Music Have you stopped discovering new music as you've gotten older?

sullydnl

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The music streaming service surveyed 1,000 Brits about their music preferences and listening habits. 60% of people reported being in a musical rut, only listening to the same songs over and over, while just over a quarter (25%) said they wouldn't be likely to try new music from outside their preferred genres.

The peak age for discovering new music, the results suggested, was 24. This is when 75% of respondents said they listened to 10 or more new tracks a week, and 64% said they sought out five new artists per month. After this, though, it seems people's ability to keep up with music trends peters off.

Some of the reasons the survey revealed were people being overwhelmed by the amount of choice available (19%), having a demanding job (16%), and caring for young children (11%). Nearly half of respondents said they wished they had more time to dedicate to discovering new music, so at least for that 47% it wasn't due to a lack of interest.
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-we-stop-discovering-new-music-around-age-30-2018-6

Have you guys found this to be the case in your lives? Have you hit a musical rut or have you still kept up with new music?
 

Olly Gunnar Solskjær

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Does "new" mean newly released, or does older stuff that you haven't heard before count? If so it's the complete opposite for me. I'm discovering and listening to more music as time goes by

 

sullydnl

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Does "new" mean newly released, or does older stuff that you haven't heard before count? If so it's the complete opposite for me. I'm discovering and listening to more music as time goes by

Nah, discovering old stuff definitely counts as it's still new to you. It's really the 60% who listen to the same songs over and over I'm looking at.

I find I'm listening to more now too, especially as it's easier to find stuff from more obscure bands now than it was when I was, say, 18. I'm still just 28 though so maybe the void is just yet to engulf me..... :nervous:
 

Cloud7

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I would definitely say I have. Back in secondary school I would spend hours on YouTube going down rabbit holes and finding all kinds of new music from artists I liked as well as newly discovered ones.

Nowadays doing that doesn’t interest me as much. The bulk of new music that I know is what plays on the radio.
 

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I don't avtively seek it out as much but I haven't stopped. I just consider myself way behind in some genres.
 

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Back in my 20's I could listen to the same albums and songs for a whole summer. These days I try to be on the look out for new stuff on Soundcloud etc so it's quite the opposite for me.
 

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Like others have said, it's been the complete opposite for me. There was a period in my life where all I listened to was either Phish or the Grateful Dead.
 

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Thanks to Spotify and Radio 6 I'm listening to way more new music now then I did in my teenage years and twenties
 

11101

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I listen to much more that's new to me but it tends to be older music. Growing up it was either whatever I had on CD or what I could tape record off the radio. With Youtube and Spotify I listen to all sorts. The issue is the vast majority of newly made stuff I come across is rubbish.
 

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Podcasts have taken over from music for me. I'd much rather learn something new say about history or science, than try out new music.

Clearly I'm old and weird, but that's how I am these days.
 

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I've been discovering more and more new stuff now thanks to Spotify premium. There's been more anticipation for new albums thanks to the internet and knowing that I'd have it streaming ASAP.
 

redman5

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We were talking in work a few weeks ago about how the popular music culture seems to have died a slow death. I've always had an a eclectic taste in music, & I've been fortunate enough to have been around when there's been an abundance of diversity in the music scene. It was once groundbreaking & ever-changing, but now it's become safe & bland. David Bowie has now been replaced by Ed Sheeran (yawn) There doesn't seem to be any angry young people who want to send their messages via their music, instead it's now done through social media (another big yawn) & those who do seek out a musical career now want the fame without putting in the hard work - enter Simon Cowell & X Factor.

Maybe I'm wrong & maybe I've just stopped looking. But if anyone can point me to some of the new stuff out there that might become the new Rolling Stones, Beatles, The Sex Pistols, The Clash etc....I'd be very grateful.
 

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We were talking in work a few weeks ago about how the popular music culture seems to have died a slow death. I've always had an a eclectic taste in music, & I've been fortunate enough to have been around when there's been an abundance of diversity in the music scene. It was once groundbreaking & ever-changing, but now it's become safe & bland. David Bowie has now been replaced by Ed Sheeran (yawn) There doesn't seem to be any angry young people who want to send their messages via their music, instead it's now done through social media (another big yawn) & those who do seek out a musical career now want the fame without putting in the hard work - enter Simon Cowell & X Factor.

Maybe I'm wrong & maybe I've just stopped looking. But if anyone can point me to some of the new stuff out there that might become the new Rolling Stones, Beatles, The Sex Pistols, The Clash etc....I'd be very grateful.
Ed Sheeran is nothing like Bowie. A better example would have been Sheeran replacing Elton John. Elton obviously still being vastly superior.

The rest of your post is nonsense too. You’re just not looking hard enough or you’re old enough to see how fabricated it’s always been.

The Sex Pistols were as fabricated as any X Factor band is now, you just believed it back then.
 

