Friday, February 25, 2005
Balding Rockers and Big Money
Balding Rockers and Big Money
JOHN LELAND
NYT, Sunday, February 13, 2005
<>
A recent NYT article reveals that most musicians make their bread and
butter not by selling CDs, but by touring and performing:
"According to a new list of the 50 top-earning pop stars
published in Rolling Stone, over the hill is the new golden pasture.
Half the top 10 headliners are older than 50, and two are over 60.
Only one act, Linkin Park, has members under 30.
The annual list, which entails some guesswork, reverses the
common perception of pop music. Not only is it not the province of
youth; it's also not the province of CD sales, hit songs and smutty
videos.
While sexy young stars take their turn strutting on the Billboard
charts or MTV - or on the cover of Rolling Stone - the real pop
pantheon, it seems, is an older group, no longer producing new hits,
but re-enacting songs that are older than many of today's pop idols."
This has serious financial repurcussions for the business model the
industry is presently wed to. And the list of artists who are making
the big bucks reveals industry mismanagement has led to mostly
ignoring the key economic demographic driver of our century: The baby
boomers.
Here's a little secret the RIAA would rather not have you know:
Musicians make most of their money performing and touring -- not
selling CDs or downloads. Rolling Stone has a detailed analysis of
the top 50 acts . . . here's a top 10 list to whet your appetite:
2004 Music Money Makers
1. Prince $56.5 MILLION
2. Madonna $54.9 MILLION
3. Metallica $43.1 MILLION
4. Elton John $42.9 MILLION
5. Jimmy Buffett $36.5 MILLION
6. Rod Stewart $34.6 MILLION
7. Shania Twain $33.2 MILLION
8. Phil Collins $33.2 MILLION
9. Linkin Park $33.1 MILLION
10. Simon and Garfunkel $31.3 MILLION
Note that 9 of the top 10 grossing performers aren't the hot new
thing -- they are the better known rock classics -- which the labels
have mostly also been paying little attention to for so many years.
The industry can scapegoat P2P for all their woes, but a closer
analysis of the math demonstrates the claim is illusory.
(Mis)management is the primary sources of the industry problems.
JOHN LELAND
NYT, Sunday, February 13, 2005
<
A recent NYT article reveals that most musicians make their bread and
butter not by selling CDs, but by touring and performing:
"According to a new list of the 50 top-earning pop stars
published in Rolling Stone, over the hill is the new golden pasture.
Half the top 10 headliners are older than 50, and two are over 60.
Only one act, Linkin Park, has members under 30.
The annual list, which entails some guesswork, reverses the
common perception of pop music. Not only is it not the province of
youth; it's also not the province of CD sales, hit songs and smutty
videos.
While sexy young stars take their turn strutting on the Billboard
charts or MTV - or on the cover of Rolling Stone - the real pop
pantheon, it seems, is an older group, no longer producing new hits,
but re-enacting songs that are older than many of today's pop idols."
This has serious financial repurcussions for the business model the
industry is presently wed to. And the list of artists who are making
the big bucks reveals industry mismanagement has led to mostly
ignoring the key economic demographic driver of our century: The baby
boomers.
Here's a little secret the RIAA would rather not have you know:
Musicians make most of their money performing and touring -- not
selling CDs or downloads. Rolling Stone has a detailed analysis of
the top 50 acts . . . here's a top 10 list to whet your appetite:
2004 Music Money Makers
1. Prince $56.5 MILLION
2. Madonna $54.9 MILLION
3. Metallica $43.1 MILLION
4. Elton John $42.9 MILLION
5. Jimmy Buffett $36.5 MILLION
6. Rod Stewart $34.6 MILLION
7. Shania Twain $33.2 MILLION
8. Phil Collins $33.2 MILLION
9. Linkin Park $33.1 MILLION
10. Simon and Garfunkel $31.3 MILLION
Note that 9 of the top 10 grossing performers aren't the hot new
thing -- they are the better known rock classics -- which the labels
have mostly also been paying little attention to for so many years.
The industry can scapegoat P2P for all their woes, but a closer
analysis of the math demonstrates the claim is illusory.
(Mis)management is the primary sources of the industry problems.
