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Comment by brentm | Hacker News Reader

Having worked closely with a number of artist that achieved notable level of mainstream success (multiple Billboard Top 40 hits, years of touring) I have to agree with the authors conclusion. Even for those that have successful careers spanning a number of years it's more or less over as soon as it starts. They then spend years chasing what they had but it's near impossible. By the end most end up financially not well off and with little to no career options. It's amazing while it's happening but the candle burns quickly, that being said I doubt many artists would agree.

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My friends that have been able to translate it to longer term stability are the ones that got into producing and engineering on top of playing. They'll work with younger artists while also doing their own music and getting called to do session work. The ones that really only focused on playing in their one band and didn't, say, get good at producing/engineering or start a label haven't had the best career options after a certain point.

Same with actors becoming directors.

I speculate that because of those few years of living as a rockstar you're left with a big gap on your CV.

Maybe this is why Kanye West does so many stunts and make controversial remarks, to stay relevant when the odd are so stacked

I think his antics could be better explained by manic episodes. He'd have stayed far more relevant if he had just stuck to his music.

I somewhat disagree. Many artists who were hot in the early 2000s still put out music, but hardly any media attention anymore and much lower sales by the 4th or so album. The public only has a finite attention span. Rap has gone through so many changes over the past 20 years since his career began yet afik he is still able to put out new material and get a lot of media attention and sales for such an old act.

I’m not actually a huge fan of his (I think he’s a weak rapper but admit he has a golden ear for production, not to mention his highly objectionable public outbursts). But to call him an old act seems a bit ignorant, the material he’s continued to put out is a big part of some of the “many changes” seen in hip hop over the years.

I was going to say that he's literally old by American celebrity and performer standards though.

But then I googled it and apparently the average age of top billing star musicians still performing live is 53. So I guess he's not really that old.

I'ma let you finish but... Kanye has long been a master of publicity stunts and his music has always been popular (and dare I say it - even as a non-fan - consistently good).

He was doing fine until he (self-admittedly) stopped taking his bipolar medication in 2017, jumped into politics, and supported a group that has almost entirely alienated his fanbase because there's pretty much zero overlap in the demographics. He says he stopped taking them for the sake of his music so maybe he was in a catch 22 situation, but he's gone completely off the rails.

I dont think it is just politics. His albums later album, in particular after 2017 sound much different.

He also bought and gutted that Ando house. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/06/17/kanye-west-tad...

kanye would be relevant just off music production making beats and fashion.

his outburst are hurting him more than helping him especially now that his quality has declined

> The public only has a finite attention span. Rap has gone through so many changes over the past 20 years

Eminem is the 5th most listened to artist on Spotify right now. His first album came out in 1996 – 28 years ago.

So we know it's possible :)

https://eminem.news/monthly-5.html

I think his antics could be better explained by finding 4chan late in life and spending too much time there.

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