Tweens: A Hot Ticket
The hottest selling act in the country right now might come as a surprise. Unless, that is, you are a tween-aged girl or her parents.
Miley Cyrus is 14 years old and is the real-life daughter of "Achy Breaky Heart" singer Billy Ray Cyrus. To her millions of fans, she's "Hannah Montana," the character she plays on her Disney Channel hit.
Cyrus' 51-city tour is selling out so fast that tickets are going for hundreds, and in some cases, more than $1,000 through ticket brokers like SitClose.com's Steve Buzil.
"She's definitely comparable to the Rolling Stones, if you will, going on tour again or Bruce Springsteen," he tells CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers.
Rolling Stone magazine says we probably won't see Cyrus on its cover any time soon, but as a musical force, she can't be ignored.Bowers Blogs: Young Kids, Big Bucks
"She's selling tickets like no one else right now," says associate editor Brian Hiatt. "It's kind of extraordinary."
Like the cable movie phenomenon "High School Musical," more than anything, "Hannah Montana" is a means to market -- not just music, but merchandise aimed at 8- to 14-year-olds. It's the same group American Girl tapped into to sell 13 million dolls at $87 each.
Every year, America's 20 million tweens can be counted on to spend about $40 billion and influence their families to spend another $110 billion. The combined $150 billon is more than the entire economy of about 100 countries.
Upscale tween boutique owner Wendi Gordon sees parents drop big money on their little kids all the time.
"I mean, these kids don't have jobs, maybe some of them babysit a little bit, but most of them come in and if they put in $5, the mom will put in the rest of the money. So it's definitely coming from the parents," says Gordon.
As long as parents are willing to shell out hundreds of dollars on "Hannah Montana," you can be sure the next prepackaged superstar is already waiting in the wings.