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6.21am
Reviewers
29 August 2013
Offline
Seeing sales numbers for some recent releases by my favourite artists over the last year or so has me wondering; what happened to all the people who used to buy their stuff in the 60s / 70s etc.?
Dead? Stopped buying music? Moved on to other acts? Other?
Even Paul’s great new piece of metal and plastic looks like it won’t hit number one, and he has an active concert following and has had heaps of publicity. Not to mention poor Ringo who has had some great albums (“Time Takes Time”) and singles (“Walk With You”) basically disappear apart from a few dozen of us here picking them up.
I know I stopped buying new music for some years while working and raising the kids and only started again about 2 years ago. Anyway, I would be interested to hear any thoughts.
==> trcanberra and hongkonglady - Together even when not (married for those not in the know!) <==
12.06pm
6 August 2013
Offline trcanberra said
Seeing sales numbers for some recent releases by my favourite artists over the last year or so has me wondering; what happened to all the people who used to buy their stuff in the 60s / 70s etc.?Dead? Stopped buying music? Moved on to other acts? Other?
Even Paul’s great new piece of metal and plastic looks like it won’t hit number one, and he has an active concert following and has had heaps of publicity. Not to mention poor Ringo who has had some great albums (“Time Takes Time”) and singles (“Walk With You”) basically disappear apart from a few dozen of us here picking them up.
I know I stopped buying new music for some years while working and raising the kids and only started again about 2 years ago. Anyway, I would be interested to hear any thoughts.
They’re not buying as much, the music can be downloaded now, the fanbase has dwindled, etc. All sorts of reasons. It’s hard, though not impossible, to have your sales increase as you get older- Bob Dylan and Tony Bennett have done it. Plus, the majority of the record-buying public is young adults and teens, and it really has been for years. And a 71 year old rock star who doesn’t do AutoTune and doesn’t dumb his music down is simply not what’s in fashion right now.
"There's no such thing as bad student... only bad teacher."
1.25pm
3 May 2012
Offline ^ As said above me, most record-buying people, I think, are younger people. So original fans of, say, the Beatles, now in their late 60s upwards, may not follow Paul or Ringo anymore. And if they do, they usually have grandkids who they’d rather spend their money on. I know that is a big generalization, and I usually hate generalizing, but I think it’s true for most people. We don’t even get on that great with my grandparents and we know they’d give up doing anything for themselves if it meant they could instead spend that money on us. And I think older people are more likely to save rather than spend their money. These are people who grew up in times when there wasn’t that much about, plus over here a lot of people have bad pensions, so they tend to put any remaining money at the end of the month in the bank ”just in case” IMO.
Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.
(Passover - I. Curtis)
2.25pm
16 August 2012
Offline The Law Of Diminishing Returns also comes into play here.
With the exception of a handful of artists like, say, Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen, as artists age their music softens or changes direction. Paul will continue to pack live shows, but it’s not because of his new material.
But the above posts hit it on the head: Music is about youth. And even as some artists continue to maintain relevance until their 40s, most fans have different priorities as they themselves age.
E is for 'Ergent'.
9.47pm
Reviewers
29 August 2013
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SatanHimself said
The Law Of Diminishing Returns also comes into play here.With the exception of a handful of artists like, say, Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen, as artists age their music softens or changes direction. Paul will continue to pack live shows, but it’s not because of his new material.
But the above posts hit it on the head: Music is about youth. And even as some artists continue to maintain relevance until their 40s, most fans have different priorities as they themselves age.
Thanks all – that kind of confirms what I was thinking.
Oh, but we should add Neil Young to that list with Springsteen etc. – he had two top 10 albums last year. He never really worries about chart success (and at times has consciously avoided it) but it was nice to see him have his best year commercially for a long time.
In a way I find it a little sad that people drift away from buying the music that helped make life so exciting ‘back in the day’. As noted above, I did the same for far too long due to growing family etc., but just had a mad bit of ‘splashing the plastic’ – or buying ‘on the drip’ – and feel 100% better for it 
==> trcanberra and hongkonglady - Together even when not (married for those not in the know!) <==
11.14pm
16 August 2012
Offline I’ve also found that after years and years, some artists resonate only in parts of their earlier catalogue that coincided with times in my youth.
As a former music store owner, I try to keep the spirit alive by seeking out new bands and artists. It nice to see what’s capturing the imagination of young people nowadays. Although to be fair, it’s not the same today as it used to be.
E is for 'Ergent'.