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I've been discovering more and more new stuff now thanks to Spotify premium. There's been more anticipation for new albums thanks to the internet and knowing that I'd have it streaming ASAP.
I'd agree with this although I use Amazon prime which is ok - probably not as good as Spotify but you obviously get the movies etc with it too
 

Maxii

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I always think about this. In my mid twenties I used to be really into music and every payday (monthly) I’d go to tower records and buy between 5 and 10 albums. Me and my mates would go to gigs every couple of weeks and festivals during the summer but I’m in my early thirties now and we just don’t have the time anymore. There are bigger priorities in my life now. My gaming time has taken a massive hit too.

I have a Spotify subscription and I still find new music I like but not nearly at the rate I used to. I still listen to music a lot but as quoted in the OP, I find myself listening to the same music over and over a lot of the time because I just don’t have the time to browse the internet for new music or I don’t buy music magazines either like I used to.

I’ve really gotten into Podcasts lately too which hasn’t helped things.
 

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I don't think I'll ever stop, especially with the likes of Spotify around, which makes it so easy.
 

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Podcasts have taken over from music for me. I'd much rather learn something new say about history or science, than try out new music.

Clearly I'm old and weird, but that's how I am these days.
I too am old and weird.

Almost completely stopped listening to music in the podcast era, having devoured it obsessively all my life up until that point. The only time I put music on now is when I have friends over and that’s not really proper listening. Certainly no way to fall in love with any new bands.
 

11101

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Ed Sheeran is nothing like Bowie. A better example would have been Sheeran replacing Elton John. Elton obviously still being vastly superior.

The rest of your post is nonsense too. You’re just not looking hard enough or you’re old enough to see how fabricated it’s always been.

The Sex Pistols were as fabricated as any X Factor band is now, you just believed it back then.
I eagerly await the next X-Factor Christmas number 1 singing about starting a revolution in the UK, or the next time the biggest hip hop group on the planet starts singing F*** tha Police. It won't happen, because the people who control the industry won't allow it and the people who might listen to it aren't angry enough to ignore them.

Like film, music has been through various evolutions and iterations and found it's perfect formula that sells to the most people with the least effort for maximum ROI. For film it is remaking old movies, for music it is endless iterations of the same handful of singer/song templates. Unfortunately, for people who knew what it was like when musicians were still discovering new things at a pace, that's pretty boring.
 
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GazTheLegend

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Streaming sites like twitch have definitely helped me expand my library of listenable music, otherwise I’d have struggled I think - I hate what’s generally being played on FM radio (usually the same 5 songs), and am only now starting to use DAB radio as my car has now got an entertainment system so that should help.

But yea I probably do listen to music a lot less than I used to, and a lot more talksport/podcast style stuff as I get older.
 

Castia

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Yup i love rock/indie rock but always find myself listening to the same stuff i've listened too for years.

I have a active Spotify sub and recently tried branching out....ive not heard of half the bands these days but the music is decent. I'm only 34 as well but i feel so old now when it comes to music.
 

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Definitely. I listen to nothing like as much as I used to generally, as I prefer news and current affairs radio/podcasts, and haven't heard much new stuff at all, even from bands I like.

I still enjoy seeing live stuff though.
 

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Kind of yes and kind of not. I do tend to just listen to the same playlist over and over again but I find my music tastes have changed more. I feel like I’ve gotten to that stage where I think most of the modern music we here is kinda rubbish but then that might just be artists that the radio are peddling.

Found myself liking more soul/jazz stuff recently. Things like Sam Cooke, Charles Bradley but I liked Dua Lipa and I saw on here Greta Van Fleet and really liked them so been listening to them a lot.
 

Minimalist

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Nah still discovering lots of new music. Just happens to be more obscure genres or old music I never listened to before.

Top 40 chart music makes me feel about 20 years older than I am. Odd good tune in there the sometimes but really don't get the current trends at all.
 

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I'm 31 and I don't think I've ever consumed as much new music at any point in my life as I'm doing right now, so I seem to be a bit of a statistical outlier. I was actually stuck listening to the same old shit in my early twenties, so around the age most people supposedly listen to new music.

It took me some time to get out of that but I've come to realize how much creative and experimental stuff is going on right now, whereas I used to think everything had been done before. I seem to have an unquenchable thirst for new music now.
 

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I've had the same songs on my iPhone for like 7 years. I download a few new ones from time to time and throw some off. I only listen to music while commuting or in the gym though, so meh.
 

Minkaro

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I'm 28 (29 next month) and I discover new music all the time. Last.fm going to shit hasn't helped, but there's always Spotify, Youtube, hell, I discovered a guy just because he followed me on Twitter. Of course then there's local open mic nights and that sort of thing. For me, and the style of music I listen to, I can go onto Metalstorm and then look at the latest releases, and see if there's anything there that looks interesting.
 

djdhrubs

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I'm 41. Definitely don't listen to any new music nowadays. My commutes are spent watching netflix/ amazon prime rather than listening to music, and I don't have other spare time to seek out new music, which I always did in my 20's and early 30's. Family/ kids etc.
 

