5/30
Kendrick Lamar wins best rap album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly'
6/30
Taylor Swift took three Grammys home
7/30
Gaga unveils her Aladdin Sane
8/30
British superstar Adele was accompanied by just a pianist for her highly anticipated performance of "All I Ask" from her album 25. Dressed in a floor-length sparkly red dress, the singer was introduced on stage by Bruno Mars, who wrote the song with her
9/30
Ed Sheeran accepts the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance, for 'Thinking Out Loud,'
10/30
Justin Bieber, who won his first Grammy for best dance recording for "Where Are U Now" with Skrillex and Diplo, performed an acoustic version of Love Yourself before throwing his guitar to the floor and running to another stage to perform the award-winning hit with his collaborators
11/30
Musicians Pitbull and Jon Perry perform onstage during the Grammys
12/30
Chris Stapleton (2nd from L) and producer Dave Cobb (R) accept the Best Country Album award for 'Traveller'
13/30
Kendrick Lamar (R) accepts the award for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly' from actor O'Shea Jackson Jr. (L) and rapper/actor Ice Cube (C)
14/30
Kendra Foster accepts the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for, 'Really Love'
15/30
Tori Kelly and James Bay perform onstage during the Grammys
16/30
Singer Ariana Grande attends the Grammys
17/30
(L-R) Musicians Heath Fogg, Brittany Howard, Steve Johnson, and Zac Cockrell of Alabama Shakes, winners of Best Alternative Music Album for 'Sound & Color' and Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for 'Don't Wanna Fight'
18/30
Meghan Trainor, winner of the Best New Artist award
19/30
Demi Lovato and Tyrese Gibson perform at the Grammys
20/30
Producers Jeff Bhasker (L) and recording artist Bruno Mars accept the record of the year award for 'Uptown Funk'
21/30
Justin Bieber speaks with Sam Smith during the Grammys
22/30
Rapper Kendrick Lamar performs during Grammys
23/30
Musician The Weeknd performs at the Grammys
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In London, 40 per cent of small music venues have shut in the last decade. City centre venues including Sheffield Boardwalk, the Princess Charlotte in Leicester and the Cockpit in Leeds have also shut their doors.
Geoff Taylor, BPI chief executive, said: “It is too early to say that the recent strong performance by Pop is more than cyclical variation. The BPI is concerned however that the recent trend may be exacerbated by the worrying decline in the number of small venues that groups in particular rely on to learn their craft and build their fanbases, as highlighted recently by Independent Venues Week.”
Grammys 2016 highlights
The BPI is working with the Music Venues Trust on its campaign to protect grassroots venues from licensing restrictions, rising rents and threats from property developers.
The BPI preferred to celebrate the global success of British solo artists like the Grammy-winning Sheeran and Mark Ronson. Taylor said: “There may be any number of reasons why solo stars are currently outperforming groups, but certainly over the last few years Pop has enjoyed a particularly fertile period, which has tended to coincide with a strong performance from solo acts.
“Some may speculate that the reach of TV talent shows and the rapid growth of streaming are promoting the dominance of Pop. Others suggest that the internet has spawned a whole new generation of ‘bedroom DJs’ and performers who are more likely to create music alone.”
The Best British Group category at next week’s Brits awards features One Direction, Foals and Years & Years, who have made a mark on the charts. Without a reliable income from record sales, as music fans turn to streaming, aspiring bands are reliant on touring to subsist, with little profit to be shared out once travel costs are taken into account. Solo artists are also often easier for record companies to market. A BPI spokesman said: “Everything is cyclical. It just needs one band to excite everyone and that creates a new trend.”
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