This week I’d like to continue my discussion on defining success in the music industry. Last week I focused on one aspect of the music industry in regards to age and success, and mentioned how extremely difficult it is to become a “star” after around the age of 30. This week I want to clarify that a bit, because although I do stand behind that statement, I think it deserves more clarification.
There are many, many people who have great success with their music that are above the age of 30. They have good solid careers with a fan base that sustains them. They sell a good amount of records, and they are able to make a living doing what they love to do. There is no denying that it is possible to have a career in the music business at any age and be able to do this. Many artists have and will continue to take this path. I believe it is the most stable and solid path as well, because it provides longevity.
What I am talking about when I mention being on the path of delusion is the idea of becoming a “superstar” after you reach your 30’s. The whole idea of superstardom is for the young. It is about young people relating to another young person – a person who serves as a role model (for better or worse). The artist is usually not too much older than the teens they are performing to, and that is for a very good reason. The record industry machine cultivates the superstar-potential artists at a very young age. The industry wants to have a “superstar artist” be able to attract and keep loyal young fans that will continue to buy the artist’s music throughout the years. The older the artist, the harder it is to attract young fans that will continue buying the artist’s music as they get older. There’s even jokes about the record industry A&R people looking for “fresh young musical embryos”. This trend isn’t going to change any time soon.
However – that does not mean that a singer/songwriter/performer cannot have a career in music. As I mentioned above, many artists enjoy long and successful careers. The difference between them and the “superstar wannabe” who is deluding themselves is that they are not looking for superstardom. They are looking for a long-term sustainable musical career, and they are realistic about the size of their audience and the type of venues they play, and the number of albums they can reasonably sell. It does help if an artist has had some hit music to jumpstart their career, but it is not critical. They have built their audience through hard work performing and making a local, then regional, then national name for themselves – and probably would have achieved this with or without a record deal.
In short, I am not trying to discourage anyone over the age of 30 to pursue music as a career. I’m just pointing out that it’s pretty unrealistic to think that as an artist over 30 years old that you will capture the hearts and minds of the under 20 set, and if you do it’s probably because you’ve been bubbling under blowing wide open nationally for a long time. That’s getting more rare as well, because in order to do that you have to have had a couple of major label releases that did okay – and most labels drop you after your first record if it just does “okay”. So again, the odds are severely against you. You are much better off working slowly toward a solid fan base of your own that doesn’t rely on the support of a label at all – and with today’s distribution technology (the web) and a little marketing savvy this is very realistic and possible.
So… with that I wish all artists the best of luck. And, if you are stuck on being a superstar and you are 30-something, I hope you will come back when you’ve sold out Madison Square Garden and tell me how full of it I am. In the meantime, keep building your fan base and build a career that will last.
