Results of New Survey Suggest That People Stop Discovering New Music at Age Thirty
Update, Friday, June 8, 12:27 EDT: A representative tells us that although the survey was indeed commissioned by Deezer, “the research company we used was independent and the people selected for the survey were totally random and Deezer did not have involvement in who these people were.” Original story follows.
The cliché that most people stop listening to new music as they get older is one of those clichés that became a cliché for a reason… which is to say, it’s largely true. Obviously, there are exceptions (including, but not limited to, those of us who at least partially make our living seeking out new blood), but generally speaking, if you stop any random person on the street and ask him or her about their all-time favorite albums, they’re gonna start listing shit they first discovered as teenagers.
And as if there was any doubt that this is the case, a new survey conducted by the streaming service Deezer claims to have confirmed as much, according to loudersound.com:
“[T]he survey finds that something called ‘musical paralysis’ – when music fans stop discovering new music – is most likely to hit those aged 30 years and six months.
“Quizzed on the reasons why they stopped caring, people said everything from having kids to simply being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of music out there.
“If that wasn’t depressing enough, 60 per of the people questioned said that they felt stuck in a musical rut, only listening to artists they already know.”
Of course, we’re missing some of the key information we need to truly gauge the accuracy of this survey, like the sample size, what questions were asked, and how they were asked… in fact, if we assume that everyone who took the survey was a Deezer subscriber, that would immediately taint the survey’s results.
Having said all of that… again, this isn’t hard to believe. But even if it’s true, take some comfort in the knowledge that it means metal fans aren’t the only ones hopelessly stuck in the past.
