The New Musical Customer.

“Let’s play “In the mood”, than “Moon River”, than “Blue Bossa”, hey wait were are all the customers?”

I can’t tell you how many bands I have worked with who do not understand the present market of music listeners.  A vital mistake that leads to an increasingly smaller crowd and eventually a lost gig.  These are all tunes we love to play along with other “Real Book” standards that show off our jazz skills, but something is missing.  That something…the understanding of who is in the audience and what music the customer is used to.

Let’s take cruise ships for example.  The average cruise guest is now about 46, based on what I have been told by countless Entertainment Directors.  Let’s take that and do some math. 

The average person develops their musical taste and memories around age 18.  So subtract 18 from46 and you get 28 years ago.  Now subtract 28 from 2011 and you get 1983.  That leads me to believe that the average customer on a cruise ship will respond to songs from the late 70’s through 80’s much better than those jazz tunes from the early 50’s and 60’s.  Sure there are some timeless pieces that everyone loves, and sure if you are in a jazz club this math doesn’t work.  But when you are a club band on a cruise ship, in a bar or in a hotel the math doesn’t lie.  Your customers, if they fall into that age 46 median, are going to want a little more Michael Jackson and a lot less Glen Miller.