I had an interesting conversation with Jim Donio after I posted a blog about children’s music mom and dad would like. Donio is the president of NARM, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, a group made of of music industry executives and retailers.
NARM occasionally holds its annual conference in Chicago, an event I’ve covered in the past. (One of my favorite columns came from the 2007 convention, a talk with 80′s pop star and now mobile phone innovator Thomas Dolby.) I was talking to Donio about the agenda for the 2010 NARM convention (in Chicago from May 14th to 17th — Bendable Media may participate in some form) when I asked his thoughts about kids music parents would like.
“The young consumer marketplace is so brand-driven right now that it’s not about a specific song,” Donio said. Rather, it’s about the brand behind specific artists — think Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana. Good for Disney, certainly, but questionable for music-loving parents who are forced to listen to brand-driven music rather than an actual artist.
He added that new research about pre-tween and tween consumers is expected to be presented at the 2010 NARM convention.
“These pre-tween and tween groups are very specifically targeted,” Donio said. Pre-tweens, if you didn’t know, are between 8- and 10-years old and tweens are between 10- and 12-years old. Both are “hot consumer segments,” Donio said, “particularly from the female side.”
You probably knew that if you have pre-tween or tween girls.
But here’s the really interesting part: Pre-tweens and tweens are coveted by record labels and merchants because they still buy physical product. “They want to purchase things that are tangible,” Donio said.
Other age groups — with the notable exception of adults over 45 or 50 — continue to move headlong into digital-only purchases. The older buyers are credited with buying ‘physical product’ for their kids as well as CDs for themselves.
“Today there are so many ways for people to consume and discover music,” Donio said, putting pressure on a certain segment of merchants. (NARM represents digital retailers and sellers of physical goods.)
A growing segment is web-based music streaming. I love streaming because it is great for music discovery. Sites include Pandora, Last.fm, Slacker and others. Converting those users into purchasers — either physical or digital — is a big challenge. (Yes, that sometimes includes me.)
Keep that in mind if you’re a parent dreading the thought of the next Hannah Montana. If more adults bought posters, calendars, CDs, tickets, t-shirts and the like, the big brand building push on young minds might slow a bit.
Actually, I doubt it.
One Comment
Interesting stuff indeed, Eric. I suppose older folks are still buying physical CDs out of habit? Kind of fascinating how little tikes get some sort of psychological thrill from a CD that they can’t find in an MP3. Suppose it makes sense once you think about it.
I’m admittedly a little ignorant on this, but these buyer categories – “pre-tweens,” etc. – crack me up. Must every single demographic group be sliced, diced and stamped with a cute label by us marketing types?
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Why do we have Hannah Montana? Kids buy stuff http://bit.ly/crhwID
"Pre-tweens & tweens are so coveted by record labels…b/c they still buy physical product." More via @ericbendy: http://bit.ly/dCwruM
Thnx! RT @mikepilarz: "Pre-tweens & tweens r coveted by record labels b/c they still buy physical product." @ericbendy http://bit.ly/dCwruM
Why do we have Hannah Montana? Kids buy stuff http://bit.ly/crhwID
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[...] Thursday that it will start pricing new CD releases at $10 or less, a price point that should spur physical product sales over digital downloads. Hopefully, other labels will soon follow [...]
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