Gen Y's Version of New Kids on the Block

This is not your daddy's rock band. According to the New York Times, there is a very healthy, growing music scene in New York lead by musicians who can't even drive legally let alone vote or drink in the bars they are playing in every weekend. After reading the article twice, I came away with some thoughts and takeaways that are extraordinarily parallel with the current state of youth sports and other extra-curricular activities that Gen Y tends to participate in, including theater and dance. This is a fact: there are several groups of very, very talented musicians under the age of 18 making their way around the New York music scene, many of which are sons and daughters of celebrities, so no doubt, there were probably a few strings pulled at the beginning, but clearly some of these kid bands have talent and their own organic following. This is a fact: More times than not, parents of Gen Yers want their kids to not just be "good" at something, they must be "excellent" or "very special." Whether it is junior football (where there is always the threat of a parent "confronting" the coach on the lack of playing time their kids gets) or theater (the parent gets upset when their kid gets a small part in the play), there are some definite similarities all revolving around something we call "unique success" (if you are a Youth Trends client, you'll know what that terms means later this month when we release our next Insights report). The difference however, and it is an important one to take note of, deals with a sense of open creativity, a culture of creativity, if you will. Many of the parents of these grungie teenie bopper rock stars were once (and many still are) grungie, artsie, creative folks themselves, and they seem to have encouraged/pushed their kids in the same direction which, will probably end up being an advantage if you were to make a direct comparison between the kids involved in the NY music scene compared to those kids involved with a particular individual or team sport or the theater. This is all fascinating stuff, someone could write a book about the parents of Gen Yers and their must-excel-at-something-even-it-if-kills-them children.