Bubz27

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I'm 28 (29 next month) and I discover new music all the time. Last.fm going to shit hasn't helped, but there's always Spotify, Youtube, hell, I discovered a guy just because he followed me on Twitter. Of course then there's local open mic nights and that sort of thing. For me, and the style of music I listen to, I can go onto Metalstorm and then look at the latest releases, and see if there's anything there that looks interesting.
Probably unfollowed you when you followed back, the scroundrel.

With streaming services and "Start radio" feature, which plays similar music to the track im listening to, I listen to a wider range now then I ever have and I'm 95 years old.
 

KirkDuyt

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I'm 41. Definitely don't listen to any new music nowadays. My commutes are spent watching netflix/ amazon prime rather than listening to music, and I don't have other spare time to seek out new music, which I always did in my 20's and early 30's. Family/ kids etc.
This is the most important part imho. No idea where I'd get the time.
 

Eckers99

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This actually causes rifts in my house, as my missus always listens to the same stuff (and is fairly resistant to new music) but I'm always looking for new stuff. So we just settle on never listening to music together.
 

ivaldo

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I barely listen to music at all now. I spend several hours a day in my car and if the radio is on it's either on TalkSport or Heart 80's (I was born in 88', so not really a generational thing).

The majority of the time I just listen to audiobooks. I dont miss discovering new music in the slightest.
 

jojojo

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I was born in the Jurassic. My own music library is basically stuff I bought on CD pre-2000. Things only get added to my mental playlist now if they are so popular they're everywhere and I'll occasionally then make an effort to follow them back to see if I like more of that artist - but like I say, only usually the very popular the Amy Whitehouse, Ed Sheeran, Drake, Lady Gaga sort of popular, or the odd track like "Are we human". Every now and again someone will play something and it'll hit me enough that I'll ask them what it is - so people like Macy Gray get added, or I'll listen to an aria and decide to watch the opera. But it's random, inconsistent, not sought out - just handed to me. And only occasionally changes my habits.

The music players in the house are voice activated so though Spotify etc are there but that's actually made me more narrow minded, "play some Oasis," "play some 80s stuff" or whatever.

I have started to say "play Radio 6" though. Maybe that will broaden my horizons.
 

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Massively.

I listened to two new albums last year, and one new album this year.

Music is totally passing me by.
 

BusbyMalone

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I did stop discovering new music until i subscribed to a streaming service (Apple Music). Now i discover so much more than i used to. I've always loved music and my music taste is pretty eclectic, so this streaming business is great for me. Probably music streaming's biggest draw imo.
 

noodlehair

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I have...I think it's a time thing, in that you just have less of it as you get older.

I used to actively listen to new music, have music channels or the radio on in the backround, seek out new artists on Spotify. Also a number of bands I'd get into from seeing them at Festivals or as supports acts at gigs. I just don't get time to do these things anymore. I put my existing music on random play when I go for a run, then get annoyed when it keeps selecting songs I'm fed up with.

Chart music has also gone from being stuff I think is rubbish, to stuff I lack the relevant hearing attributes to actually recognise as music. Where as if I go to the genres I do like on Spotify for example, it's just a list of all the songs from 10+ years ago that I already have.
 

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I eagerly await the next X-Factor Christmas number 1 singing about starting a revolution in the UK, or the next time the biggest hip hop group on the planet starts singing F*** tha Police. It won't happen, because the people who control the industry won't allow it and the people who might listen to it aren't angry enough to ignore them.

Like film, music has been through various evolutions and iterations and found it's perfect formula that sells to the most people with the least effort for maximum ROI. For film it is remaking old movies, for music it is endless iterations of the same handful of singer/song templates. Unfortunately, for people who knew what it was like when musicians were still discovering new things at a pace, that's pretty boring.

Are you limited to the charts? Only listen to the radio? There’s more music readily available today than ever, I’ve no idea why you feel limited to “what the industry wants you to hear”. That might have been the case 15 years ago but that mold has been well and truely smashed to peices by streaming technology.
 

11101

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Are you limited to the charts? Only listen to the radio? There’s more music readily available today than ever, I’ve no idea why you feel limited to “what the industry wants you to hear”. That might have been the case 15 years ago but that mold has been well and truely smashed to peices by streaming technology.
It's no more available than it was before, relative to the big name acts. Yes, anyone can publish their music on something like Spotify, but you need to have backing to make it in the first place and someone to promote it if it will ever get beyond a few dozen listeners. Otherwise its little different than being in the bargain basket at the local record store.

I have friends who are putting music out and it's really no easier for them to get recognised than it was before. The handful that have made it did so after being picked up by major names.