Ok, here's a related thread, just so we can get some data:
Quite surprised not to have seen a similar topic.
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Please can we all take 5 seconds to vote?
Nostalgic, yes, like nostalgic about place where one grows up, about college days. But that does not mean one cannot develop new interests in their 30s/40s, and that includes developing new interests in music
I'm not saying it's cause and effect. I'm just saying it happens. How often do you see a pensioner in a record store? You don't, because it doesn't happen. They become very closed-minded, stop watching movies, stop watching new TV shows, never have enough time to keep up with stuff, etc.
In fact, you might even use that to explain why all the record stores (and cinemas and bookshops) have closed - because old people don't buy music, and because young people only stream, therefore no need for record stores any more.
Something like 57% of the American population is above 30, and about 62% of the UK. If all the 30/40/50/60/70/80 year olds kept discovering new music, there'd be a queue around the block of every record store in the world.
Possibly. But there is also the fact that we never get told how many people are in the studies. How were the questions worded? Was there any follow-up? Who was funding the research and did that influence the possible results? How representative was the group of people that were invited to take part? Etc etc. Those studies are fine as far as they go. They are not the whole story, imo.
They do tell you how many people are in the studies - it's usually a key point. Like, it's not just a few - it's hundreds of studies, each containing thousands of people, representative of different countries and age groups, using wording that follows industry best-practice, with no pressure from outside influences (ie, they're peer-reviewed before being accepted for publication). Etc.
Go have a chat with some old people. A few years ago I used to spend some time in an old people's home, and it was always "60s greats" being played, and never Drake. Funny that.