Do people "Give Up" on music in their 30s?

[Skeever]

One factor I was thinking about is "Age of the Artist".

New podcasts hosted by people of all ages pop up all the time. Also, actors and writers, old a new, run the gamut of ages. But music is such a young person's game. Sure, people stay active for long careers, but you NEVER see a brand new band just hit the scene where the members average out to an age over 30. To an extent I feel like appreciation of art is in some ways contingent on being able to relate with the artist, and in that respect "new music" feels like something that belongs to the young.

[cramx3]

One factor I was thinking about is "Age of the Artist".

New podcasts hosted by people of all ages pop up all the time. Also, actors and writers, old a new, run the gamut of ages. But music is such a young person's game. Sure, people stay active for long careers, but you NEVER see a brand new band just hit the scene where the members average out to an age over 30. To an extent I feel like appreciation of art is in some ways contingent on being able to relate with the artist, and in that respect "new music" feels like something that belongs to the young.

I think young people drive what's popular.  Not necessarily what is new though, but there probably is some correlation based on what you are saying with relating to the art.

[Dream Team]

I’m 55 and listen more than ever now that I use a streaming service. And imo metalheads are generally much more passionate about their music (there’s a reason for that, it’s very visceral) and much less likely to give it up.

[hefdaddy42]

I am certainly the odd man out among my contemporaries that I know regarding music, as I am fairly voracious in my appetite, regardless of genre.  Most people just listen to what they liked when they were in high school and college, and that's it.

[twosuitsluke]

Really interesting article. I'm 35 and in my friend group I can see that people have lost interest in listening to music. I'm the opposite, I've given up on almost all TV/movie watching and listen something new almost every single day, I play guitar more than ever, and I've started collecting vinyl in my 30's, it's a huge part of my life. I think it's one of the traits I get from my dad, he is 61 and is still listening every day although his discovery of new music slowed down.

At 39 I'm pretty much the same. I just want to listen to music more than ever, and am lucky enough to work a job that allows me to listen to whatever I want, the majority of the time.

My thirst for new music is pretty unquenchable and I have so many playlists and avenues that allow me to discover new stuff on a daily basis.

I still have friends who are into music, but not quite to the same degree. I'm always sending them recommendations, not that they give a shit 

[SoundscapeMN]

it's been a number of years since I was in my 30's and while it doesn't happen as often, I still get a thrill from discovering a new band/artist that I am kind of in awe of.

But I've come to the point where I know it doesn't happen too often, but for every new band I check out that I come to love, I probably check out 5-10 or more bands I'm not amazed by.

But I also find that there's music from different eras or at least songs, or 1 album that I'm totally unfamiliar with or remember from when I was younger, that I've found a new love for. Largely 70's and 80's Pop. Buffalo Stance by Neneh Cherry for example, or The Promise by When in Rome (Napoleon Dynamite helped). Those 2 tunes I knew growing up, but hadn't heard for many years and in the last few years, I've come to love and also yearn for that time again.

[MirrorMask]

And imo metalheads are generally much more passionate about their music (there’s a reason for that, it’s very visceral) and much less likely to give it up.

Very good point.

We forget that music is art / entertainment like many branches of art. We post on this forum dissecting every single aspect of the music we dearly and passionately love, and then - random example - we go to the Louvre in Paris to see just the Mona Lisa and the Nike ignoring all the other cool stuff present in the museum, to the horror of those who are passionate about art just like we are about music.

For many people music is just "background noise", a minor occupation. Some people can't live without books, others can't live without music, it's easy for someone as passionate and involved with music as the average metalhead (or average member of this forum) to forget that not everyone live music as viscerately as we do.

[soupytwist]

I think one thing I've noticed about my music habits is when I was younger let's say teens to thirty I wanted to introduce people to the music I was listening to - often making tapes and burning CD's for friends, family and work colleagues.  But now (mid 40's) I don't do that at all, in fact I'm gone to the opposite, actively turning my music off when someone walks in the room!  Dunno why this changed?!

[gazinwales]

I'm 54 and love discovering new music, still look forward and get excited about new releases from my favourite bands.

[Implode]

I'm 31 and caving and finally starting to use Spotify the past few years as actually introduced me to a lot of music that's new to me. It's been wonderful. As I get older I do notice more and more that my enthusiasm for music isn't common between all my friends like it used to be. Some people focus their energy on other things. That's fine. That's basically been me with video games.

[Stadler]

I think one thing I've noticed about my music habits is when I was younger let's say teens to thirty I wanted to introduce people to the music I was listening to - often making tapes and burning CD's for friends, family and work colleagues.  But now (mid 40's) I don't do that at all, in fact I'm gone to the opposite, actively turning my music off when someone walks in the room!  Dunno why this changed?!

