Why people have fewer favorite songs as they age

By Stephen Beech

People have fewer favorite songs as they get older, reveals new research.

The unique analysis of 15 years of listening data involving more than one million different songs shows that musical taste becomes more "refined" with age.

The research team explained that music is a strong marker of identity, but what we listen to changes with age.

They say the results may not be that surprising, but now there is finally scientific evidence for the first time through an analysis of how listening habits change over time.

The international study shows that younger people listen to a wide range of contemporary popular music and follow trends in popular culture.

In the transition from adolescence to adulthood, music habits broaden, more artists and genres are explored, and listening becomes increasingly varied.

But with age, the spectrum narrows while music choices become more personal and influenced by previous experiences.

The study was conducted by researchers in Sweden and Slovenia.

Study co-author Professor Alan Said, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said: “When you're young, you want to experience everything.

"You don't go to a music festival just to listen to one particular band, but when you become an adult, you've usually found a style of music that you identify with. The charts become less important."

The research team used data from the music service Last.fm, where users share listening habits from platforms such as Spotify.

That makes it possible to build a personal music profile and gain an overview of one’s own music listening.

Since Last.fm users can enter their age when they register, it was possible to link listening habits to age.

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The study was based on data spanning 15 years and covering more than 40,000 users.

The data contained more than 542 million plays of more than one million different songs.

Said said: "In the study, we can follow how music listening changes over a longer period of time.

"When companies like Spotify try to develop music recommendations for their customers, they don’t necessarily look at listening habits throughout users’ lives."

The findings showed that music listening continues to change throughout life.

In middle age and beyond, Said says "nostalgia" becomes a strong driving force - with the music from our youth accompanying us as a "soundtrack of our lives."

And, among older listeners, the patterns is two-fold as they continue to engage with new music, while at the same time repeatedly returning to songs from their youth.

The researchers also found that musical taste becomes more unique the older the listener is.

Teenagers can find many favorite songs in common with their peers, but that becomes more difficult with age. For example, your neighbour listens to death metal, while you are obsessed with Genesis or reggae.

Said said: “Most 65-year-olds don't embark on a musical exploration journey."

He says for companies or individuals behind a recommendation system - such as Spotify's suggestions for new music to its users - the study's findings present important challenges and opportunities.

The researchers said such a type of lifelong analysis of listening habits hasn’t been possible until recently, simply because they haven’t been around for long enough until now.

Said added, “A service that recommends the same type of music in the same way to everyone risks missing what different groups actually want.

"Younger listeners may benefit from recommendations that mix the latest hits with suggestions for older music they have not yet discovered.

"Middle-aged listeners appreciate a balance between new and familiar, while older listeners want more tailored recommendations that reflect their personal tastes and nostalgic reminiscences."