CLEVELAND, Ohio – No matter which way you slice it, Dave Matthews Band is sure to headline this month’s announcement of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the band is going to be inducted.
After an impressive social media push, DMB dominated this year’s record-breaking Fan Vote. The group earned more than 884,000 votes, besting second-place finisher Pat Benatar by more than 90,000.
Judging by the past, things look good for Dave Matthews Band. Each of the previous seven winners of the Rock Hall’s Fan Vote – Rush, KISS, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Chicago, Journey, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard – earned induction that year. However, a deeper look suggests DMB might put an end to that streak.
The one thing each of the previous Fan Vote winners have in common is that they are classic rock bands. They fit into a recent trend for the Rock Hall’s actual voter-base (made up of living Hall of Famers, music historians and music media members) that has favored the likes of Steve Miller Band, ELO, Cheap Trick, Yes, The Cars, Dire Straits and The Moody Blues.
While bands that dominated the 1970s and 1980s have done well when it comes to recent Rock Hall classes, the Nominating Committee and voters have been pickier when it comes to rock acts from the 1990s. Just three – Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Green Day – have been inducted since 2014.
Results of the Rock Hall’s Class of 2020 Fan Vote.
Whether or not you think Dave Matthews Band is better than those bands (And trust me – some DMB fans do), there’s no denying Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Green Day reached a level of critical praise that has, right or wrong, eluded Dave Matthews Band.
Those three recent inductees (you could also throw in Tupac Shakur, Radiohead and Janet Jackson if you want to) are among the consensus top-15 artists of the 1990s. Further down such a list, you would find Dave Matthews Band, amongst the likes of Rage Against the Machine and Nine Inch Nails, bands who have been nominated for Rock Hall Induction multiple times but failed to get in.
For what it’s worth, DMB isn’t just a “90s band.” The group has released an impressive six chart-topping albums since the start of the 21st Century. However, if you stick to the high-brow realm of critics, the gap between a multiple-time Grammy winner like Green Day and Dave Matthews Band only gets wider in the 2000s.
Of course, critical consensus isn’t everything. Bands like Bon Jovi and Journey didn’t exactly amass five-star reviews throughout their respective careers. But they do have the benefit of time having passed. At least so far, Rock Hall voters seem to prefer 1990s bands that are still considered “groundbreaking” or routinely topped “best of” lists. And even then, it’s no guarantee.
What, perhaps, hurts Dave Matthews Band the most is how insular the band’s appeal feels. Diehards might dismiss every argument against DMB’s induction. However, that’s a double-edged sword. Perhaps it’s an overstatement to say you either love Dave Matthews Band or you don’t, and there’s no in between. But it’s certainly truer about DMB than any other 1990s/2000s era band that’s been nominated for the Rock Hall or, for that matter, the rest of this year’s nominees.
And yet, still, DMB won this year’s Fan Vote. Which, in itself, brings up an interesting question: What does winning the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Fan Vote actually mean?
The top-five vote-getters earn a spot on one (JUST ONE) ballot grouped in with more than 1,000 other ballots from voters. There is no difference, in terms of benefits, for DMB and fifth place finisher Judas Priest.
It just so happens that the top vote-getter from each of the past seven Fan Votes has earned induction. Unless you believe in conspiracy theories, what we have here is simply a coincidence. And without more transparency from the Rock Hall about its voting process, that won’t change.
When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 is announced this month, one of two things will happen. Either Dave Matthews Band will become the eighth consecutive Fan Vote winner to earn induction or break a streak that, thus far, has represented the only reliable predictor of Rock Hall voting patterns.
Either way, DMB will grab headlines…for better or worse. And expect the band’s fans to have a passionate opinion about it on social media.