Music History

So Why Are So Many More Middle-Aged Artists Having #1 Albums?

Last week, it was Tom Petty. Before him, it was Weird Al, Black Sabbath, Lionel Richie and Tony Bennett, all with #1 debuts on the Billboard charts.  Is it our imagination or is there something different about the charts these days?  Pitchfork was wondering, too.

No, the increase in No. 1 albums by quinquagenarians and sexagenarians only really began about a decade ago, at the dawn of the digital era—a couple of years after Napster, and around the same time Apple’s iTunes Music Store launched. Since the shift toward downloading and streaming music began to decimate the industry’s album-based sales model, the bar to reach No. 1 on the album chart has gotten lower—a definite factor for the oldster chart-toppers, though not the only one.

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Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39342 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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