Rod Stewart knows about it. So does Elton John. And Barry Manilow. Tony Bennett, to his joy and surprise, is just finding out about it. And next year Earth, Wind and Fire will get in on the act.
The chart-topping but ageing artists have all been on the receiving end of help from their peers. The latest United States research shows baby boomers and beyond now account for the largest share of music buyers. Figures compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America show that consumers over 45 accounted for 25% of music sales last year, more than twice the share of any other age group, and up from 15% a decade ago. Perhaps most surprisingly, the over-50s were responsible for 24% of the music industry’s online sales.
Now the AARP, which used to go under the less racy name of the American Association of Retired Persons, is to sponsor a concert tour for the first time — by the 80-year-old Tony Bennett. The endorsement follows the success of Bennett’s latest album. Duets: An American Classic has sold just under 650 000 copies in the three weeks since its release, making it the biggest seller of his career.
“Tony is the perfect musical ambassador for AARP,” said Shereen Remez, the organisation’s group executive membership officer for member value. “He proves that age is just a number and life is what you make it.”
The AARP — motto “The power to make it better” — is also enjoying something of a boom. Billing itself as America’s “largest membership organisation”, the AARP boasts more than 35-million members aged over 50. That figure is expected to rise to 70-million in the next decade.
Their growing numbers call into question some of the traditional tenets of marketing. While some marketers in the past have dismissed the over-50s to concentrate on the disposable income of the under-30s, demographic changes are turning that wisdom on its head. As people live longer, have more money and are increasingly active in retirement, so their disposable income has become a target.
Evidence of the boomers’ retail clout includes a recent platinum-selling James Taylor CD. Taylor (58) listed in the AARP magazine’s hottest people under the category “babelicious baldies”, also features in Amazon.com‘s list of the 10 top-selling CDs, alongside contemporaries like Eric Clapton (61) and JJ Cale (67).
Businesses are developing to cope with the boomers’ demand for live music, too. The House of Blues chain offers wine tasting and pre-show dinners at some venues.
Last month Elton John (59) performed at the AARP’s Life@50+ convention in southern California. For next year’s event in Boston, the organisation has booked Rod Stewart (61) and Earth, Wind and Fire.
Some acts, however, harbour a reluctance to be associated with the AARP. “The problem is going to be getting the artists to allow, next to their name, those four feared initials,” Jonny Podell (60) a talent agent who books appearances for artists including Alice Cooper (58) and Peter Gabriel (56) told the New York Times. “I’m the agent for half a dozen acts they’re going to want. Short of saying, ‘In addition to your normal fee we’re giving you $1-million in cash,’ I don’t think they’d have one taker.”
Danny Bennett, Tony Bennett’s son and manager, said the crooner was the perfect role model for the over-50s. “This is a generation that is determined to stay young forever,” he said. – Guardian Unlimited Â