Britney Spears: Keeping Up with an Audience

Britney Spears has pushed the limits, and many people's buttons, once again with her Femme Fatale album. The pop princess' newest release has caused a stir among listeners for being too provocative and risque for her younger audience.


While that may be a valid point, what needs to be remembered is who her target audience really is. This leads to the true marketing question: which consumers are more important, patrons or new arrivals?

Britney Spears burst on to the pop music scene in 1999 with her hit single "Baby One More Time." She was a member of her target audience; at seventeen years old, her music was definitely age appropriate. Of course some of her outfits and performances raised a few eyebrows, but that's business. In order to stay popular in the music scene, her team had to make sure people were always talking about Britney...and unless you've been living in a cave for the last twelve years, you know we've never stopped talking about Britney.

As Britney got older, her music aged with her. Her lyrics started appealing to an older audience and becoming more provocative. With each new album more people would complain that Britney Spears' lyrics and themes were too mature for her younger audience, but her original audience, the audience that made her a sensation in the first place, was aging with her.

Now at 29 years old, her newest album contains lines such as "you can be my fuck tonight." So, where did the innocent Britney go and why is her music so outlandish? It's simple, really. Britney Spears is not 17 anymore, and neither is her target audience. Although she still primarily sings pop music, which is typically marketed to a younger audience, it's unrealistic to expect a 29 year old woman to write and sing like she is a teenager.

Young listeners are going to be attracted to the beats and and playfulness of the new Femme Fatale album of course, but Britney and her team would be making a big mistake by trying to keep her innocent, they could potentially be alienating the listeners that have been buying her albums for years. Like so many pop legends that came before her, it is truly the people who have been listening from the beginning, the people who are in the same demographic as Britney Spears herself, who are going to stick with her and keep her career successful in the years to come.

So, although parents will continue to complain about Britney Spears' sexuality in her music, it is important to remember Britney's responsibilities. It is not her responsibility to make sure children aren't listening to explicit content. It is her responsibility to satisfy herself and her fans and to continue her successful career by keeping people listening and keeping people talking.