A Message To New BoyGroups — Give Up
The trend of the Boy Group also known as Boyband has been alive and kicking for years with groups like Boyzone, Westlife, Take That and Backstreet Boys starting the momentum back in the 80’s and 90’s to then be proceeded by bands like One Direction and 5 Seconds Of Summer in the 2010’s. The groups named here were some of the most successful artists of their times but let me fill all you new boyband hopeful’s in on a little secret. They had something you don’t (no, not talent, although that is seriously lacking in some of the groups I’ve seen pop up on the internet recently.) What they had was the financial backing and vocal support from major labels such as Syco and Universal, THAT is why they launched to fame, money.
This is a concept that all of these groups of 17–20 year old lads who start their social media accounts with the handle “@newboyband” don’t seem to be able to grasp. I mean the fact that they’ve decided to kickstart their social media campaign without even having a name says it all to me and I so fed up with seeing the same thing over and over again! The formula goes like this: someone on the Z list who claims to be the ultimate manager for “social media influencers” finds individual young lads who are somewhat good looking and can just about hold a note, puts them all in a room and convinces them that he is going to make them famous and successful and that they’re going to be the next One Direction. The boys then believe said Z lister and start to try and gain a following by posting average, overly auto-tuned and compressed covers on their social media page and hosting cringe-worthy live streams with about 5 people watching, this carries on for about 6–12 months, the “next one direction” then realise that they’re going nowhere and are only attracting the support of 12 year old girls and then vanish into thin air. That is literally the same rinse and repeated cycle that keeps on happening year after year and I am sick of it.
The fact of the matter is, there will NEVER be a group as successful as One Direction for a very long time. Simon Cowell hasn’t signed anymore Boy Groups for a reason — he has enough foresight and experience in the music industry to realise that the trend is dying and it’s not a financially viable concept in the current industry climate. These lads that are dropping out of their year 11 exams or quitting their well paid city jobs to try and “make it” in an already messed up and financially fucked industry are as deluded as an alcoholic who’s convinced they’re not an alcoholic. I get it, fame and money are two very attractive things to have but they take actual work and actual dedication to achieve and unless you have an uncle or distant cousin who happens to work at a major label, the chances of you even getting a glint of recognition are about as slim as me getting a PHd in Mathematics!
My advice to “new boyband” “new venture” “the scenes” or whatever you want to call yourself is as my article title suggests: GIVE UP!
Honestly, sit down, have a look at yourself and a serious think about wether this whole thing is actually going to be worth throwing away your exams and nice salaries for — I promise you it’s not. I came to realisation that despite being a pretty good keys player who works his backside off both on and off stage, I am not going to be a world famous musician, and I’ve made my peace with that and I am a hell of a lot happier for it.
Honestly lads, just walk away and do something else, get your exams and go and get a music degree, really take the time to learn about the industry you desperately want to be a part of — the sooner you do that the better off you’ll all be.
.
