Why are people in their 30s giving up on music?

[caught gesture]

Bring that beat back: why are people in their 30s giving up on music?

It would have been unimaginable in our 20s, but these days more and more friends are disengaging from a passion we once shared. Surely this is premature?

www.theguardian.com

 

[Graham849]

Interesting read. However I am pleased to report that my English cousins children just took their children to Glastonbury. Facebook photos would indicate plenty of other parents with children there also. Closer to home the mudbath that was splendour in the grass saw many families also attending. Yes some lose the beat others are passing it on.

I maybe in my early 60's but enjoy Celeste, Macklemore and Billie Eilish amongst others.

 

[tifune]

Pitchfork wrote a similar article some time ago; they brought a dash of neuropsych into it but by no means would I say it's comprehensive or even necessarily objective.

I do like that P4K's tone was geared more toward the internal locus of control rather than "what's up with everyone else???" Not that the Guardian article seemed garish or anything, I just prefer to focus on what I can control (me) with my limited time & attention.

Why Do We Even Listen to New Music?

Our brains reward us for seeking out what we already know. So why should we reach to listen to something we don’t?

pitchfork.com

 

[Andretti60]

There are basically two types of people, different taste, there is nothing wrong with neither of them.

1. The ones who really like music, any genre of any time and era, and are always open to discover something new.
2. The ones who like only the music they grew up with.

I stopped talking about music with many of my friends of my generation that even now listen only to prog, prog and more prog. Prog with fries, prog with eggs, the best music era is the 70s.

I myself in my 30s was not listening too much music because it was a period of transition in my life, I finished college, I emigrated to another country, I learned a new language, I got married, I found a job, I was listening to music mostly during the daily commute, driving the car. When life started settling down I just picked up where I stopped, in the 90s, going forward. How many times do I have to listen to the Beatles and the Velvet Underground? Sure… maybe one song once in a while, and with great pleasure. Prog? Uhm…

 

[fpitas]

There are basically two types of people, different taste, there is nothing wrong with neither of them.

1. The ones who really like music, any genre of any time and era, and are always open to discover something new.
2. The ones who like only the music they grew up with.

I stopped talking about music with many of my friends of my generation that even now listen only to prog, prog and more prog. Prog with fries, prog with eggs, the best music era is the 70s.

I myself in my 30s was not listening too much music because it was a period of transition in my life, I finished college, I emigrated to another country, I learned a new language, I got married, I found a job, I was listening to music mostly during the daily commute, driving the car. When life started settling down I just picked up where I stopped, in the 90s, going forward. How many times do I have to listen to the Beatles and the Velvet Underground? Sure… maybe one song once in a while, and with great pleasure. Prog? Uhm…

I'm category 3. I'm 68, but discovered rave, goth and dreampop in the 90s. Never looked back.

 

[Andretti60]

I'm category 3. I'm 68, but discovered rave, goth and dreampop in the 90s. Never looked back.

Oh, I look back, there is great music on any era, I just listen to anything I didn’t listen before. Recently for example I became a fan of Fela Kuti, I have listened to everything I was able to find.

 

[Deleted member 47224]

Well, I'm in my 30s and listening, and discovering, more music than ever. From all era, of all genre. But I am probably not part of the majority in a lot of area, so...

 

[fpitas]

The music industry used to purposely aim music at certain age groups, the "music of a generation" concept. Things have splintered since then, I guess that no longer drags down big bucks.

 

[ElectricKoolAid]

Interesting, I'm 31 and I listen to less music than I ever have since I started listening to music, probably around 8th grade I would say. I mean, I still like music, and will occasionally put it on in the background while I'm doing stuff, but that's about it. I've had a hard time finding new music that hits me the same way stuff used to, you know? Like everything I hear feels familiar already, feels same-y, feels less exciting. I used to sit for hours with headphones on or speakers playing and just tune out to the music. I guess it's just part of getting older but I'm sure I'll continue to listen when time allows.

 

[egellings]

I notice that newer music is more about the message in the lyrics than the music part itself, which is little more than a substrate to mount the lyrics on.

 

[BinkieHuckerback]

Music is just as much a part of life as it ever was.

 

[JaccoW]

While it could be argued that music has gotten louder, sadder and simpler over the past couple of decades, there is one big caveat to that claim.
Research has only focussed on popular music. And with such a wide amount of different ways to listen to music it has become harder and harder to measure what is popular in the first place. It has become more spread out.

Add to that the differences in global population sizes (The 1970's only had 3.7 billion people whereas we are now closing in on 8 billion people by the end of this year) and an extremely popular song back then might not even break the top 100 in absolute numbers today.

There will be music that is worldfamous in part of the world and absolutely unknown outside of that country. And that's okay, since the doubling in population size means the potential customer base has also doubled.

As for giving up on music as a 35 year old, I barely have time to play video games, cook a fancy meal or even clean my home sometimes so where am I supposed to find the time and money to spend on music? And I still spent quite a bit of money on new, modern music these past two years. Probably more than I have in the decades before that.

 

[Gorgonzola]

There are basically two types of people, different taste, there is nothing wrong with neither of them.

1. The ones who really like music, any genre of any time and era, and are always open to discover something new.
2. The ones who like only the music they grew up with.

I stopped talking about music with many of my friends of my generation that even now listen only to prog, prog and more prog. Prog with fries, prog with eggs, the best music era is the 70s.

I myself in my 30s was not listening too much music because it was a period of transition in my life, I finished college, I emigrated to another country, I learned a new language, I got married, I found a job, I was listening to music mostly during the daily commute, driving the car. When life started settling down I just picked up where I stopped, in the 90s, going forward. How many times do I have to listen to the Beatles and the Velvet Underground? Sure… maybe one song once in a while, and with great pleasure. Prog? Uhm…

I don't belong in either of those categories. I didn't grow up with music; I really only became interested in music in my last year or two in college year. But I can't say I like any genre of any era -- in fact only Classical music albeit of all eras. I was briefly interested in the Folk music popularity of the late '60s & '70s, and for while for Classic Rock and ford Jazz, but these haven't endured.

I did have a period in my life when my interest in music waned, or at least fir listening to it. But that was my 40s not my 30s. It as mostly distractions of house and teenage kids. For example, I watched a lot of nature documentaries and other, less edifying stuff with them. But my interest revived in my 50s.

 

[Vacceo]

I started listening to Black Metal when I was 12. I still do today. The genre has evolved so much that it is still easy to discover new proposals, influences and originality here and there. Death Metal is harder to find in that regard, but still possible.

I guess this is coincident with many other genres that can be called "enemies of the music business" if you want the Napalm Death quote, or a more specialized audience if you want to be less susceptible.

Advice? Do not listen to the generic, vanilla music the Darkos, Pitchforks and similar trendsellers move.