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Ageism in music

analogue

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Is something that really pisses me off. Just because an artist is over the age of 40 it doesn't mean that they should be ignored/not giving the same exposore as someone who's in their 20's. I read somewhere that some radio station in america won't play any music by someone over the age of 40. That's just insane. I don't care how old an artist is. All i care about is that they can provide good music

And now with the teen stars like Justin Beiber and Miley Cyrus around now i think that ageism in music has gotten even worse because now it makes people over the age of 25 feel old.
 
If that's true then is the most ridiculous thing ever!
Is like saying that only people in their 60's/70's will listen to Rolling Stones :lol:
Maybe that radio will only play bubblegum pop so it's ok if they have that rule? :scratch:
 
So true and tragic...

All these commercial youngsters today, many of whom are not at all too talented are forced to eventually change their image and adopt a more trashy, adult image, i.e. Miley Cyrus, this unexplainable 'idol' of kiddies and teens.. How old is she now? Isn't she barely 18 and already going almost pornographic?... Willow Smith is merely a 9 year old child who's feisty, rebel and just generally a symbol of the unsupervised child who's exploited by their fame-hungry parents. And the cruel fact is that these young people today are so disposable in a few years by the record companies. Either they reinvent themselves the way the industry wants them too, or they're out, and when older, in their 30's, God knows what happens to them, they no longer feel/are wanted as artists, they also burn out quickly and generally self-destruct. Their only rescue is that they simply renounce this perverted world altogether, my guess is, meaning the business world..

This youth cult is truly truly creepy as well, psychologically speaking..
 
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Having grown up on MJ and Madonna and continuing to support them in to adulthood, I have dealt with this issue for what feels like forever. I really hate it that once MJ and Madonna hit 40, their ages got tacked on next to their names in every single article (and this rule actually applies more so to women), as if the media was/is counting down the days. So annoying!
 
I agree, age is definitely overrated within the music industry, or showbiz in general, and in life actually.
 
It didn't use to be that way I remember in the 90's an older artists could still get a hit and decent airplay. It changed because 10 years ago the youth were totally dominating the market , so they started cathering to that audience, but now a days they aren't buying like they use.
 
lucilla said:
If that's true then is the most ridiculous thing ever!
Is like saying that only people in their 60's/70's will listen to Rolling Stones :lol:
Maybe that radio will only play bubblegum pop so it's ok if they have that rule? :scratch:
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Hell yeah, when I'm 60 I'll be playing Exile once a week followed by a regular Hendrix rotation.

If it ain't rock and roll it ain't worth it.
 
I agree this trend started in the late 90s with boy bands and teen acts over flowing the market.
 
It's true. And like Travis said, as a Madonna fan, it's very annoying. It's worse in America I feel.

Also, it's not a new phenomenon. It's been this way ever since TV was created.

One of the first ever Rock 'n' Roll acts was Bill Haley & The Comets (ask your dads). They were massive and had a huge hit with 'Rock Around The Clock', however when TV came along in the 50s, it showed Bill to be rather plump man in his 50s who looked like a history teacher. The kids who thought this was rebellious music couldn't associate with him anymore & he soon bombed.

So, in all fairness, it's pretty much market driven. A 17 year old girl is going to associate more with 20 something Gaga than 52 year old Madonna. It's a shame as Madonna is much better (in my humble opinion), but music isn't just about the aural sensation (although it probably should be), it's about identification and thinking the artist understands you, you have something in common and you seek to emulate them.
 
It's more than that, actually... The music industry, at least nowadays, is grossly feeding the unconscious mind, especially of those from vulnerable categories, either young or prone to, say.. excesses, or frivolity. Which is what today's 'hot' acts promote, in the songs they sing, the videos they make, their attitude, and being young as they are sends the signal that it's okay to be this young and trashy, careless basically. That's why I won't badmouth people like Justin Bieber, who, although, can't sing and dance (in my opinion), at least he is a clean act for now at least and appropriate for his age and is a kind, nice fellow, too. It's disconcerting if/when youngsters like these end up badly, such as Lindsday Lohan. ..

Often, starting out young comes with many many issues arising later. It's best to enjoy a proper, normal childhood, then start out in the biz. Too bad, the older-aged in music are getting neglected if they aren't as 'hot' and 'fresh' as the types they're after. It's worrisome, it speaks of the psyche of those who're after such freshies. Like those mothers who're exploiting their children for money and to recreate their own failed youth/lives, which is beyond selfish and creepy.
 
