OLD MUSIC OUTSELLING NEW MUSIC

[cherelann]

I ran across this article today & thought it might generate some lively discussion on this forum...

http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?...r-mus-buzz

It certainly ties in with my feelings that most top 40 music is crap. The fact that Haley's album has not hit the mainstream is no reflection on the quality of her work. Adele had a slow rise into the mainstream & now her first album is outselling current markets.

Please tell me what you think...

[My Alter Ego]

^^Nice find, Cherelann, although the fact that Nielsen Soundscan didn't begin tracking this type of data until 1991 may skew the current results a bit.

If people are currently buying up Queen's greatest hits, it suggests (to me, anyway), how effective a recent six concert gig with Adam Lambert was in generating sales for the original group. Initially, there was a YouTube of the entire first concert up. Perhaps, that's been taken down or, perhaps, those watching it have tired of the quality.

That people are now buying Adele's first album suggests the "I want all things Adele" mentality that people often gravitate to when something like an album (like "21") is as successful as it has been. Perhaps the same mentality holds true of Taylor Swift as well.

The piece you found was cool in that it didn't presume to have all the answers, but rather threw out to its readers to suggest reasons.

[alpha7388]

I wonder how much is the lack of good music now versus the fact that young people don't purchase music like older people have over the years. Maybe its the older ones still buying.

[Outcast]

I wonder how much is the lack of good music now versus the fact that young people don't purchase music like older people have over the years. Maybe its the older ones still buying.

Bingo!

[danzeb]

I wonder how much is the lack of good music now versus the fact that young people don't purchase music like older people have over the years. Maybe its the older ones still buying.

Here's another possibility. There's nothing much new in the music that gets radio play these days. It's mostly various forms of top 40. A lot of cookie cutter music sounding similar on the radio. Then there is 50 years of older music that does get play on classic rock stations and serious music fans may want to spend some money on those classic albums. The math is in favor of the older music. 50 years of top albums completing against 2 or 3 years of current top music. For music fans in there teens, 20's and 30's those old albums are new to them. For them there is not much difference from buying an Adle album or Carly Simon album. In my experience there are young fans of classic rock. I remember being at a party were a couple of 25 year olds were discussing the Yardbirds. Another time a group of twenty somethings, playing poker, listened to Led Zeppelin the entire night!

I'm not saying there isn't good music being made today. There is plenty of good music being made these days but it doesn't get radio play. If you use Pandora you'll discover many artists that you never heard of but have released excellent songs.