The times they are a changin’
This first article was so interesting. I hadn’t really thought about how it this way.
But then I saw on the news the other morning that 21.6 MILLION millennials still live at home. Whoa.
I didn’t really listen to the story so I don’t know if they took into account that perhaps some of them were going to school and living at home or if they had jobs or if they were just mooching off their parent(s).
Then I saw this article on FB. It’s much, much longer and you can read it all by clicking on the title if you like to read. Below is gist of it.
The Music Business Today
THE TRANSITIONWe’re in the midst of the greatest transition in the music business since the Beatles, and I’m not talking about files to streaming, ownership to rental, but the transition from baby boomers to the younger generation. Voices change. Arthritis sets in. In other words, no one lives forever, and no one can do it forever. Sure, you might see ancient warriors still treading the boards, but so many of your favorite classic acts are not only over sixty, they’re seventy. In other words, if you want to see the Stones, go now, this is truly the last time.
And what this means is the legacy of the business is being wiped out, everything boomers were married to will be gone. Traditional radio, physical product, getting a good seat at a fair price, the music and everything attendant to it will be wiped out and we’ll end up with a clean slate. So, if you’re waiting for the past to come back, sayonara!
FREQUENCY
There’s been a big change in music in the last ten years. Used to be an act put out new music every three to five years. If you do that now, unless you’re Justin Timberlake, you’re forgotten. Album cycles have sped up. Acts put covers and live material on YouTube.
In other words, we are in an era of creation as opposed to marketing. It’s an artist’s wet dream. You have a ready and willing audience that wants to eat up everything you have to say. Feed them. Constantly. Singles may take longer than ever to happen on radio, but if you don’t think radio is losing its influence, you’re in it.
Furthermore, the tail of almost anything is not very long. Is anybody listening to “Gangnam Style” now? “Blurred Lines”? Beyonce’s latest? Baby boomer thinking is that you make an impact and last. Youngster thinking is what have you done for me lately? If you haven’t done anything lately, you’re on the way to extinction.
I’m a Boomer. But I don’t mind the change. I know how to stream movies and music. We have Wi-Fi and I can watch Netflix through our Play Station. I have a tablet and a Smartphone. I don’t use everything my phone can do, but I’m fairly certain I could if I wanted to. Like the generation before me, I ponder the decline of our youth’s morals. All of that being said, I can still roll with it. I’m not at all like my husband, who balks at everything new. I don’t grumble about today’s fashions. I don’t cuss about the way pop culture controls everything. If there were kids in our neighborhood, I wouldn’t the old fart yelling at them to get off my lawn! The world is changing, that’s just the way it is. I don’t like all the changes but they don’t ruin my day.
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobdylan/thetimestheyareachangin.html
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