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Was Music Better Back In The Day? Study Says It Isn't... You're Just Getting Old

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Do you think music was "so much better" back in the day? Of course, you do. A study says that's because you had pretty much stopped listening to new music by the time you turned 33.

The research was done by a blogger at Skynet & Ebert, and although it lacks the validity of a peer-reviewed scientific study, it makes a lot of sense.

The author combined individual listening data from Spotify with Echo Nest artist popularity and came up with a metric for "the average popularity of the artists a listener streamed in 2014." When users were scored and classified according to age it became clear that although teens' taste is dominated by 'top Billboard 200' radio music. That trend wanes through their 20s as they listen to more indie artists, and eventually matures in their early 30s. That's when the so-called 'taste freeze' occurs. The listener has "aged out" of mainstream music.

That's why, according to the study, in January 2015, Taylor Swift had a popularity rank of #1, Eminem #50, Norah Jones, #1000, and Natasha Bedingfield ranked #3000. (Admit it, you loved "Come Away With Me" and "Pocketful of Sunshine.")

So, if you're over 33, and you're constantly telling kids how much better "music was back in the day," don't waste your breath. You're not really that old -- your musical taste has just aged out.

Rock on.

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