On 14 Aug 2003 17:07:14 GMT, (Sven Franklyn Weil)
wrote:

In article , Walter Luffman wrote:
few years from now; the music I listen to has been around for fifty
years, more or less, and it still appeals to the largest and most
affluent generation in history.

And it's a generation that is aging out of the range advertisers want.
It's also a generation whose upper tiers are dying off.

Most Top 40 Oldies fans (including rockabilly, blues and other genres
popular in the early portion of that era) are Baby Boomers, the leader
edge of which group is only now in its late fifties. Even extending
the beginning of the "Top 40 generation" upward a few years, they're
in their early 60s at most, which means relatively few already dying
of age-related causes.

And we Baby Boomers generally have more disposable income today than
we ever had in our past. The kids are out on their own. We're either
at or just past our peak earning years. Our homes are already paid
off. We can treat ourselves to luxuries we could never afford when we
were younger. Believe me, I buy a lot more than Metamucil and
blood-pressure pills!

The music will still be around, no question. Just start getting used to
not hearing it on commercial radio anymore (and maybe not even
non-commercial radio as the bulk of that is either religous, NPR
war-on-terror talk, Pacifica it's-whitey's-fault talk or kids more
interested in playing their favorite records).

I just finished reprogramming the station memory in my Grundig YB 400
PE; four of the first ten stations play some form of rock/pop oldies.
(Of the other six, four are commercial talkradio and two are public
radio. Positions 11 through 40 are filled with distant AM talkers, a
couple of oldies stations I listen to when in Memphis or Nashville, a
country station where a friend works, and shortwave broadcasters such
as BBC and Radio Netherlands. Interestingly enough, some of the
international broadcasters play pop oldies now and then; rockabilly
and blues are more popular in Europe today than they have ever been in
the U.S.)

It's not a question of how affluent the demographic is...it's how WILLING
to SENSELESSLY and IMPULSIVELY part with that money that is the issue.

Let's see ... I have two new PCs (built my own desktop, bought the
laptop), a motorcycle, guitars, two telephone lines (with DSL on one
of them) plus a cellular telephone, a few other toys. I go out to eat
once or twice a week. I go to movies, and also buy an average of two
or three DVDs per month. My CD collection is constantly growing,
although admittedly it's mostly replacements for my vinyl albums and
45s. My two cars are both 2001 models; I'll probably trade one in on
a newer model next year. I could go on, but you can see my point --
I'm not just sitting on my money, although admittedly I am saving more
now than I ever did as a younger man. (Then again, stockbrokers and
mutual fund companies advertise on radio too.)

Okay, I'll also admit that I buy Metamucil too. I don't buy
blood-pressure pills, at least not directly; that's what insurance and
HMO premiums are for.

How many 60-year olds do you know are drowning in credit card debt, car
payments, etc. versus how many 25-year olds who "GOTTA HAVE" the latest
car, 5 credit cars in their wallet, cell phones, PDAs, the latest music,
the trendiest clothes, etc.?

Who cares? Most of my contemporaries would rather pay off their
credit card debt, or just pay cash and stay out of debt in the first
place. You might have a point when it comes to "the trendiest
clothes", though -- I wear a business suit when I must, jeans or
khakis when I can, but I stopped worrying about being trendy a long
time ago.

Last time I checked, places like the Galleria Mall in White Plains, NY and
the Jefferson Valley Mall in Yorktown Heights, NY were full of teenagers
(especially teen-aged girls) spending (their parents') money, not senior
citizens and baby boomers.

I'll grant you that most of the people who hang out in malls are
teenagers. But a typical kid who hangs out in malls, sipping Frozen
Cokes in the food court and buying a CD or two doesn't put nearly as
much money in the cash register as an Old Fart like me who buys
jewelry, major appliances, home entertainment gear, gourmet food,
nutritional supplements, power tools and nice (but not trendy)
clothes.

I don't go to the mall nearly as often a typical teenager, but I spend
much more than a few bucks every time I do go. And I also spend a lot
of money in places other than the local mall. Kids get their ears and
other body parts pierced; Old Farts get hearing aids, lineless
bifocals (or laser surgery), plastic surgery to remove baggy upper
lids that impede vision, and otherwise do what we can to keep what we
still have in working order. Kids buy whatever brand of sneaker is
hot this season; Old Farts buy sneakers too, but we also buy dress
shoes, work shoes, walking shoes, cowboy boots, motorcycle boots and
sometimes special orthotics that go into our shoes. Kids buy pizza at
Sbarro; Old Farts have their pizzas delivered, and go out for steak,
Italian, seafood, Chinese or whatever.

Don't tell me that my generation doesn't spend money, because I know
better. And our numbers mean we spend a lot of it.

And lest you get the wrong idea, I'm not wealthy. Far from it, in
fact. But I'm comfortable, I don't have children living at home, and
I buy quality stuff that lasts instead of junk that ends up in the
closet ... or the trash.

And I'm sure that's the situation with most of such places where "middle
America" shops.

You have something against Wal-Mart, Sears and Best Buy? Yeah, I shop
at those places. I also spend lot of money at Home Depot, PetsMart,
Office Max, Kroger, various upscale department stores, Starbucks, and
even Burger King (although I prefer Sonic Drive-Ins ... I tip the
carhops, something I doubt many teenagers ever do). All those places
are part of "middle America". I have no idea where people in parts of
America outside the "middle" shop. And I don't especially care where
people outside the United States shop, although I would presume they
shop primarily in their home countries because of convenience.

___
Walter Luffman Medina, TN USA
Amateur curmudgeon, equal-opportunity annoyer