How come some people achieve success in their 20s/30s?

Post Reply New Topic

I am always reminded of when a 32 year old Julius Caesar saw a statue of Alexander the great and "wept with envy" because it dawned on him that by his age Alexander had conquered half the known world and felt that so far he had achieved nothing. I probably shouldn't looking up to them as good examples as they both had blood on their hands and certainly do not want to be conqueror haha.

It does sometimes envy me seeing musicians, actors and sports players achieving a lot like in their 20s and 30s. I like music, I once tried to play bass but stopped because it was hard and didn't feel passionate enough for it to be a career.

I have always felt since uni about being a writer and writing about subjects I liked going back as a kid like history, animals/nature and so on. I have some ideas on documents on my Chromebook. I once had something on paper in a file but I changed ideas and it came to nothing. One I am doing is a book on what disasters happened on this day in history from 1st Jan to 31s Dec. I've done one page on January so far.

https://www.nolandalla.com/great-pop-mu ... ed-age-30/
Do great pop musicians run into creative gauntlet by age 30, and if so — why? [Note: For purposes of discussion, I made “30” the creative cutoff. But it could be 29, or 31, or 32 — the point being that musical creative talent diminishes perhaps over time]

No, you are looking at it wrong. Most singers get too old for their audience of young people.
Or older people who like to look at singers in their teens and twenties.

I've listened to and watched of videos of live performances of bands in their 20s, 30s and 40s and a lot of people in the audiences have got to be in their teens. I didn't think they are too old for me when I went to Hyde Park to see Pearl Jam at 20 I think I was.

I think that might be due to the differences between a band like Pearl Jam and pop music.

Pop music is largely disposable, so there's a much bigger fixation on what's new as well as an image of youth.

Rock music (and rock fans) are more interested in what they judge to be authentic, which plays a big role in why some rock music is viewed as more timeless.

Eddie Vedder doesn't have the right image to be a disposable pop icon, even if labels were once able to market him to a broader, pop audience.

How? Having wealthy and supportive families helps; most of these so called "self made" millionaires were never poor!

100%.

They mythologize themselves like they went from being a pauper to having a kingdom, when scratching the surface tends to reveal it's more like they started with a modest barony and family ties to a bunch of other aristocrats.

I keep reminding myself that stars like Taylor Swift, football stars like Harry Kane and actors like Tom Holland are doing what they are doing because its what they want to do because its what they were passionate about and in the case of Kane, probably did lots of training day and night every year in the spring, summer, autumn and winter since their teens.

I do still find it hard for me to retain this reminder when it feels like we are bombarded with the music, the sports tournaments and latest films with these people in them and feel like an ''underachiever'' because they achieved a lot of hits and success before 25 or 30.

Carly Rae Jepsen took advantage of her youthful appearance to sell clothing to young women!
She was 28 in 2013 but still looked like she was in her teens! It took a long time for her to become a "one hit wonder" in 2012.
She then parlayed that success to take advantage of numerous opportunities to make money. Not on the scale of a Taylor Swift, but enough for an estimated net worth of 10 million dollars.

Compared to other female pop stars, she is a late bloomer by a decade!

Last edited by BTDT on 15 Feb 2025, 1:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

They achieve success because they possess a combination of talent, work ethic and good luck. I don't reckon you can get to the top without all three.

Yes, Carly was lucky enough to lose Canadian Idol and place 3rd, so the didn't get the record contract awarded to the winner! She has sold more albums than the entire Candian Idol franchise.

Are you asking how to become famous?

Fame is achieved through hard work, dedication, talent, & luck

Really the entire process is no different than finding your soulmate!! !

Just put yourself out there and see what happens!

I think you've overlooked another big factor, commercial viability.

You could be the most talented, hardest working, dedicated and lucky person on earth, but it's not going to make your war metal or powerviolence band get into the top 40, because virtually everything about those styles is almost the polar opposite of what resonates with top 40 listeners.

Magrudergrind even got featured in Veep, but that additional exposure wasn't going to make them suddenly crossover to mainstream success. Cannibal Corpse were featured in Ace Ventura, but even though getting in a movie was a lucky break, and that movie doing way better than expected was a lucky break, it didn't mean Cannibal Corpse were ever going to outsell Metallica because Metallica had a much easier to sell product.

Understanding the market you hope to appeal to and the potential limitations of what you seek to sell is important.

Miatas are a popular car, but there's an upper limit to how many Miatas can be sold because even if everyone wanted a small, 2-seater sports car/roadster, a lot of people can't follow through on that desire because they need something bigger, with a backseat and cargo space.

You could make the Miata into a more commercially viable product by making it into a 5 door, 5 seater crossover, but it's no longer a Miata after you do that. You could make your war metal band much more commercially viable by switching to playing melodic death metal, but then it's no longer a war metal band.

Sometimes one needs to decide how they're balancing their vision and commercial viability and then set their expectations based on how large of market exists for what they'd actually like to sell.

Touring and giving live performances is the way bands make money. It is a lot of work to be on the road giving live performances.

Selling merch too, especially for independent artists.

I know a minor celebrity and it seems to be mostly in the networking. Of course, being born into fame definitely helps!

Otherwise, you've gotta introduce yourself to owners of venues and do a whole lot of social media marketing, create merch and advertise the merch. Plus you'll want to introduce yourself to other artists. Especially ones with a similar sound who are likely to perform in places that would attract your target demographic.

Performing as an opening band is a good way to get started. Having your songs somewhere easily accessible such as Spotify is a good idea - however don't expect much from it. Spotify isn't all that nice to artists. Live performances will be the main focus when possible.

Featuring on another band's song will also gain you some recognition.

You'll also want a recognisable look - both in how you physically present yourself and in your branding. Sleek professional posters are a must. Think about how you pose in photos. A recognisable logo as well. You'll want a unique selling point. Talking about your inspirations will help, it'll provide people with an idea of what to expect from you.

Granted, I'm a nobody myself, so maybe I'm just talking nonsense.

Of course!! !

I like to bring up the cartoon series SpongeBob SquarePants which honestly applies to everything you just said!

Specifically the part about "commercial viability"

THAT is the biggest reason why the show has been successful & has lasted so long I believe!