A brilliant and timely newsletter - thank you for putting words to so many things female artists feel and experience every day. I think you hit the nail on the head - the things driving this are (basically money) the idea that the most committed fans of anything will be those without responsibilities and therefore younger. That 'scenes' are primarily created and driven by young people, that 'cool' is determined by young people. Though young people should absolutely have people to listen to who voice their experiences and soundtrack their journey to adulthood, we have only just begun to scratch the surface of ageism in our society. The artists you highlighted are an important step in fighting this. There should be and is space for everybody. On the streaming services, on social media, on the radio, in the venues up and down the country. I want to see a world in which a 70 year old can make her first song and get a top 10 hit with it from nowhere simply because it was a bloody good song and people enjoyed it. I dream of that world. I also dream of a world in which mainstream radio isn't obsessively targeted to demographics that are determined primarily by age. In which existing artists aren't relegated when they hit 40-something because they are deemed as no longer 'relevant' - to who? And where training and funding opportunities aren't cut off at 25. And so much more but i'm probably boring everyone reading this at this point!!! Basically I hope that our generation can continue to make the change by being stubbornly visible and unapologetic for who we are and where we're at. I am personally so, so excited for all of the albums we have to come from the wonderful roster of female artists we have during this time in history, who will only become better musicians with age. We are so lucky. To deny ourselves of some of the best albums ever would be RIDICULOUS. End of rant.
“he seemed so vulnerable the experience genuinely felt wrong.“ love this! Also in her documentary Taylor said “as I’m reaching 30, I want to work really hard while society is still tolerating me being successful “ but then arguably with folklore and evermore she reached a new pinnacle of success and gained a wider audience, and Midnights has just outpassed 1989 (her biggest commercial hit) in sales. I hope she continues to show that women become more reflective and powerful as we age and creates space for less successful artists to do the same. “Nothing new” ft Phoebe Bridgers haunts me 💔
A brilliant and timely newsletter - thank you for putting words to so many things female artists feel and experience every day. I think you hit the nail on the head - the things driving this are (basically money) the idea that the most committed fans of anything will be those without responsibilities and therefore younger. That 'scenes' are primarily created and driven by young people, that 'cool' is determined by young people. Though young people should absolutely have people to listen to who voice their experiences and soundtrack their journey to adulthood, we have only just begun to scratch the surface of ageism in our society. The artists you highlighted are an important step in fighting this. There should be and is space for everybody. On the streaming services, on social media, on the radio, in the venues up and down the country. I want to see a world in which a 70 year old can make her first song and get a top 10 hit with it from nowhere simply because it was a bloody good song and people enjoyed it. I dream of that world. I also dream of a world in which mainstream radio isn't obsessively targeted to demographics that are determined primarily by age. In which existing artists aren't relegated when they hit 40-something because they are deemed as no longer 'relevant' - to who? And where training and funding opportunities aren't cut off at 25. And so much more but i'm probably boring everyone reading this at this point!!! Basically I hope that our generation can continue to make the change by being stubbornly visible and unapologetic for who we are and where we're at. I am personally so, so excited for all of the albums we have to come from the wonderful roster of female artists we have during this time in history, who will only become better musicians with age. We are so lucky. To deny ourselves of some of the best albums ever would be RIDICULOUS. End of rant.
“he seemed so vulnerable the experience genuinely felt wrong.“ love this! Also in her documentary Taylor said “as I’m reaching 30, I want to work really hard while society is still tolerating me being successful “ but then arguably with folklore and evermore she reached a new pinnacle of success and gained a wider audience, and Midnights has just outpassed 1989 (her biggest commercial hit) in sales. I hope she continues to show that women become more reflective and powerful as we age and creates space for less successful artists to do the same. “Nothing new” ft Phoebe Bridgers haunts me 💔