# How nostalgia is dominating music streaming

> TV shows, social media, and streaming platforms are making older songs more popular than new releases.
- Title: How nostalgia is dominating music streaming · Billboard
- Summary: TV shows, social media, and streaming platforms are making older songs more popular than new releases. Catalog music now dominates streaming because TV…
- Keywords: music streaming, catalog music, nostalgia, stranger things effect, social media, tv synchs, luminate, rob jonas, streaming data, music discovery, dominating, music
- Source: Billboard — https://billboard.com/video/how-tv-social-media-music-streaming-revived-catalog-music
- Author: Stefanie Tanaka
- Published: 2026-09-16T14:41:43+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: music streaming, catalog music, nostalgia, stranger things effect, social media, tv synchs, luminate, rob jonas, streaming data, music discovery
## Catalog music is everywhere now
Older songs dominate streaming more than ever. In rock, 75 percent of listening comes from tracks older than five years.

> Older music dominates in rock more than any other genre. Seventy-five percent of rock listening comes from tracks older than 60 months.
## The Stranger Things effect
TV shows and films drive massive awareness of older music through high-profile placements. Social media amplification multiplies this effect across platforms.

> the effect of very high-profile streaming content driving massive awareness in older music.
## Breaking new artists is harder
Nearly 150,000 tracks upload to streaming daily. Twenty percent of all music on platforms has received almost no listenership.

> We're now seeing close to 150 … tracks a day being uploaded to streaming platforms.
## Older listeners drive rock trends
Rock skews toward older demographics who have strong affinity for music they discovered in their youth. This preference shapes what dominates the genre.

> older demographics is they have a strong affinity to the music they discovered when they were younger.
## Remixes and samples fuel nostalgia
New hits like Shaboozey's A Bar Song and Jack Harlow's First Class rework old melodies and lyrics. Sequels and adaptations dominate entertainment across all media.
## Key takeaway

Catalog music now dominates streaming because TV shows, social media, and film placements amplify older songs to massive audiences, while breaking new artists has become harder than ever.