There’s often a stereotype that older people only like music from the past. They can’t get down to what the kids listen to these days because it’s not as good as the stuff from years ago. Well, it turns out there may be a reason for this, and it’s all tied to their age.

Musical Paralysis

You may think you’ll always be interested in discovering new artists, but that’s not necessarily true. According to a recent survey, there may come a time when your desire to appreciate new music disappears. This was carried out by streaming service Deezer, who questioned 1,000 people on who they listened to. The results highlighted 30.5 as the average age where listeners suffered from “musical paralysis,” meaning they stopped searching for new artists and stuck with what they liked.

Less Open To Experience

30 seems like quite a young age for people to give up on expanding their music taste. However, this kind of discovery has been identified in studies before. Scientists have repeatedly found that the desire to be “open to experience” is something that typically declines with age. People’s sense of curiosity and interest in the unknown seems to fade as they grow older, so this onset of “musical paralysis” makes sense. Obviously, everyone’s different, so you might not experience this to the same extent as someone else. However, if you start losing interest in new artists, this may explain why.

The Optimal Age

Deezer’s survey also identified 24.5 as the ideal age for discovering new music. Apparently, 75% of their respondents listened to at least ten new tracks every week. What’s more, another 64% frequently checked out over five unfamiliar artists every month. If 30 is the age where your music taste gives up, this is the age where it’s most alive.

Anyone else feel like they now need to listen to new music just to prove a point?