The '50 quid bloke' and the survival of music magazines...

The 50 quid bloke is a term coined by David Hempworth in 2003. It is used to describe a certain group of music consumers.

"This is the guy we've all seen in the record stores on a Friday afternoon, possibly after a drink or two, tie slightly undone, buying two CDs, a DVD and maybe a book - fifty quid's worth - and frantically computing how he's going to convince his partner that this is a really, really worthwhile investment. He is likely to be a big user of the web and probably owns an iPod and is an avid radio listener." 

Accordning to data from the BPI, 40-49 year olds now purchase a higher percentage of albums than 12- 19 year olds.

This group of people can be explained due to their ages. When the '50 quid bloke' was in his youth, music was a central part of life. Now, he attempts to maintain his cool status and keep track with current trends by purchasing albums, records and music magazines.

The '50 quid bloke' is, now, more likely to be targeted by record companies because they are easy to appeal to. Company members are able to target the '50 quid bloke' as they see themselves as similar. Additionally, the '50 quid bloke' provides reliable sales that record companies thrive for.

The question now asked is; are music magazines dying out? Are the younger generations being sucked into newer and faster music through the internet? Is the only targetable audience now the '50 quid bloke'?

Is this the end?

Personally, I agree that music has developed. Magazines are dying out. The younger generations, who tend to be more interested in music, are moving on from magazines and CD to newer methods such as internet streaming.

Patterns of music consumption have changed. People no longer purchase CD's but instead stream music through the internet using iTunes, Spotify and Youtube. Steaming has become so 'normal' that in 2013 HMV (one of the UK's most popular music stores) closed 37 stores and was at risk of bankruptcy.

This change in youth culture has lead to questions about how we, as a population, now access music. While magazines and CDs still exist their popularity has dramatically decreased. As a consequence this change has effected the industry significantly. In 2013, the closure of 37 HMV stores lead to the unemployment of almost 500 people. This only intensifies the new methods of accessing music; why pay, when you can stream it for free? 

While living in this futuristic society can music magazines survive?

Perhaps the fact of the matter is that music magazines have reached the end of their popularity, only to preserved by the '50 quid bloke'.