Alma said:
It's more than that, actually... The music industry, at least nowadays, is grossly feeding the unconscious mind, especially of those from vulnerable categories, either young or prone to, say.. excesses, or frivolity. Which is what today's 'hot' acts promote, in the songs they sing, the videos they make, their attitude, and being young as they are sends the signal that it's okay to be this young and trashy, careless basically. That's why I won't badmouth people like Justin Bieber, who, although, can't sing and dance (in my opinion), at least he is a clean act for now at least and appropriate for his age and is a kind, nice fellow, too. It's disconcerting if/when youngsters like these end up badly, such as Lindsday Lohan. ..

Often, starting out young comes with many many issues arising later. It's best to enjoy a proper, normal childhood, then start out in the biz. Too bad, the older-aged in music are getting neglected if they aren't as 'hot' and 'fresh' as the types they're after. It's worrisome, it speaks of the psyche of those who're after such freshies. Like those mothers who're exploiting their children for money and to recreate their own failed youth/lives, which is beyond selfish and creepy.
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Agree with that.

On a similar topic, I didn't like the fact that at Michael's memorial, they had that Shaheen kid sing to the world, trying to make him a star at such a young age. Like Michael's lesson wasn't enough.
 
Tony R said:
It's true. And like Travis said, as a Madonna fan, it's very annoying. It's worse in America I feel.

Also, it's not a new phenomenon. It's been this way ever since TV was created.

One of the first ever Rock 'n' Roll acts was Bill Haley & The Comets (ask your dads). They were massive and had a huge hit with 'Rock Around The Clock', however when TV came along in the 50s, it showed Bill to be rather plump man in his 50s who looked like a history teacher. The kids who thought this was rebellious music couldn't associate with him anymore & he soon bombed.
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It's almost always about the looks in pop music. That's not so much ageism as it is just general aesthetics. Celine Dion comes to mind--when she was young, she was horrendously ugly, and they told her that she couldn't go anywhere unless she did something about that, no matter how talented she was, so that they could market her to people worldwide.

Tony R said:
So, in all fairness, it's pretty much market driven. A 17 year old girl is going to associate more with 20 something Gaga than 52 year old Madonna. It's a shame as Madonna is much better (in my humble opinion), but music isn't just about the aural sensation (although it probably should be), it's about identification and thinking the artist understands you, you have something in common and you seek to emulate them.
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I agree with the statement on pop music being market-driven. It is tailored to the appeal of the average individual, in which case an average 17 year old girl would find Gaga more appealing than Madonna. Although, the caveat is that you're not going to get everybody with that kind of strategy. When I was 16, I associated more with Bach and Beethoven than I did with whoever was popular back then. (This was in those times when Gaga was just a guy on the street.)

It is a pity that it's less about the music, and more about the image, though.
 
What's new about this? It's not like they were playing Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald when Little Richard & Elvis Presley were popular. :D Frank Sinatra had to do a duet with his daughter to get pop radio play during the late 1960's.
 
^^^^^^^I'll have to agree on you there.........


......I remember when I was a teenager (2000's were my teen years)............and I was not interested in most older singers just because they come from a different time to me..........It's shameful.....I know............

..........but even then there an extreme few older artists I really loved to listen to.........including Queen, INXS, Wham, etc........



..........Michael Jackson has always been my favourite since I was very young and that has never gone away..........

.............and anyway, Michael has always defied time............He'll never grow old!!!!
 
^ I love this song! :)

By the way, Trevor (the guy who sings this song) wasn't so young when the song came out, he was 30!
 
P!nk: I had the whole sit-down, you know: Just be prepared, they don’t play girls over 35 on Top 40 radio. There are exceptions, but they’re songs, not artists — unless you’re Beyoncé.
 
Cher was about 50 (So, Grandma age)when she released Believe and Believe was a MAJOR hit in 1999/2000 and was being played in Nightclubs along with Music made with people who were young enough to be her Children, and in extreme cases her Grandchildren. For example, Believe was being played with songs like Britney's Oops I Did It Again, and Britney is is like 35 years younger than Cher,(Could be her Granddaughter in an extreme case. My own mother and grandmother were both young when they were pregnant. Grandma was only about 30 when I was born). So, Britney definitely could have been Cher's Granddaughter and their Music was being played together at Nightclubs. :)
 
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