Retro revivals succeed because developing them is cheap

Evidence

Retro provided an excellent source of innovations because the development costs are so low. Inventing from scratch is difficult and time-consuming. Retro offers something that feels “new” in the moment without the need of explanation and persuasion. Youth weaned on 1950s radio got the joke of Sha Na Na immediately. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 674

Categorization

  • XREF: connects to: Retro revivals produce weak derivatives consumers bypass for originals. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 780; Nostalgia became a low-risk financial strategy that entrenched the past over new IP — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 388; Retromania stems from the economy, not just internet access to the past. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 2312

Broader Connections