You stop listening to new music at age 33, earlier for parents, study finds

[moe.ron]

You stop listening to new music at age 33, earlier for parents, study finds

Article posted by Dave Shumka in Pop
If you're worried about losing your love of new music, your fears are justified. That's according to new research that finds listeners reach "maturity" around age 33. In other words, you're done with discovering new music when you reach your mid-thirties.

The study compared multiple sets of data, including the age and gender of Spotify users, their parental status, and the overall popularity of artists. The study found that teenagers listen almost exclusively to the most popular artists, but their tastes evolve steeply into their mid-twenties, and then slowly until they level off in their mid-thirties.

According to the study, there are two reasons for this.

"First, listeners discover less-familiar music genres that they didn’t hear on FM radio as early teens, from artists with a lower popularity rank. Second, listeners are returning to the music that was popular when they were coming of age — but which has since phased out of popularity."

The research also found that men gravitate away from popular artists further and earlier than women, and that at any age, parents listen to less music by popular artists than their childless counterparts. Check out the entire study here.

But don't worry too much. According to other surveys, 33-year-olds are too busy and happy to care.

http://music.cbc.ca/#!/blogs/2015/4/...ts-study-finds

I'll admit, I'm 39 and I rarely go outside my musical comfort zone. I do go into spurts of finding something new here and there.

[33girl]

Totally not true for me.

[Sciencewoman]

This is really interesting. I've thought about this before, but it's been on my mind more recently when I watch The Voice. I find I'm tuning out when the contestants cover the newer songs, and tuning in when they cover the "classics" I'm more familiar with. That's one of the reasons I DVR it and never watch live.

I stopped subscribing to People a few years ago for the same reason, because I had no familiarity with the new "celebrities" they often feature. And no desire to educate myself on their activities, wardrobe, etc.

[pinksequins]

Interesting! I find that much of today's popular music seems "commoditized" so to speak. While the same criticism was leveled at, say, the Monkees (I know!) the songwriters behind them were some of the best in the business. I discovered new genres as I grew up, but I remain a fan of Carol King, JT and Carly Simon.

[navane]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Totally not true for me.

Same here. In fact, I recently started listening to Latin pop and cumbia music. Just, you know, because.

[PiKA2001]

I guess you can say that I've never gone out of my musical comfort zone. I've always been an indie/alternative guy. I'm 33 now, and I while I still listen to a lot of indie music I tend to be less open minded about newer acts and always end up going back to the bands that first made it when I was in my early 20s. So I'm more likely to get into the new Spoon, Shins, or Arcade Fire album than the St. Lucia or Griswolds albums (even though they are quite good). I think as you get older it's hard to relate to a lot of the stuff coming from younger artists. I've outgrown partying, patent issues, flakey lovers, and being bored on a Friday night and I like my music to reflect that.

[jolene]

I'm a musician so I appreciate anything that will perk up my music (sorta) snob ears. It's doesn't have to be the best technically or anything, but fresh & engaging. I don't like anything over produced and I also adore out of the box singers a la Jack White. However, I don't like the typical American Idol voice (though Underwood and Clarkson rule). Dia Frampton on "The Voice" totally drew me in. She's not some big voiced singer, but there was something about her that grabbed me by the heart. The Voice started out great, but now it's become AI.

[cheerfulgreek]

I'm 32, but I don't like the music that's out today at all. I don't even listen to the radio anymore. I have my iPod and XM Radio. My kind of music is from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, House, Classic Rock, Grunge, and Rock.

Examples of the kind of music that I love SO much.
https://youtu.be/Jv7FNyckr7w 60s
https://youtu.be/L7RRLC5slLo 70s
https://youtu.be/6J-0YWU2amE 80s
https://youtu.be/eN7e5R96fwU House
https://youtu.be/q6yyWKzPBCM Classic Rock
https://youtu.be/Dn05f4WYFJ0 Grunge
https://youtu.be/qHFxncb1gRY Rock

Music today from artists like Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Sam Smith, Bruno Mars, etc. all suck. That's not music to me. It's annoying to my ears.

[AGDee]

I like a huge mix of what was popular in high school and college (80s), what I liked as a young adult (90s) and what's been happening in this century. I think my kids actually keep me current because we listen to things together or they introduce me to new artists. I love a lot of the artists CG names above. But Grunge is annoying to my ears

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by AGDee

But Grunge is annoying to my ears

https://youtu.be/-v67LpSz6Ck Pump up the volume!!!

[PrettyBoy]

Originally Posted by AGDee

Grunge is annoying to my ears

Agreed.

[PrettyBoy]

I can't really say I'm into the popular new school music that a lot of people seem to like. Most people would find my interest in music rather boring. But it's great music, to me.

I enjoy jazz flavors from a variety of my favorite artists -- just to name a few.
https://youtu.be/rbBNG7Au3GI

https://youtu.be/CvB8o94uejs

https://youtu.be/NTymOEuJNIc