Older artists getting a break?

[kiramdear]

Stan,

Do you think that this article offers any encouragement to solo artists who are no longer young in age?

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_ ... -a-number/

[Scastles]

Kira, as far as artists such as Dylan, and a handful of others are concerned, there is still a thirst for thier material. However, one would think a majority of that thirst can be directly attributed to thier generation. While some of us may have an IPOD or equivalent, many of the boomers still buy CD's and we'll still fork out a few bucks for a new Dylan, Neil Young, Paul McCartney and a few others, as opposed to downloading one tune from a particular release to add to our IPOD. Even Neil Young's newest is ranked somewhere in the Top 20 on Amazon and can be linked to the same folks who bought Dylan's latest. (I think if you click on Neil's newest on Amazon it says, people who bought this CD also purchased Dylan and Leonard Cohen's newest).
As long as the material keeps comin' out from Dylan and others, and as long as the boomers still have hearing, they'll still have some success. This is not to say younger folks aren't buying into Dylan or the like, but they're in the minority I would think.

As for radio airplay, it's pretty limited. You might catch some of Dylan's or Young's newest work somewhere on XM/Sirius, but that's about it.
I'm afraid much of it is fleeting though.

Other opinions may vary. This is just mine.

[kiramdear]

Does Billboard measure airplay or album or song sales, or any combination of those?

[Scastles]

Does Billboard measure airplay or album or song sales, or any combination of those?

Billboard goes by advance sales. They no longer use airplay as a barometer.

The radio station 'Bible' is Radio and Records. Dylan, for instance, is getting airplay on some Triple A stations, adult album alternative stations. So I guess besides XM/Sirius there is some airplay.

[rictified]

Does Billboard measure airplay or album or song sales, or any combination of those?

Billboard goes by advance sales. They no longer use airplay as a barometer.

The radio station 'Bible' is Radio and Records. Dylan, for instance, is getting airplay on some Triple A stations, adult album alternative stations. So I guess besides XM/Sirius there is some airplay.

I think Dylan is a special case, he still has so many fans it's unbelievable and they're rabid fans for the most part also and go back almost 50 years.