re: is hard rock making a mainstream comeback?

Why do they make albums? To sell them and make money? Case in point...

LINK

quote:

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The sale of vinyl albums in the U.S. brought in more money than the recording industry made from advertising on the free tier of services like YouTube and Spotify last year, according to the RIAA.

Vinyl LP/EP sales rose 32% in 2015 to $416 million, their highest level since 1988, the U.S. record industry group said. That's still a fraction of overall industry revenues, which edged higher by 0.9% over 2014 to an estimated $7 billion. But it's more than the revenue generated from on-demand, ad-supported streaming, which grew 31% to $385 million.

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When a niche product like vinyl records brings in more revenues than something as ubiquitous as online streaming, there's a major problem.

Streaming doesn't pay the bills, record sales still do. So artists still release full albums so they can make money. Which is an almost novel concept in the current recording industry. Since rock acts sell albums better than anyone else, it's arguable they are more profitable to recording companies.