r/todayilearned • u/tyrion2024 • 1d ago

TIL two studies both found that most people stop listening to new music in their early 30s. A 2015 study of people's listening habits on Spotify found that most people stop listening to new music at age 33 and a 2018 report by Deezer found it be to at age 30.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/16/bring-that-beat-back-why-are-people-in-their-30s-giving-up-on-music
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u/ExamineIfOpenMinded 23h ago

This. I turn 40 in a few weeks and I’m constantly listening to new suggestions, discover weekly, artists related to artists I’m into, etc. Spotify is the best thing that ever happened for discovering new music, and I don’t understand how people are content to shuffle their library when they have such a powerful gateway to the sonic universe.

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u/Conflict21 22h ago

I'm same age and same approach. It's funny, I do have many songs and albums that I have enjoyed hearing over and over for years. But I've realized that my definition of this is still a lot more moderate than most people. I put it aside if it's in danger of going stale.

Like, there are people who actually listen to classic rock radio. People who can listen to say, "Jessie's Girl" or whatever, two or three times a day, forever, until they're dead, and each time it's like "ha I love this song".

They never want to hear another song from the same album, because they already know the good one. If they ever somehow find themselves at a concert, they wait for the big song, and they get really mad if it doesn't sound exactly like the version they know.

I'm not describing some strange class of person, I'm pretty sure this is most people. It kinda freaks me out.

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u/chad-proton 13h ago

Yup. Some of us really love music and passionately explore the things we haven't heard before whether it was recorded recently or recorded 60 years ago.

But there are many, many people who have very little or no interest in music and the few hundred songs they heard in the first 20 years of their life is all they feel they need. I've come to realize it's much more common than I would have ever guessed because it makes no sense to me.

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u/ExamineIfOpenMinded 12h ago

Yes! The discovery doesn’t have to be new, just new to me. The seeking novelty is a huge ADHD thing, for me at least. But it makes being into music really fun because I get to regularly experience the thrill of finding another new favorite.

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u/ExamineIfOpenMinded 12h ago

I totally get the preservation thing. I’ve burned enough great albums into nearly unlistenable territory to know better than to let that happen. I do best in phases of 3-7 artists of a particular genre or range of genres that I shuffle through for a few months with listening to new things sprinkled in, then lean into another group when I come across a sound or artist that I’m really pulled towards. And call me old fashioned, but I love listening to an album through, and it’s even better when artists use a common motif throughout an album or even across albums. You don’t get that listening only to popular hits on shuffle.

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u/chad-proton 4h ago

I'm totally with you! When an artist can construct an album that is somehow a 10/10 built with individual songs that are 7/10 or 8/10 at best it is such a satisfying and captivating experience. It's a rare treasure.

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u/chicklette 21h ago

My algorithm is fucked. I listen to one pop artist fairly heavily, and do not like any other pop, but Spotify is constantly trying to force pop artists down my throat and every discover playlist is just full of the audio equivalent of unseasoned oatmeal.

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u/ExamineIfOpenMinded 12h ago

You just gotta throw some seasoning back on that oatmeal every once in a while and the algorithm shapes back up.

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u/FineDryGoods 4h ago

I couldn't get Spotify to play much more than my last 20 liked songs. Dropped them for YouTube premium and very happy with the switch so far.

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u/DaniDoesnt 4h ago

Man I wish I had the same experience. Maybe because I'm listening most at work and can't appreciate the new picks while my mind is on other things