I'm not interested in being in the music business but lately I've been thinking, there's a shelf life for a lot of things in life that we do, some things are done better at some ages than others. It's not a rule, but it seems true more often than not to me. With that said how many artist over 50 have been signed or had hits that were not famous or signed before? In other words brand new to music and the biz. If an senior artist is as talented as some one younger can they still be the same success?
I'm working on my first song recording. Hope to have it done in about a month. I'm sure I'll hit the big time and be an overnight sensation. I just turned 61. I have missed out on forty years of debauchery on the road. Better late then never.
Yes and no. If you start out younger then you have more time to build a more successful career, but you might also wind up too cocky and be a one hit wonder, never to be heard from again. On the flip side, if you start out when you're older, you have more patience and more experience in life to know how to properly dedicate yourself to a career, but you won't have as much time to really fortify that career and make long term success. So age plays a number of roles, but each have their pros and cons, much like everything else.
These days it's mostly NOT about talent - it's about marketability. Over 50? Maybe the answer is "yes" as a songwriter, but most likely "no" as an artist that a major label would back with lots of money. That is, unless you are some kind of "Tom Mozart Brady" ---with age-defying physical good looks and lightning-like musical genius that cannot be denied--- then still, probably "no"..... but at least you'd have a chance!
IMO people of all ages can have something to say about their times. If what you are saying is relevant and meaningful, even if for your own demographic only, you will find ears.
If you're talking most popular genres, of course age is a factor. Gotta be young and pretty to sell music. Heck, you don't even need to be a decent musician if you're good looking enough nowadays. Look at Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, and Britney Spears. None of them can sing worth a beans, but they sell out shows.
It depends. Musically it determines what genre I'm interested in playing now. And it also impacts my ability to spend 4-5 hours playing a gig with a guitar or bass slung across my shoulder. But other than that and more frequent bathroom breaks no.
Well I just read an article in Newsweek that said The “top 500 songs of all time” has been updated and lost more than a 100 songs that were on the original list. From the Stones, Hendrix, James Brown and many of the long time classics we once knew and loved were replaced. So yeah, I guess there’s a shelf like for everything. The famous Satchel Paige quote comes to mind. “Don’t look back, something might be gaining on you”.
I've noticed that the guitarists that I like were most creative when they were young. That's when the innovative stuff seems to happen. As they got older they transitioned from creative to masters of the instrument... more skill, but less innovation.
Is getting signed a realistic goal anymore, or was it ever a realistic goal? Even during the the 1950's and 60's the number of people getting recording contracts was minuscule compared to how many talented people were out there. And you don't have to watch too many vids like Behind the Music to see how record companies screw artists over. I think, regardless of your age, these days its a much more democratic process. With websites like Band Camp and others, you can market your music directly, get paid for the downloads, and enjoy some amount of success by building a following without becoming a well known name. A record company selling music to teenagers isn't going to look at a sixty year old artist, no matter how good they are. Right now I'm recording in my little home studio, playing guitar and bass myself (with a drum machine) and my goal is to eventually upload something original and if I get a just one download I'll consider myself a successful recording artist, lol. Plus, it's a lot of fun and I'm learning new and exciting things. OP, go this route and I promise to buy a copy of your first song!
Target audience is a factor. Music for 12 year olds should not be sung by a 50 year old dude. No explanation necessary. Find your audience and market to them. Your audience ought to be able to relate to you and vice versa. Country music is super popular and has a very wide age range of extremely successful artists.
Age is definitely a factor especially today with so much of the marketing aspect being on social media. And sorry to say old timers. Nobody uses MySpace anymore. Lol. Don’t worry I’m solidly middle aged and have no concept of how social media works. Never used it and don’t have any intention to.
For me: Music: I would have been awful at 12 I did what i was good at.... No regrets Attitude: Improves with age Your lawn: Open subject
. Age is always a factor in popular music. The industry is trying to get teenagers into music because they have quite a lot of disposable income to be spent on frivolous things like CDs or Spotify subscriptions in huge numbers. How many male lead singers of famous rock bands hit girlish registers to 'cut through the mix'?.. They can only do that when they are young. There are better examples out there but these were the first ones I thought of. .
Yes. Depending on genre. You can probably count on your fingers the amount of singers who had pop hits beginning at age 35+ since the 70s. Bill Withers was a rare exception. they want someone young and impressionable. Older people are more likely to give the industry the ol’ middle finger, like Bill Withers did.
