Inside the Business of Boy Bands — From One Direction to BTS
Categoria: Musica
On the latest episode of On the Record, Billboard's Jason Lipshutz joins the podcast to talk about his new book on One Direction and what makes boy bands a singular music business phenomenon.
Por Billboard | 04/11/2026
For about as long as the recorded music industry has been around, so has fans’ obsession with male vocal groups. Now collectively referred to as “boy bands,” these groups have ranged in musical style, presentation and size across generations, but they always remain a mainstay in global music culture. Groups like New Kids on the Block , Menudo , Boyz II Men , One Direction and BTS are more than just singers — they’re big business, and the music industry knows it. It’s become expected that modern hit boy bands can sell millions of albums and, at the same time, they can sell themselves — whether that’s emblazoned on pillowcases, t-shirts, action figures, toothbrushes and more. Related Lawsuit Over Beatles’ ‘First Known’ Recording Heads to Trial After Judge’s Ruling Kenny MacPherson, Veteran Music Publisher and Big Deal Music Co-Founder, Dies at 71 Diddy Moved From New Jersey Prison to Similar Facility in Pennsylvania But the way record labels can capitalize on the rabid fandom induced by boy bands doesn’t last forever. As Jason Lipshutz, co-chief content officer at Billboard , puts it in his new book A Whole Lotta History: One Direction and the Sound That Shaped a Generation, the groups are known to be “ephemeral” in nature, lasting for just a handful of years while their largely teen girl fanbase is at its most dedicated. “The idea is that if you’re 13 and a huge boy band fan, you know, by the time you’re 17, you might not be as into that boy band,” Lipshutz explains. Lipshutz joins the latest episode of Billboard On the Record to talk about his new book on One Direction, the industry mechanics behind boy bands and how our modern definition of these groups came to be. To watch this episode of Billboard On the Record , check out the YouTube video below or click here for more viewing and listening options. An edited and condensed excerpt of the conversation can also be found below. Let’s start simple — what is a boy band, by definition? What is a boy band? Before that term got popularized in around the late ’80s, early ’90s, it was basically just, like, an all-male vocal group. And now, in the 2020s, we have this much wider understanding of what a boy band means, what is typically associated with it, how many members are in it and what the sound is like. Dating back to the ’60s, a boy band, before they were called a boy band, was basically just any kind of vocal group that was comprised of all men. Could a barbershop quartet be considered a boy band? Yeah, that is the original boy band to me. For generations before us, that was big business back then. And now, as popular culture has evolved, so has the idea of a popular boy band. I think the classical understanding of a boy band really is steeped in the ’90s — Backstreet Boys , *NSYNC , New Kids on the Block, et cetera. What do you think is the fir