Why do so many places in the UK only play music from10-15 years ago?
Posted by BlueHeron0_0@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 161 comments
I remember when Despasito, Shape of You, Thunder, Bad Guy went viral: they were playing from every trashcan, now I don't know any more songs like this and wherever I go they only play old stuff like party rock anthem and some obscure pop. Do songs just not go viral in the same way anymore?
GlumAd9856@reddit
I don't go to late night bars/clubs very often - but i've mentioned to my mates that they seem to play the same music as when I was clubbing in my 20s (00s). A mix of all the standard 80s songs (Summer of 69, Jump, Paradise City etc) and the main pop acts from the turn of the Millennium (S Club 7, Kylie, Robbie Williams, Shaggy).
mr_iwi@reddit
Because nobody under 40 can afford to go out on a weekend!
Daveddozey@reddit
Yup, you see to be able to buy a drink in a club for an hour of minimum wage in 2000. Or two pints in weatherspoons.
You’d never find a pint in weatherspoons for under £6 today or a jd and coke for £12 in a club.
ledu5@reddit
I see your point, but you definitely can find a pint for under £6 in a Spoons, nearest one to me is something like £4.40, cheaper if you get it with food
Daveddozey@reddit
Well quite. Turns out people can afford it just as much as they used to.
DimensionMediocre439@reddit
This is also why the line-up for music festivals has pretty been unchanged for the past 25 years. There are still the same headliners as when I went 20 years ago.
I had a look at the festivals I used to go to and I am baffled how little there is for teenagers.
KreativeHawk@reddit
Maybe it’s just isolated to dance music but there are plenty of smaller acts bursting onto the scene, I’ve seen a lot of variety of labels doing various events and outside the headliners you can generally find your own niche sound within genres like house or drum and bass. There’s also occasional debates of bringing higher age limits in to cope with some of the younger crowds 😂
Honest_Bid3025@reddit
Interestingly summer of 69 is one of the bigger 80s tracks yet only peaked at Number 42!
LocaliserEstablished@reddit
Last of the monoculture?
BlueHeron0_0@reddit (OP)
What's that
Fusilero@reddit
Social media means the cultural landscape is more fragmented, a lot of these songs come from an era when everyone (well, majority of people) listened to the same few songs.
appletinicyclone@reddit
But also new music just doesn't have as much staying power
ravenlordship@reddit
That's survivorship bias.
Forgettable music has always existed, you just only remember the really popular stuff.
HouseOfWyrd@reddit
It did, but I'm struggling to think of any that are having much staying power currently. Old Town Road was everywhere - now it isn't. What are the big hits that have lasted more than a few months in the last 5 years?
youdy@reddit
Man I need is still everywhere and was released a year ago in August
Oghamstoner@reddit
That’s why though. It can never reach a saturation level like it did when people used to listen to the radio to hear new music.
jafarthecat@reddit
Some of it does. I guarantee they'll be playing Blinded by the lights in 40 years time.
EhDinnaeEvenKen@reddit
Blinded by the Lights?
As in, the song by The Streets?
The one from 22 years ago?
Oghamstoner@reddit
Could be Bruce Springsteen. That one’s even older!
Eclectika@reddit
or manfred mann...
Daveddozey@reddit
Mann is the one in my head - douche, not deuce
jafarthecat@reddit
Sorry I meant Blinding Lights by the Weekend.
TheCheesemongere@reddit
Surely he means Springsteen Blinded by the Light
Daveddozey@reddit
Springsteen or Mann?
The one I think of is “like a douche” not “deuce”.
happyhippohats@reddit
Before the internet made everything easily accessible the population at large were more inclined to latch onto the songs that were most accessible ie. the ones with the most radio play. That's somewhat shifted over the last two decades.
hattorihanzo5@reddit
Culture has stagnated.
Try going to any rock or metal club night these days. The playlist hasn't changed since 2008.
cthulu_is_trans@reddit
I've missed working at my old rock club ever since it closed down a few months ago.
I do NOT miss hearing Dragula every day.
RBisoldandtired@reddit
Used to work in a rock club and jfc I can’t stand this song either.
Anything by disturbed. Rob zombie. We used to describe as basic bitch music for metal heads. Kerrang top 10 stuff.
Older crowds always wanted slayer and Metallica whiskey in the jar eventually had a sign “no slayer by order of the management”. Just cos they were dickheads about it and never polite.
Nickelback were also banned for DJs. Not cos the songs were overplayed. Just cos they’re wank.
cthulu_is_trans@reddit
To be fair, we were always cool to play whatever music we wanted, but the playlist and a lot of requests was mostly that basic bitch 2000s "alt metal" along with the occasional newer like Sleep Token or whatever. What most people actually got was dependent on whoever was working the bar that day.
I've subjected the regulars of that bar to a lot of shitty 80s nwobhm and I don't regret a thing. Myself and two coworkers actually play in some of the more well known metal bands in the central belt so we also usually just played each others tunes as well.
EhDinnaeEvenKen@reddit
Got any recs for decent metal bands worth seeing in the central belt?
I'm pretty open to most subgenres that aren't nu-metal, black metal, power metal, or metalcore.
Dundee scene's been near dead for nigh on about 20 years now, and last time I went to the big reek or the weege to specifically see a "local" band was Man Must Die about 10 years ago.
