Age Difference Among Genres May 13, 2008

From a blog on About.com titled “Country Music Today and Tomorrow”:

“As I sit here listening to song after song on the radio, I think to myself…this is country music? How closely must you listen to hear a steel guitar or fiddle in today’s songs?  Where are those country greats like George Jones, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, The Statler Brothers, and Roy Clark? Why, they’re pushed to the background; labeled legends, and played only on special occasions, or even worse, in tributes when they pass on.

Something is wrong here. Why does radio seem to think that once a star is over 40 they are ready for the scrap heap? Stars like Loretta and George sound just as great as they did 20 years ago. So, why aren’t they being played?”

Once I read this I decided to do some research of my own about the ages of different artists.  I looked up the ages of the top 10 country music artists from CMT.com and ‘pop’ artists from MTV.com.  Here is what I found (artist – age of group members):

Country Music Artists

Sugarland – 33 and 37

Tim McGraw – 41

Rascal Flatts – 36 and 37

Carrie Underwood – 25

Taylor Swift – 18

Alan Jackson – 49

Sara Evans – 37

Kenny Chesney – 40

Toby Keith – 46

Trace Adkins – 46

‘Pop’ Artists

Lil Wayne – 25

Chris Brown – 19

Mariah Carey – 38

Danity Kane – 24, 24, 24, 24, and 28

Britney Spears – 26

Usher – 29

T-pain – 22

Soulja Boy Tell’em – 16

Madonna – 49

Rihanna – 20

From this data you can clearly see that country artists are much older.  Of course you have the few country artists who are younger, as well as the pop artists who are older, but it was interesting because Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Rascal Flatts were all labeled as country pop.  This shows that some of the younger country artists are mixing the two genres to become ‘popular’.  If they do this, then is it really country music?

I believe that this age difference is one of the main reasons country music is shadowed by other genres.  People are looking for fresh, new, and young talent.  This is not a good way to define mainstream music because there are many groups/artists that are very good, but are just a little older. I do not think age should make a difference. People should listen to music for the actual music aspect of it.  If people started to do this, I think country music could become more mainstream than what is is now.

Here are just some interesting facts that this blog also pointed out:

- the Dixie Chicks fought to keep their fiddle and steel guitar in their music when asked by VH1 to remove them so that they could play their videos

- Randy Travis still is successful with a traditional sound

- So is Dwight Yoakam with his rockabilly sound

- And George Strait hasn’t had a bad record yet.  He’s very consistent at recording music that makes it to the top of the charts.

-Natalie Boyce

CMTV May 13, 2008

ive mentioned before and I’ll say it again, country music is a thriving genre in its own. It may not be in “mainstream” MTV media, how ever its got its own channel for that. CMTV or country music television, or the CMC, country music channel as it is also known as. The channel is  on air 24 hours a day. Austar & Foxtel Digital. CMC is Australia’s only dedicated full time national country outlet, featuring the biggest stars country music has to offer. CMC is available in over 1.2 Million homes via Austar (in regional areas) and Foxtel Digital (in metro areas). The channel itself covers a wide range of the country music genre with diffrent programmes focusing on different aspects of the country music genre. Includeing the Country Music Awards, top 30 countdown, Australian music, American Music, Country by Request, new songs, and so on and so forth. Looking at this channel I thougght it was interesting in the coverage that country music is getting on the television. An entire televsion station devoted to the promotion of this “forgotten genre” CMC portrays how there is more to country music than naisel twangy guitar sound that is commonly associated with country music from city perspectives. Also looking more into this project i’m starting to think that country music is a mainstream genre in a world of its own. Maybe not with in the commercial stations of pop music, but as the term “mainstream” is defind as “The prevailing current or direction of a movement or influence” with in certain areas of society, looking at country music is quite mainstream with in certain communities and is a world of its own.

Looking at www.country.com.au which is home page to The country music association of australia, also provides links to the many radio programes with in Australia or NSW alone which is devoted to country music, and are spoken about as the current popular culture. As music is a personal view its interesting to see what is considered popular or mainstream with in different communities with in Australia. Country music i feel is not a sub culture of music but is a culture of its own!