Many startups are trying to take advantage of generational shifts in the music business, typically aiming for younger consumers who would rather download songs than buy records. Bill Bentley, a longtime music publicist and senior vice president at Warner Music Group, is aiming in the other direction with his new site.

With the help of music-oriented social network operator Fuzz Artists Inc., the 57-year-old Bentley has launched Sonic Boomers, a site that introduces new music to older consumers.

"My generation came up with music magazines, but people are shying away from that now," he says, noting that respected print titles such as No Depression and Harp have ceased publication in recent months. "Most people in my age group don't read Rolling Stone anymore."

One thing they still do, though, is buy CDs. Bentley (pictured) offers a few figures: 70% of Americans over 50 bought music last year, and that audience bought 27% of all CDs sold. But many of those consumers have begun to feel that radio no longer serves their tastes, leaving them without a compass to direct them to what they want to hear. "Basically, I want to make it so that an older customer who walks into a record store doesn't feel like an idiot," Bentley says.

Fuzz, Sonic Boomers' parent company, is a music-oriented social network that has also begun to function as a record label. ("They gave me tech smarts and a business structure," Bentley says. "I'm tech-stupid.") Fuzz has attracted venture funding from unnamed investors, and Bentley says he brought in a single new angel investor to support Fuzz's expansion and the launch of Sonic Boomers. Fuzz will continue to seek new investors, he says, but Sonic Boomers' cash burn rate is exceptionally low, with a full-time staff of two.

Although Sonic Boomers may offer a few limited social networking features, Bentley says the site is intentionally designed without bells and whistles that might scare off less tech-savvy people of an older generation. He won't call it a blog, although the site shares a fair number of traits with commercial music blogs such as Stereogum (now owned by venture-backed social network Buzznet). Rather, the focus is on editorial control from trusted voices, rather than the wisdom of crowds.

"We're not open to everybody's opinion being on the site," he says.

Bentley won't rule out introducing more functionality if his audience accepts it, but for now he's more concerned with good writing and filtered musical taste.

"We're intentionally starting with a very narrow focus, and trying to do one thing really well," he says. - Paul Bonanos

See May 5 press release from Fuzz/Sonic Boomers
See April 3 post on Buzznet and Stereogum from Tech Confidential