2016 was a pretty bad year (and 2017 is probably going to match it), if you are fan of rock and roll. We lost Glenn Frey, Leonard Cohen, George Michael, Prince, David Bowie, among many other greats.

But, it really should not be not surprising to us. The rock and roll icons are now reaching their late 60s and 70s, which is when many of us begin to drop. With the supposition that many of these rock and rollers also experimented with drugs earlier in their lives means they are even more at risk.

Couple that with the fact that the artists with the highest record sales are almost exclusively over 40 years old. And, most of them exceed 50 years of age. It’s why the Phillies have had the following shows at Citizen’s Bank Park- Bruce Springsteen (twice), Billy Joel, Paul McCartney- over the past three years. The ages of these stars are 67, 67, and 74, respectively. Just like most of the baby boomers that helped make rock and roll such a big business.

(Rock and Roll still accounts for more than 40% of all album (or is that CD) sales last year. That’s thrice the level for country, four times that of pop, and more than twice the share for R & B.)

And, that’s also how changing how the record business operates. In the past, the labels financed the national (and international) music tours. And, invested money in older stars to keep their sales afloat. In essence, this sort of brand management is why these artists have survived and thrived.

But, the labels no longer do that sort of promotion. Moreover, folks today no longer listen to “mainstream” radio- they opt for YouTube, streaming music, and Sirius. And, that segmentation means that blockbuster artists are less likely to arise.

It’s also why concert ticket prices have skyrocketed. Because it’s the aging baby boomers- with bigger pocketbooks- who are buying those seats. The younger singers (other than Adele, Beyonce, Drake, and very few others) simply struggle to fill the venues. And, thereby, charge much less for the seats. (Compare some recent prices- Twenty One Pilots- $ 35, Selene Gomez- $ 65, Rolling Stones- $ 125, and Madonna- $ 215.)

That’s also why there are festivals- where slews of artists perform at one- so the higher ticket prices get shared among them. (I do recall some 20 years ago that the HFStival, the cream of the alternative rock, was free- and involved many different artists. It’s last years required a small payment [this was back in the 1990’s].)

It’s also why smaller venues are becoming popular again for the music artists. Because the younger artists can fill all the seats around these smaller stages.

Not only are the rock and roll icons dying off- the rock and roll business model (and superstardom) is disappearing, too.

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