OLD
Believes in the album.
YOUNG
Believes in the single. It’s all about the track, if you like something you go deeper, it’s about a body of work, click on an act in Spotify and you find what’s most popular and you check that out, assuming you care, and many people don’t, especially in hip-hop, the song is part of the culture, the same way British Invasion singles were part of the culture.
OLD
Believes in CDs.
YOUNG
Doesn’t have a CD player. They don’t come in cars, assuming you’ve got one, as millennials move to the city and Uber, and new computers don’t come with them, if you’re still sending someone promotional CDs it’s a reflection upon you, they’re worthless.
OLD
Passive.
YOUNG
Active. Sure, a millennial might put an online radio station, albeit generated by Pandora or Spotify, on in the background, but more likely they’ll be streaming a playlist, in the background, they don’t play terrestrial radio, the commercials are abhorrent and you can’t skip ahead, millennials see the web as their oyster, they’ll click and go from one site or track to another.
OLD
Will listen to the radio.
YOUNG
Won’t. It’s part of the on demand culture. The youngster doesn’t want to wait, that’s an experience that’s dead. Kinda like how cars replaced trains. With a car you could go where you wanted to go whenever you wanted to.
OLD
Buys files.
YOUNG
Sees everything as on demand, you don’t need to own anything, not a car, a movie, a song…
OLD
Laments the passing of the golden age.
YOUNG
Thinks the present is bright and the future is brighter.
OLD
Cares about “Billboard” charts.
YOUNG
Only cares about unweighted charts based on raw statistics. I.e. Spotify streaming. Unfortunately, Apple Music doesn’t reveal its statistics, to its detriment.
OLD
Worried about YouTube.
YOUNG
Will use YouTube when it wants to watch a video, but only the brokest of the broke use it as an everyday music service. YouTube for music is dialup, Spotify/Apple/Amazon is broadband
OLD
Laments the passing of music on MTV.
YOUNG
Never thought that MTV was a music outlet, always saw it as a host for lame reality shows.
OLD
Stuck in the past.
YOUNG
Pioneering the future. The YOUNG have no problem switching allegiance from Facebook to Snapchat to Instagram while OLDsters are set in their ways and have a hard time chucking aside the past to live in the present.
OLD
Thinks a band is a credible, self-contained entity speaking truth.
YOUNG
Thinks a band is a brand, whored out to corporations, establishing enterprises/brand extensions that will rain down coin. Music is just a platform to make money via your fame.
OLD
Bitch about the price of concert tickets.
YOUNG
Save up money and overpay for what they want to do, they know it’s a mercenary culture, and if they want to attend, they pony up.
OLD
Sees a major label record deal as the holy grail.
YOUNG
Is aware of Chance the Rapper, and is reluctant to share revenue with a parasitic corporation when they can use the online tools to break themselves.
OLD
Expects acts to last.
YOUNG
Knows acts are evanescent.
OLD
Is all about culture.
YOUNG
Is all about culture, that’s what hip-hop provides and other genres do not.
OLD
Stuck in their ways.
YOUNG
Will try new things.
OLD
Believe physical assets are a badge of honor.
YOUNG
Believe experiences are a badge of honor, where you’ve been is more important than what you own.
OLD
Is willing to be spoon-fed.
YOUNG
Wants it all now. The concept that radio goes on tracks months after they’re a hit online is anathema.
OLD
Is prejudiced.
YOUNG
Has grown up with a rainbow of colors and accepts all kinds.
OLD
Fighting for women’s rights.
YOUNG
Believes the women’s movement is akin to the right to vote, way in the past, today’s young women feel empowered, they don’t feel taken advantage of (of course this is a mind-set and not always true but the point is young women were brought up believing they could be all that they could be, so when they hit a wall/are abused by men, they react heavily, kinda like Susan Fowler, who stood up to the bro culture at Uber.)
OLD
Thinks the pace of change is glacial, and will never come.
YOUNG
Have lived through the legalization of marijuana and gay marriage and believe change is right around the corner.
OLD
Worries about sound quality.
YOUNG
Sound quality, what’s that?
OLD
Believe in mystery and inaccessibility.
YOUNG
Believe famous people are open books who are accessible.
OLD
Want to be sitcom stars.
YOUNG
Want to be YouTube stars.
OLD
Stayed at home and practiced.
YOUNG
Practice in public, whilst boosting their brand online.
OLD
Grew up believing money was evil.
YOUNG
Think money is great!
OLD
Laments income inequality.
YOUNG
Knows the score and knows that he not busy getting ahead is falling behind.
