It's likely that the people who research this will say you and your wife are the exception. But then again, I'm an exception. I'm in that "older" demographic but I generally appreciate new music. I'll listen to anything once, and more often than not I like it. I suspect a great many people on this message board have opinions that don't match what the researchers say. We're radio nerds. But there aren't enough of us to please the advertisers.
I was at the "Experience Hendrix" show in Davis last night. One would think it should attract an older crowd. They were there, but so were lots of young people. That audience was probably skewed since students of the college get discounted tickets, but those people are music nerds - just like we're radio nerds. People who explore different genres of music the way we explore radio. Again, not enough numbers to constitute a mass market.
The operating costs of an AM station - with the necessary infrastructure for that low frequency - are very high compared to an FM. Cost-cutting in the facilities (compromised ground, etc) just doesn't work very well. So it becomes a real challenge for the AM operator. You have this thing that costs a lot to maintain but you're typically relegated to a niche format with not a lot of listeners. A difficult scenario at best.
Dave B.