This is Our Band Name. Period.

The shockingly interesting history of incorrect punctuation in artist names

Before jumping into our history of band name punctuation, I wanted to let everyone know that on Thursday, October 31, I will be appearing in an online event with my former colleague Dave Edwards. This conversation is part of a series called The Smartest People in the Room that features “one-on-one conversations between music industry executives and personalities.” While I won’t claim to be one of the smartest people in any room, I’m really excited for this. In the past, the event has featured the likes of Stewart Copeland, Bob Lefsetz, Gloria Gaynor, and Simon Napier-Bell, among many others.

As noted, Dave Edwards and I worked together at Audiomack for years. As our Chief Revenue Officer, he has deep insight into the economics of how music streaming works and how it can be better. Recently, he left Audiomack to become the SVP of Revenue & Operations at Warner Records. Over an hour, we’re going to talk all things music. If you want to join us, feel free to register by following this link.

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This is Our Band Name. Period.

By Chris Dalla Riva

Before the release of their 2008 album, Pretty. Odd., the Las Vegas pop punkers Panic! at the Disco decided to drop the exclamation point from their name. What seemed to be a harmless move resulted in enough online backlash that the group had to comment on their decision. “It was never part of the name to us,” guitarist Ryan Ross told MTV News. Frontman Brendon Urie went on, “[E]very time I write [our name], I never put an exclamation point in there.”

While the decision may have seemed innocuous, things changed for the group after nixing the exclamation mark. With the mark, the second single from their debut album, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”, cracked the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. Nothing from Pretty. Odd. even entered the top 40.

A year later, when the group decided to reinstate the exclamation mark, two members left for other musical projects. Though a reconfigured version of the band would continue to build a loyal following throughout the 2010s, they wouldn’t have another true hit until 2018’s “High Hopes.” By the time that song was released, frontman Brendon Urie was the only original member left in the group.

Panic! At The Disco’s 2005 lineup

So, am I saying that the arc of Panic! At the Disco’s career is governed by some cosmic energy surrounding around an exclamation mark? No. Punctuation marks aside, they’ve had a very successful career. That said, their career is illustrative of the fact that musicians take punctuation and typography seriously. Note that as Panic! At The Disco shrugged at removing the exclamation mark from their name, they also put out an album that had two periods in the title (i.e., Pretty. Odd.) Punctuation is serious business. But it wasn’t always that way.