Ideas (thursday 13th)

Up until this week I was keen on research in the field of electronic design, building a cloned audio processing device.

Having carried out exercises in class with David Lim, I have decided that this might not be an original enough line of study nor fulfill the requirements of the project. I would therefore like to record the idea of a research project asking the question "to what extent is an artist's first success determined by age".

This question stems from an idea as old as the modern music industry (post-war) that artists should be new, fresh-faced, innovative, edgy and energetic.


In the early 1960's there was an interview conducted with he Beatles hot on the hells of the band's new found success. It was very interesting to note that Paul McCartney was quoted as unsure as t what the future held for the group, due to the transient nature of A&R.

Further back, during the 1950's there are accounts of young men being approached by a man with a cigar in the back of a limousine, promising stardom and riches.

Although the music industry has changed dramatically over the course of the past 60 years, there are artists who's first successes were all those years ago and are still playing music to large audiences, for example Chuck Berry.