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How Brands Can Benefit From The Nostalgia Music Craze

As Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” breaks into the top 20 of Billboard’s Hot 100, Goo Goo Dolls’ 1998 hit “Iris” is a social media soundtrack for celebrities’ ’90s-era photos, and Zara Larsson’s 11-year-old track “Lush Life” is in high rotation on CHR stations, it’s clear that nostalgia — for any music of any decade, except this one — has become not only fashionable across all generations, but also big business.

Luminate’s just-released “Retro Revival” report examines why a “fondness for yesteryear” has boosted listenership of older music in every age group — even consumers age 13-24, where the company’s research shows 25% are embracing music from the ’90s or earlier, up from 18% in 2021, while listening to music from the 2020s has fallen from 55% to 44%. This segment, the report says, is “increasingly turning away from current music to engage with songs released before they were born.”

The significant increase over time in listening to older music among every age group may not be that surprising. After all, every generation tends to form its music preferences in their younger years. So what’s different now, in terms of the current nostalgia surge?

“Thank the internet,” Luminate’s report says, “where all of human history is a click away, micro-niches chip away at the monoculture, and algorithms repurpose past trends for younger generations. Combine this unprecedented accessibility to days gone by with an increasingly turbulent present, and it makes sense why the younger, highly online generations are finding solace in the past.”

What’s more, the report notes, not only today’s music but also other media are highly informed by what came before. “Some of the biggest songs released in 2026 are blatant throwbacks to the 1990s and Y2K,” it says. “Reboots and revivals of beloved proper ties have flooded both big and small screens. Analog media, such as CDs and DVDs, have found renewed popularity among those younger than Spotify and Netflix.”

Note to classic hits stations: Luminate’s data can show when music from any era will make a comeback, and it currently shows that 1990s and 2000s nostalgia is at its peak, with streaming of songs from that era growing at a faster pace than titles released in other decades.

So when will the hits of the 2010s see their triumphant return? Luminate’s report says songs like LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” and Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” are “due for a revival” based on its intergenerational music theory. “The cohort of listeners most likely to return to 2010s music — consumers born in the 1990s and 2000s —are Gen Zers still carrying the influences of their parents’ music preferences even as they develop their own,” the report says.

Luminate’s findings have implications not only for music format programmers but also advertisers, as streaming trends can help brands identify songs from previous decades that are in comeback mode. “Most of the fastest-growing top 20 catalogue titles in 2025 were 1990s and 2000s releases, often returning to current popularity because they are trending on TikTok or appearing in a widely seen streaming TV show or film,” the report says. Among those titles are “Iris,” Radiohead’s “Creep” and Black Eyed Peas’ “Rock That Body.”

The good news for these brands, according to Luminate’s research, is “nostalgic music listeners are ready to shop” and more likely to buy within product categories such as personal care/hygiene products, fashion/clothing, cosmetics, e-commerce/online shopping platforms such as Amazon, and ride-hailing services such as Uber. Data for category buyers or intenders shows which decade of music they’re more likely to respond to in advertising, with telecom and cable TV intenders preferring 1990s and 2000s music, while lovers of gadgets such as Bluetooth speakers are most interested in the 2010s. Additionally, fans of 2010s music are most likely to say they can be influenced to buy or consider a product if an artist they like has endorsed or spoken about it.

First published by InsideRadio. Read original here