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Boomers Key to Record Sales
By Donna J. Childress, March-April 2003
As this generation matures, it takes with it a keen interest in music—and buying habits that are changing the pattern of music sales.
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As they have done for much of their lives, baby boomers are shaping music trends. As this generation matures, it takes with it a keen interest in music—and buying habits that are changing the pattern of music sales.
Now, the most dollars in music sales come not from teens but from their boomer parents. And boomers' diverse musical taste contributes to the recent splintering of the market. No longer is rock a panacea. Music sales are now as likely to come from the folksy O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack as from The Rolling Stones.
Who's Buying
Since 1990, the older segment of the population has steadily increased its share of the music market. In 2001, those 40 and older made up 34 percent of music buyers, according to the Recording Industry Association of America's RIAA 2001 Consumer Profile.
"Those from 40 to 60 form the largest single group of people purchasing music," says Jeannie Novak, president & CEO of Indiespace, which pioneered the online distribution model for independent music products in 1994. "Through the '90s, they took a larger share of the market than the younger group."
Yet music sales overall are continuing a distinct downward trend. For the first six months of 2002, CD sales dropped 7 percent. Total U.S. music sales during that time declined 10.1 percent. The RIAA points to illegal Internet downloading and CD piracy as contributing factors.
Younger groups acquire music online, but mature audiences buy it, says Matt Kleinschmit, senior research manager for market research firm Ipsos-Reid. "The baby boomer generation is in a sense keeping the record industry in business."
Pete Markiewicz, director of marketing for Indiespace, agrees. "If things in music keep going the way they are, boomers may be the only music market left."
Diverse Genres
While record sales are dropping, they are also spreading into diverse genres.
Rock, still the most popular style, last year captured only 24.4 percent of the market, compared with 32.6 percent in 1996, according to the RIAA. In the past five years, pop and rap/hip-hop have become more popular, as have religious music and soundtracks. "Other" music—which includes ethnic, standards, big band, swing, Latin, electronic, instrumental, comedy, humor, spoken word, exercise, language, folk, and holiday music—has also jumped in popularity, from 5.2 percent of the market to 7.9 percent.
Courtney Proffitt, executive director of the Association for Independent Music, doesn't see the current trends changing. Instead, she thinks the market will "continue to become more and more diverse."
Many mature music lovers are still faithful to the hits they grew up with. In August 2002, seven of the 10 best-selling albums of all time were recorded between 1968 and 1982. The Eagles' Greatest Hits is number one, Pink Floyd's The Wall; is number three, and Led Zeppelin's Untitled (IV) is number four. And compilation records, such as The Fabulous '60s, have been more prevalent and more heavily advertised of late, says Proffitt.
That said, "I'd wager a guess that as baby boomers age, they're looking for new experiences and new music to turn to besides tried and true rock 'n' roll," says Kleinschmit. "How many times can you listen to that Creedence Clearwater Revival album?"
The Technology Factor
The availability of music through new technology could contribute to the broadening of genres, says Kleinschmit. The Web enables people to sample music prior to buying, as well as to research musicians and bands, he says. Satellite radio has the same effect. Earlier generations didn't have this easy access to explore new music as they grew older, Kleinschmit says.
Downloading isn't only for teens, to be sure. An Ipsos-Reid survey from June 2002 revealed that 14 percent of those age 35 to 54 had downloaded music or MP3 files from an online file-sharing service. The same study showed that nearly one-third of downloaders said their preferred genre of music had changed since they began downloading. This suggests that online music activities can influence offline listening and purchasing.
Online music is very valuable to boomers, says Markiewicz. Web stores are more likely to stock music made years ago, and sales of back catalog items, such as classic Beatles albums, have soared, he says. "The ability to search for an artist's name and find it is powerful," says Markiewicz.
New artists can list their works using keywords that describe their style or the artists they've trained with—"Woodstock" or "Jimi Hendrix." These keywords enable boomers to do Web searches and find new music that resembles the old songs they love.
Parents and Kids
While the boomers are a market power in their own right, they also may influence the music choice of younger generations.
Today's parents and their kids are closer than previous generations, and they often like the same styles and artists, says Novak. "There's not as much of a music generation gap, and what's interesting is that the boomers basically still dictate a lot of the popular music because of that."
In the book Millennials Rising, authors William Howe and Neil Strauss discuss teens' current penchant for sweet, happy "ear candy" and the squeaky-clean nature of the boy bands. "Like their audiences, the hot new performers were generally upbeat people who got along well with their parents."
In contrast with their boomer parents, today's teens favor music with no strong message and buy music anthologies without knowing the names of the artists who made the songs, says Markiewicz. Because boomer music has a strong message, the younger audience may turn to their parents' music in search of value, he says.
"There's some nostalgia," Proffitt says. "The newer pop and rock groups have the influences of some of the baby boomers."
As the music industry shifts, it sells to a mixed audience. At concerts, for example, people now range in age from 20 to 60, says Kleinschmit. The band They Might Be Giants recently released a family album, "No!", intended to appeal to younger kids and parents. And Elvis Presley songs are being re-released in an attempt, as Rolling Stone recently put it, "to recrown the King for a new generation of subjects."
As music sales slide, the record industry tries to hook kids while keeping boomer parents. Says Kleinschmit, "Whoever they can sell the music to, they will."
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