The New Nostalgia: Nineties Rock Is Big Business in ’09

With bands from Jane’s Addiction to Limp Bizkit reuniting this summer, promoters are hoping fans of Nineties-era music ”“ who came of age around the time of the first Lollapalooza ”“ are feeling nostalgic for the rock of the not-so-distant past. The signs look good: Jane’s and Bizkit are going up against treks by Blink-182, No Doubt and Phish; classic Nineties tunes are getting an increasing number of spins on radio, and VH1 is programming more shows like I Love the 90s. “I always believed in the 15-year rule,” says VH1 vice president Rick Krim. “Fifteen years ago was the heart of the 1990s. It feels like fertile ground.”

Tickets for most of this summer’s tours have yet to go on sale, but when Rage Against the Machine reunited in 2007 to headline festivals and arenas around the world, it clearly demonstrated the growing demand for Nineties acts. Last year, Stone Temple Pilots sold an average of $230,000 of tickets a night ”“ more than twice what they earned when they last hit the road, in 2002. And even smaller bands like Portishead and My Bloody Valentine are finding bigger audiences on their recent reunion tours than they saw the first time around. “It’s a great time to be a Nineties band,” says Alex Hodges, chief operating officer at Nederlander Concerts. Adds Bizkit’s Fred Durst, “Things go in cycles. This movement from that time period is just naturally happening again now.”

So what’s fuelling the demand? “The influence of the boomer is finally starting to wane,” says Marshal Cohen, chief analyst at the market research firm NPD Group. “Generation X’ers now have a lot of discretionary income. They’ve had their kids, and now they’re starting to focus on themselves again.” Radio programmers have taken notice, with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all popping up on classic-rock and alternative playlists across the country. “Recent research has showed us that the appetite for Nineties music was too strong to deny,” says Mike Kaplan, programme director for Seattle alt station 107.7. “We’ve moved Nineties music up to 40 per cent of our programming, and we’ve definitely seen an uptick in ratings.” Satellite radio has also added more of the decade’s music to its playlists. “The overall volume of Nineties songs we play has grown significantly over the past few years,” says Sirius XM rock programmer Gregg Steele. “Two years ago we started the modern-alternative station Lithium, and it instantly became one of our top-rated stations.”

With Jane’s Addiction gearing up for their first tour with the original lineup since 1991 (it kicks off in May with Nine Inch Nails and RATM guitarist Tom Morello’s new group, Street Sweeper), Perry Farrell is gratified by the renewed interest. “All of the Nineties bands that are still here, you have to take your hat off to them,” he says. “They still have vitality ”“ but now they have music wisdom. I look forward to running into them on the road.”