Are you often confused by the Pitchforks and Brooklynvegans of the world? Are all these Bear bands just a bit too much to handle? Were you born in the time period of 1945-1957? Then we have the Web site for you!
Enter Sonic Boomers, which beyond being unfortunately named, caters to the album crowd–the ones who really made music what it is, man.
Created by longtime Warner Bros. Records publicist Bill Bentley and assisted by managing editor Amanda Hanson, the site will concentrate on music in all forms relevant to the massive Boomer population. Bentley saw a strong need for such a site several years ago. “It seemed like less and less attention was being paid to that segment of the music audience in their 40s and older,” he says. “It was like they were becoming invisible. I noticed they were the only part of the music-buying public who still actively purchase albums on compact discs, as opposed to digital downloads of singles. In fact, about 70% of Boomers bought music last year and they account for a third of all music purchases. Plus, they truly love music and actually invented the modern music business with their buying power, starting with vinyl records in the 1960s. Without them, modern culture would have been radically less interesting.”
It was then that Sonic Boomers was born. Concentrating on helping Boomers find great music from the entire scope of new releases and reissues, Bentley and Hanson created a website that features new contributions each Friday, including album and book reviews, feature stories, interviews and archival pieces, along with two special daily features: Today’s Boom Tune, that reviews a different song every weekday, and Fresh Links, highlighting news around the Web of special interest to Boomers.
“I have a friend who told me recently, ‘I don’t know what music to buy or where to buy it anymore.’ We can help change that,” Bentley says. “That’s our purpose and our passion.”
Although it’s good to see Bud Scoppa’s byline appear outside of the HITS universe, I’m wondering how long Sonic Boomers will stick around. It’s hard to see this sort of music as being underrepresented in the media, when the first free track offered is by Joseph Arthur (an artist vastly more notable for being critically acclaimed than actually good) and one of the first albums “reviewed” is Love’s Forever Changes. If the stereotypical lost music fan Bentley describes can’t figure out how to buy music online, are they likely to check a Web site just so they can be reminded how great James Brown was every day?
Sonic Boomers: First Website Devoted to Music and Baby Boomers [Marketwire]
Mudcrutch might be the single worst name ever (not aided by the fact that I keep misreading it as ‘Mudcrotch’).
please, no more insulting of mr. petty either blatant or indirectly. just ’cause the boomers like it doesn’t make it bad.
So it’s basically Tracks but as a website? Ugh. At least Tracks paid well…
Also, nice exit strategy for Bill Bentley: “Hey, now that the biz has completely collapsed, maybe I’ll look into these internets that all the kids are talking about…”
My parents can barely manage checking their email. Best of luck, Sonic Boomers.
@iantenna: That’s truer than you know.
@Ned Raggett: ?
Mr. Petty has acknowledged that Mudcrutch is/was an awful name. So bash away.
You’re right, old people suck, dude. Why can’t there be at least one music blog for “kids” who hate everything?
They need to make the font size bigger — my Gran’pa can’t see the words.
@SteveHy: FYI, I think part of the “comment” concept is to read the article before coming up with your new reason for hating it here.
What’s with calling Petty “mister?” Is that Petty’s own mandate, is it just out of reverence, or are you all NY Times writers?