Aging Websters flock to music sites
As the 54-year-old Tattersall -- a real-estate broker in Pinehurst, N.C. -- demonstrates, Generation Y's teen army isn't alone in its search for entertainment on the Web. Mom, Dad and even Grandpa are increasingly finding music online, too. According to figures to be released Tuesday by Media Metrix, adults who are 50 and older made up 17% of the visitors to music sites in June. The number of 50-and-over visitors to the sites grew 92% in the last year, more than twice the rate of increase in the sites' overall audience.
Older people also represent one of the biggest potential markets for companies peddling music and filmed entertainment on the Internet. "Teens spend a lot of money, but the total consumption of 40- and 50-year-olds blows them away," says Scott Purcell, president and chief executive of OnAir Streaming Networks Inc., a Web music concern based in Santa Monica, Calif.
That sounds good to some major advertisers, such as auto makers and financial-services firms, which don't find many customers in the teen set. What's more, while some Napster-trained teenagers increasingly think that all music should be free, middle-aged users may be more willing to pay for the convenience of reliable, high-quality online music services.
On the Web, "there's been almost a mind-numbing focus on Generation X and Generation Y, almost to the point where it felt like that was the only audience out there," says Scott Roesch, director of Web entertainment at Atom Corp.'s AtomFilms. The site made its name on younger-skewing short films like "Saving Ryan's Privates." But on the Atom site Tuesday, one of the best-received short films is a Norwegian-made offering about two octogenarians who find romance over crossword puzzles. Another audience favorite, called "Puppies for Sale," is a heartwarming tale featuring "Grumpy Old Men" star Jack Lemmon as a pet-shop owner.
Overall, the number of surfers on the Web who were 50 and older increased 60% between June 1999 and June 2000, compared with a 22% boost for all age groups. The same group also spent 38% more time on the Web on average than a year earlier. In addition, baby boomers and the generations ahead of them accounted for more than half of those using multimedia players on the Internet, and 38% of those using Napster.
The graying of Web music is already influencing what's available. Web-radio concern NetRadio Corp. offers about 120 streaming music channels, but its Top 10 is chock full of options that are scarcely drawing the Limp Bizkit set. Smooth Jazz is the company's third-most popular channel, followed by Vintage Rock (No. 5), Quiet Classics (No. 6) and Lite Hits (No. 8).
Just as boomers have helped fuel the concert business by turning out for shows by Woodstock-generation acts, they are now starting to experiment with the nascent format of concert Webcasts. HOB Entertainment Inc., the parent of House of Blues, had one of its more successful pay-per-view concert Webcasts with the '70s art-rock band Yes. Boomer-aged music fans "still want to feel like they're culturally connected and cool," says Andrew Rasiej, chief executive of Digital Club Network Inc., another concert Webcaster.
Web users like Tom Barry, a 50-year-old substitute teacher in Johnson City, N.Y., also say they can't find much they like on mainstream pop radio, which is filled with the latest teen crazes. He uses Web radio stations to access his favorite blues and soul tunes from the 1950s and 1960s, such as little-known rockabilly star Joe Clay's "Cracker Jack." "Eminem can go down the drain," he says. "And this 'N Sync. Oh, come on. Years ago, they had to be talented. They had to sing."
To snare older customers, Web companies are broadening their offerings. MusicBlitz Inc., which produces original music for the Web, is seeking out vintage artists -- like Wayne Kramer, a guitarist in the '60s punk band MC5 -- to cut new singles. Ifilm Corp. has beefed up its general film offerings, and it now has educational clips about movie genres and history from sources like the Smithsonian. Time Warner Inc.'s (twx) Entertaindom site recently added Duke 2000, the Web animation about the Doonesbury cartoon character running for president.
USA Networks Inc.'s SciFi.com found that Seeing Ear Theatre, a program that features dramatic radio-style readings of science-fiction classics, was drawing more than half its listeners from the 40-plus set. And big companies like Intel Corp. (intc) and IBM Corp. (ibm) were placing ads.
The goal is to draw consumers like 66-year-old Robert Hunt, who complains that many film sites have "trashy movies" that are "not something you'd want to sit down and watch 10 minutes of." Hunt, an Austin, Texas, retiree who is an amateur filmmaker himself, watches short films online to get ideas. He uses the Web to download movie scores -- like "Lara's Theme" from "Doctor Zhivago" -- that he splices into his own digital home movie productions. One favorite site is Eveo.com, a short-film site with offerings from amateur filmmakers, which he checks every week.
"It's entertaining," he says. "If it's something I haven't seen, I take a look at it."
Eventually, older buyers may be the most likely to pay for music and other entertainment online. Many are searching for convenience and simplicity, and don't like to feel they're breaking copyright law. Sandy Berger, whose consulting firm runs the technology portion of the AARP's Web site, has gotten so many e-mails from members trying to find music on the Internet that she plans to start offering tips and how-tos. "I've had people who tried to do Napster and didn't know how to download files," she says.
But a growing number of middle-aged people have gotten very comfortable with the new technology. Jeff Shane, a Washington, D.C., attorney, uses a portable digital music player when he works out, and bought another one for his wife after she kept borrowing his. To keep his player stocked with favorites like Carlos Santana and Etta James, he copies most of the tracks from his own CD collection, using Napster occasionally to grab additional tunes.
But with his relatively slow home Internet connection, Shane, 59, usually has to leave the service running overnight to download several songs. Napster isn't complicated, he says, but "you're not always sure of the quality" of the sound, because the songs are drawn from different hard drives.
Shane adds that he wouldn't mind spending money for a reliable, convenient online music service. "I'd be happy to pay," he says. "I shouldn't have to feel like I'm stealing when I'm downloading something off the Internet."