Serious question: did you realize (as I did) that liking certain music or songs is a visceral thing that is individual to a person?  I realized somewhere down the line that I don't think about whether I like something or not. I listen and I react. Sometimes the reaction lingers, sometimes it doesn't.   Other than with my daughter, which is really just informing her this is out there, I rarely play anything for anyone else if it's not in a roulette here.

[Zantera]

I think one thing I've noticed about my music habits is when I was younger let's say teens to thirty I wanted to introduce people to the music I was listening to - often making tapes and burning CD's for friends, family and work colleagues.  But now (mid 40's) I don't do that at all, in fact I'm gone to the opposite, actively turning my music off when someone walks in the room!  Dunno why this changed?!

I can relate to this. When I was younger I was much eager to push my favorite music onto people around me because in my mind, that was important and also other people liking something i liked was a weird form of validation. But I find it these days that I'm kinda passive when it comes to that. If people ask me what I'm into or want recommendations or something, sure I will oblige, but I have also learned that the 'cram it down people's throat' approach of pushing music onto others can do more harm than good. Most of the time the stuff you get really into is because you had curiosity yourself, rather than being forced to listen to it.

[ShadowWalker]

I wonder how much Spotify and other streaming services has contributed to it. I still regularly buy music and so to shows and support the bands I like, so I remain invested in it. However, I think about someone I knew who stopped that and just got on the streaming bandwagon and no longer seemed invested in any music, just got caught up in listening to the stuff he knew and very rarely did he venture into new territory. We stopped talking about new discoveries because without the investment of a CD, there really is no reason to invest the time. To sit with the artwork, to read the lyrics, to really absorb the music. If you don't click immediately, on to the next thing (or more realistically, back to the thing you heard a million times already).

[ZirconBlue]

I wonder how much Spotify and other streaming services has contributed to it. I still regularly buy music and so to shows and support the bands I like, so I remain invested in it. However, I think about someone I knew who stopped that and just got on the streaming bandwagon and no longer seemed invested in any music, just got caught up in listening to the stuff he knew and very rarely did he venture into new territory. We stopped talking about new discoveries because without the investment of a CD, there really is no reason to invest the time. To sit with the artwork, to read the lyrics, to really absorb the music. If you don't click immediately, on to the next thing (or more realistically, back to the thing you heard a million times already).

Even pre-streaming, it seems a lot of people set their musical preferences in the teens to early 20s, and then just kinda stop exploring new music. 


https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Music/2015/0512/At-what-age-do-you-stop-listening-to-popular-music

[Lethean]

I think I can confidently say that I'll never "give up" on music.  It's such a big part of my life and I just can't imagine that I'll stop being passionate about it.  I've never been one to constantly seek out new stuff, but that's probably relative. I'm thinking about people who listen to 100 plus new albums a year whereas it's probably more like 15-20 for me, sometimes less, sometimes more.  But the people I know in my daily life don't really buy music at all, and to them, my 15 albums is a ton.  But I listen to music most of the day and love going to concerts and I just can't see myself becoming indifferent to it all someday.

[wolfking]

I think 'give up' is a strong term.  I relate to the article, but I'd never say I'd 'give up.'  I took that term more as in music just isn't the forefront of everything in your life, so to speak, not necessarily, walking away from music totally.  I still love all the bands I've grown up on and revisit them a lot, but just new music isn't a big focus for me anymore. 

[Lethean]

I think 'give up' is a strong term.  I relate to the article, but I'd never say I'd 'give up.'  I took that term more as in music just isn't the forefront of everything in your life, so to speak, not necessarily, walking away from music totally.  I still love all the bands I've grown up on and revisit them a lot, but just new music isn't a big focus for me anymore.

That makes sense.  For me I think it'll always be one of the things at the forefront.  Not necessarily seeking out new stuff all the time, but like it is now, where I follow my favorites and keep up with their new stuff, check out new stuff from bands I'm a casual fan of, and find a new band or album I really like every so often.

[wolfking]

I think 'give up' is a strong term.  I relate to the article, but I'd never say I'd 'give up.'  I took that term more as in music just isn't the forefront of everything in your life, so to speak, not necessarily, walking away from music totally.  I still love all the bands I've grown up on and revisit them a lot, but just new music isn't a big focus for me anymore.

That makes sense.  For me I think it'll always be one of the things at the forefront.  Not necessarily seeking out new stuff all the time, but like it is now, where I follow my favorites and keep up with their new stuff, check out new stuff from bands I'm a casual fan of, and find a new band or album I really like every so often.

It's still at the forefront most of the time with the bands I know and love.  I just don't go actively seeking new stuff or even side projects leave me uninterested most of the time.

Any new music I do latch onto that's new is from the crew on here anyway, so I don't need to go looking, the work is done for me. 

[ReaperKK]

I've been thinking about this thread more and honestly I think me trying to get into new music is what kept me listening. There was a point a few years ago where I had heard all my favorite artists a million times and was tired by all of it. It's then where I went on the hunt to find and listen to as much new stuff as I could.