Rock ‘n’ roll is shaking up holiday sales

Rockin’ around the retail tree. Whether listening to a digitally remastered Beatles CD, shopping for Guitar Hero, purchasing a drum set or enrolling your teen in a rock-band music class, you’re in a groove that is good - for the economy.

Parents are being drawn toward all things rock ‘n’ roll-related, and some economists say that can only help Christmas sales for key products within the categories of music, fashion, consumer electronics and entertainment.

“This could be a speck of good news in general if Christmas is where we do a lot more retail,” said economist David A. Brat, a member of Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine’s advisory board of economists and economics department chairman at Randolph-Macon College near Richmond.

While it is difficult “to drill down to the micro level” to assess just how individual sales of distinctly different items are converging in a rock-related upswing, Mr. Brat said, “parents are spending more on the family unit,” which could help nudge the economy out of its doldrums.

“If I’m looking at just consumer goods, there’s a nice little shift going on there,” said Doug Hermanson, an economist with Columbus, Ohio-based Retail Forward. He said government data for September show “a loosening up” in spending, with sales of prerecorded music increasing 1.2 percent and musical instrument purchases jumping 3.5 percent over the previous month.

While Mr. Hermanson admits it is difficult to track rock-inspired items within individual categories such as fashion, a current trend toward everything from Mohawk haircuts to zippered-and-spiked black leather bags screams of punk-rock styles reminiscent of the early 1980s, which was another post-recessionary period.

“As we start to recover, the categories that will show the first signs of strength will be the smaller-ticket, discretionary items” such as apparel and music, Mr. Hermanson said. “I think music is unique. Kids are not going to go without Christmas this year.”

Those buying patterns make sense to Jon Cole, an associate professor teaching behavioral psychology at the University of Liverpool.

“People spend money on luxury items that they deem to be a necessity,” Mr. Cole said. “You have impulsive shoppers, so if you’re into music, the recession isn’t really going to affect it.” Recalling how Hollywood’s heyday began during the Great Depression, Mr. Coles said, “People had absolutely nothing, but they would still go to the movies, didn’t they?”

Contrast the Depression era of the 1930s, when young people flocked to Hollywood seeking fame in films, with today, when from the comfort of home, teens use technology to jump-start their journey toward another kind of celebrity - that of rock stardom.

Learning how is getting better all the time because the tools of the trade are more attainable. Consider the popular video games Guitar Heroand the Beatles: Rock Band, which enable users to simulate playing rock songs with a mock guitar or drum set on an Xbox, Wii or PlayStation.

Such games can be gateway devices that not only spark interest in real instruments, but often accelerate advancement on them. Other factors, such as inexpensive imported electric guitars, drum sets and keyboards, coupled with accessible recording software and the promise of free fame on You Tube, are propelling teens to take their rock-band fantasies to the next level.

And with nightclubs seeking an entertainment edge, getting a gig can be easier then ever. In fact, the resurgence of indie rock bands as an entertainment trend in the hospitality industry is something Graham Stanley, a British nightclub manager, said he has been observing.

“Rock bands are sexy again,” declared Mr. Stanley, who handles development for Bumper, a Liverpool hot spot that transitioned from a 1990s dance club to an eclectic venue that offers live rock as well as DJ music.

“…The dance culture has kind of faded away.” Because music is “a small luxury that is easily satisfied,” it shouldn’t be impacted by a sluggish economy, Mr. Cole said.

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