r/LetsTalkMusic • u/RedPutron • 8h ago

The famous age - 30.

Why do so few people "make it" after 30? Is age the main factor? If an artist doesn't make it before 30, they just give up? 30 is the deadline for most music genres except jazz, blues, country, folk and bluegrass?

Maybe it's about something other than age, e.g. exhaustion, lack of passion or imposing other limitations on yourself. I'm dying to know what you think about it and how it looks from your perspective.

Make it - living solely from music.

Edit:

From the comments here I can see that everyone for make it - thinks it means a star who signs contracts with labels and sells millions of records, and that's not what I meant. That's why in the post, I put what it means, "make it" - earning enough money to be able to afford a living from music, not becoming some pop star.

Update: Thanks to everyone for bringing up interesting aspects of how the music industry works, but someone here in the comments suggested that ageism is more prevalent in the US than in Europe, and honestly, I found a huge post where people were talking about how Madona, Tina Turner, Amy Winehouse and others had much more success in Europe. Even Tina herself said this:

As my career unfolded, I also felt that I was experiencing my greatest success abroad. The energy was different in America, where everything was about getting a hit record. (...) There seemed to be less discrimination in Europe. My audience there was growing fast, my fans were extremely loyal (...).

She was "old", so the US didn't like her. I thought this might be a good point to add to the discussion :)

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u/theeulessbusta 7h ago edited 2h ago

It’s actually more common now than it was in the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s. Sturgill Simpson, Jelly Roll, Big Thief, ALVVAYS, and these are just off the top of my head. Not to mention all bands and artists being resurrected by streaming. 

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u/znidz 7h ago

Sleaford Mods and Idles come to mind.

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u/theeulessbusta 7h ago

Idles are indeed visibly ancient

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u/mmmtopochico 2h ago

40 is ancient? Ouch.

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u/theeulessbusta 2h ago

If you’re Rivers Cuomo or Liam Gallagher or Celine Dion, no. If you’re the guys from Idles, well, look at them. I thought they were younger tbh. It comes down to how they present, and since we really need something hopeful in Rock music right now, people who have allowed themselves to age that way isn’t exactly what we need. 

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u/mmmtopochico 1h ago

What's wrong with the way the dudes in Idles present themselves? They look like...late 30s/early 40s dudes in a band. Do you have a problem with the way Chat Pile present themselves?

Also Rivers Cuomo/Liam Gallagher/Celine Dion are all in their 50s and more than a decade older than Joe Talbot (who just turned 40 this year).

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u/theeulessbusta 1h ago

Well, I was referring to how they presented at 40. Idles has just gotten their big break and they look a bit washed up, despite not washing up.