• The New York Times, Monday, November 27, 2006 12:15 PM

The announcement last week that AARP--the organization for older Americans--would sponsor a national concert tour by Tony Bennett is just the start of a massive marketing campaign that the organization hopes will entice millions of baby boomers into its ranks. As the first kids weaned on rock'n'roll turn gray, it has plans in the works for an alliance with a major retail chain, a Web-based music recommendation service with Pandora, a music blog, and additional sponsorships.

The assumption used to be that the spending habits of consumers over 50 had solidified, and their earning power had peaked. No longer. Now they control too much disposable income--and live too long--to be ignored. And nowhere is the shift in attitudes more pronounced than in the beleaguered pop music business.

But AARP faces an uphill battle. No matter how hard the group may try to change its image, some people still associate it with the Saturday-night bingo set. And many musicians may want to keep their distance, even if it means sacrificing enormous sales.

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