Will Nostalgia For Music Be Streaming’s Next Casualty?

In 2023 I saw Bush, Ashanti, Ginuwine, Sister Hazel, and Aqua live. That’s a heck of a mix of ‘90s, and early ‘00s heavyweights, and one hit wonders.

The least surprising thing about these shows – they were all packed.

People love a nostalgia tour. It’s why Sugar Ray’s ‘90s filled Under The Sun Tour, and Everclear’s equally ‘90s filled Summerland Tour, had successful runs for many years.

Nostalgia for music is something that’s been around forever. For most of that time, however, listening to music has been an active thing. We’d put on an album, turn on the radio, or watch MTV, and our attention would be on the music.

Now, with streaming, listening has become a far more passive thing, and I’m beginning to wonder if the passive listening inspired by streaming is going to kill nostalgia for music.

If you think about it, the TRL era was the last time recorded music was predominantly consumed in an active fashion. Since streaming has taken over, people are now mostly listening passively, putting on a playlist while doing something else. Streaming is background music, while MTV, TRL, and putting on an album made music the main focus.

Without the deep connection that comes from people being active listeners, does an artist who isn’t Taylor Swift, or Beyoncé stand a chance of having anyone wanting to see them in concert a decade from now?

Back in 2014 I interviewed Mark McGrath, and he discussed the timeline for nostalgia, saying, “I think nostalgia, you can count on it being every 15 years.”

With that timeline in mind, we’ve already seen a number of modern nostalgia acts go the Las Vegas residency route – including Katy Perry, and Adele – but what about the artists who aren’t quite as big, but have lasted a number of years?

Will SZA, Tinashe, Flo Rida, or Doja Cat be able to fill a 10k capacity outdoor venue the way Ashanti and Ginuwine did at last year’s Alive at Five finale in Stamford, CT? Do you think 5 Seconds of Summer, Glass Animals, Kings of Leon, or Hinder will sell out midsize venues ten years from now the way Bush did during their 2023 tour? Will people flock to see Gotye, or Alex Clare, they way they do previous one hit wonders like Aqua, and Sister Hazel? Did you just have to Google the name Alex Clare?

When I think of how quickly Lorde went from being the it girl, to being tossed aside for the next it girl, with each essentially competing to be second place to Taylor Swift – how will Lorde, and others like her be remembered? Will there be nostalgia for them?

The When We Were Young festival, which is essentially a Warped Tour class reunion, may be the last festival to be able to take advantage of nostalgia.

There are still a select few artists who will likely make it to the nostalgia phase of their careers. The Killers, having songs everyone still sings along to, are a band that should be able to pack a venue five, ten, even fifteen years from now.

Olivia Rodrigo, thanks to being the pop queen of quarantine during COVID, will also probably be able to be a nostalgia act one day. Her songs ended up connecting with her audience in a unique way because people had no place to go. In other words, her fans became active listeners due to circumstance.

The question, however, remains – will there be any nostalgia for the majority of the artists who’ve gained fame during the streaming era?

Streaming has already killed – at least temporarily – album, and single sales, but if it were to kill nostalgia for modern artists, that might be its most destructive effect of all.