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Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nYou’re growing up with a group of mates obsessed with music. You want to form a band and have dreams of one day headlining a summer festival or being the next Oasis.<\/p>\n This past bank holiday weekend saw thousands braving the wind, rain and mud to converge at Reading and Leeds.<\/p>\n The headline acts were Fred Again.., Gerry Cinnamon, Liam Gallagher, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Blink-182 and Lana Del Rey – mostly solo acts.<\/p>\n The same festival 10 years ago had Queens of the Stone Age, Paramore, Arctic Monkeys and again, Blink-182. A line-up full of bands.<\/p>\n So is the type of music we hear at festivals changing, and is it harder for newer bands to get top billing?<\/p>\n Last year, only four new songs released by bands made it to the top 100 Singles Charts.<\/p>\n And other big festivals this year such as Glastonbury and Radio 1’s Big Weekend saw Coldplay as the only band headline act.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Speaking to BBC Newsbeat at Reading, Welsh pop-punk band Neck Deep have only ever experienced fame as a group, never solo.<\/p>\n Guitarist Sam Bowden feels that bands are “a dying part of the industry”.<\/p>\n “It’s financially crushing for bands now,” he says.<\/p>\n “It’s hard to go out there and break even.”<\/p>\n Like with lots of things in the past few years, costs in the industry have gone up<\/a>, whether that is buying equipment, travelling and even finding music venues where bands normally start out.<\/p>\n In 2023, 125 UK venues abandoned live music, with over half of these shutting entirely due to financial stresses<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Another possible factor is the way the modern industry is now more geared towards solo acts.<\/p>\n With TikTok and streaming, algorithms increasingly dominate<\/a> music discovery, with it potentially being easier for solo artists to chase viral moments<\/a>.<\/p>\n Neck Deep drummer Matt Powles feels it’s easier to follow one person on apps like TikTok instead of a band with multiple people as there’s less information to have to take in as fans.<\/p>\n The Wombats frontman, Matthew “Murph” Murphy agrees and told Newsbeat he thinks the industry is leaning towards solo artists.<\/p>\n “They’re easier to sign, they’re cheaper to promote, there’s only one consciousness to deal with rather than four,” he says.<\/p>\n “It’s going to take guitar bands to break through to change the culture,” he adds.<\/p>\n But does it matter that fewer bands are taking the charts by storm?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Pop star CHINCHILLA, who was born in London, released her debut single Elements back in 2019.<\/p>\n She says she’s glad to have had an opportunity to be a solo artist for Reading and Leeds.<\/p>\n “I feel empowered by it,” she says.<\/p>\n Since her debut single, she has supported bands like McFly on tour, and played festivals across the UK and Europe.<\/p>\n CHINCHILLA started making music in a band back when she was younger, but always knew it was solo work she wanted to do.<\/p>\n “All the people who I’m inspired by are big, female solo artists,” she says.<\/p>\n She feels being solo allows her to have full creative control.<\/p>\n “I just wanted to make music I could shake my bum to,” CHINCHILLA adds.<\/p>\n “I think it’s easier for bands to have disagreements.<\/p>\n “Especially if they’re your best friends. You probably have the best times and the worst times,” she says, adding she has a lot of respect for bands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The benefits of being solo also mean greater individual focus, according to Zino Vinci.<\/p>\n The rapper was first to take to the main stage on Saturday at Reading – his debut festival appearance.<\/p>\n “You can have a band in rap, but I like the limelight too much,” he laughs.<\/p>\n “So I kind of want it to be just me up there.”<\/p>\n Zino says he grew up on video games like Fifa, that played a lot of music from bands like Slipknot and Nine Inch Nails, so there was a part of him that wanted to perform in a group at one point.<\/p>\n But as the middle child in his family, he jokes he “wants all of the attention”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Callum Nurse, Charlotte Tambinayagam and Saphia Lamb, all 21, attended Reading Festival for the weekend.<\/p>\n Charlotte and Saphia agreed that solo artists were their favourite to listen to.<\/p>\n “I feel like it’s easier to sing along [to solo artists] when you’re doing karaoke,” says Charlotte.<\/p>\n She does think bands are better live though.<\/p>\n She says she could only ever name the lead singer when it comes to bands, not the other members.<\/p>\n Saphia likes solo artists because she likes to listen to different genres of music.<\/p>\n “I see artists for different reasons,” says Callum.<\/p>\n “Bands are a better vibe,” he says. “There’s much more going on.”<\/p>\n He think that when you see bands, you’re there for the music and the instruments, but with solo artists you’re there for the lyrics.<\/p>\n However, all three of them said if they were to become musicians, they would be in bands and not do it solo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And for Neck Deep, being in a band is more than just music.<\/p>\n “If you’re a solo artist you live and die by your personal success,” drummer Matt Powles says.<\/p>\n Sam imagines doing it solo is probably quite lonely, and enjoys getting to have a laugh with his mates on stage every night instead.<\/p>\n The group said being in a band helped them through some tough times on the road too.<\/p>\n “It is about the people you’re in it with,” Sam adds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nHow do the fans feel?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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