The New York Times said the music touring industry is reliant on rock stars who could croak at any moment and the numbers prove it. Hmm so true and obviously the majors are struggling to keep up. One of their many problems is that they just throw money blindly at artist and hope something hits, and if they don’t hit, they drop them. They used to spend money developing artist thus the older artist and their back catalogs seem to be one of few things keeping the major labels heads above water. Bam, the obvious rise and undeniable power of the indie label. They actually develop artist and adapt to the way people consume and listen to music in our new media web fueled culture. The article below provides another example that the major labels may be riding a sinking ship. "Viva La Indie" and let the major labels sink.

This summer, a remarkable number of the projected best-selling tours are led by people eligible for AARP membership. Tom Petty is 55. Jimmy Buffett is 59. Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend are both 61.  Madonna, whose tour is the hottest so far this year, is a youthful 47. Last year, according to the concert trade journal Pollstar, 6 of the 10 highest-grossing tours starred artists in their late 50’s or 60’s, among them the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, the Eagles and Elton John. Those six alone accounted for more than $470 million in domestic ticket sales — about 30 percent of the total for the year’s 50 biggest tours. Full Article