RBisoldandtired@reddit
Dundee wise if you haven’t already check out knives chau fan club, and some slightly older but not 20 year old stuff like fat goth, PMX if you’re into skatey/tech punk… i should have more suggestions but I’ve only just started my first coffee of the day and it hasn’t kicked in yet lol
cthulu_is_trans@reddit
If you're free from ~5pm tonight there's a gig on at Ivory Blacks that has some good local bands in a mix of genres. Doppelgänger headlining.
For the east coast Disposable are mainstays, for newer stuff I highly recommend Permacrisis who have an incredible fucking live show and Luxera are fucking class for just some decent classic thrash metal. You've also got Killscythe who are Perth based so that'll be right near you.
For Glasgow tbh a lot of bands are on hiatus rn but you've got crossover bands Kingpin and Fatal Collision returning somewhat soon. Abysmal Decay for some good death metal, Night Fighter is some class stupid speed metal and then obviously Doppelgänger are just class (no biased at all)
RBisoldandtired@reddit
There’s a couple bars I go to here where I am and the playlists can vary but there’s always newer stuff as well as the “classics” and then some older stuff of varying degrees of alternative. But they’re very open to requests as long as it’s not 11 minute opeth type songs lol
cthulu_is_trans@reddit
We were absolutely playing 2112 ourselves but fuck anyone else requesting a 6+ minute song lmfao
EhDinnaeEvenKen@reddit
To the surprise of absolutely nobody who's ever had to interact with Slayer fans.
NeedleworkerSolid163@reddit
Sounds like Opium/Legends in Edinburgh? 😅
OkCartoonist2586@reddit
My 55 year old father thinks Rob zombie, disturbed and rammstein are the coolest bands ever.
way_of_the_dragon@reddit
Disturbed are awful. The other two are pretty good.
OkCartoonist2586@reddit
Hey, they had 4 good songs….. across 2 albums.😂
way_of_the_dragon@reddit
Really? That many? 😂
I couldn't get past Down With the Sickness...and then I heard the Simon & Garfunkel cover and was happy I never bothered trying to get past it.
OkCartoonist2586@reddit
I lie. The first 4 songs of their first album, the first 2 songs of their second album and then the Simon and Garfunkel cover.
The rest all sounds the same
cthulu_is_trans@reddit
Unfortunately had the displeasure of having to listen to that bomb-signing bastard butcher two of my favourite Ozzy and Sabbath songs in Birmingham last year, though it was perfect time for a beer break at least.
way_of_the_dragon@reddit
I'm sorry you had to go through that. At least he got booed while you were getting a refreshment!
SFButts@reddit
You might've stagnated, the kids are fine. Rock club nights are most likely full of 35 year olds who like bmth or whatever
hopium_od@reddit
I think that you are being unnecessarily insulting there.
Look at the line up for Download 2026. All of the headlines acts are older than Download itself and only 5 of the main supporting acts were formed in the last 10 years.
I couldn't have imagined going to to a festival in the 00s and all of the big act were from the 70s and 80s (some., sure, but not all). In affect thats what is happening here.
SFButts@reddit
Sorry for being unnecessarily mean.
I'm too lazy to do the fieldwork, but I'd be interested when was the last time Download had a 'modern' headliner. 10 years ago, 15 years ago and 20 years ago, it was the same headliners. Linkin park, limp bizkit and a 70s rock band.
Rock music continues to progress. Its not really popular anymore. There are still many bands making great music. This festival's biggest artists is not where to find them, because it's always going to be the 'popular' rock artists.
JoeBagadonut@reddit
The issue of no new big bands coming through in the rock/metal scene has been a know issue for a long time now but Sleep Token headlined Download last year.
Other than the end of monoculture, I think a big part of it is that so much of the innovation in the current metal scene is happening at the extreme end of the genre and that just doesn’t translate to massive headlining festival performances.
hattorihanzo5@reddit
Yeah, all the best modern metal these days is to be found in the extremes. Death metal is currently having a big resurgence, but even the biggest death metal bands would be lucky to play late afternoon on the second stage at Download.
"Mainstream" metal has (for better or worse) stagnated since the nu-metal days.
JoeBagadonut@reddit
Blood Incantation are one of the most exciting bands in the scene and they’re headlining the fourth stage this year. I will be there 🤘
hattorihanzo5@reddit
Yeah, their last album was one of the best albums I've heard in years.
But yeah, as far as death metal goes, we're eating good as of late: 200 Stab Wounds, Undeath, Sanguisugabogg, Frozen Soul, Fulci, Necrot
SFButts@reddit
I actually did the fieldwork, these are all the headliners that weren't formed before Download. Idk why I did this, was just interested. Fair play I was wrong they've had 2 modern headliners in the last decade.
2003 headlined by audioslave (formed in 2001) 2010 headlined by them crooked vultures* (formed in 2009) 2021 headlined by Frank Carter + Rattlesnakes (formed in 2015) 2023 headlined by bring me the horizon (formed in 2004) 2025 headlined by sleep token (formed in 2016)
*Dave grohl, josh homme and JP Jones supergroup
glasgowgeg@reddit
Yeah obviously the band that headlined the very first Download existed before Download did, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to play the first Download.
SFButts@reddit
That is true. When I started, I was compiling bands who were formed this millennium, and then I changed to 2003, I guess I just forgot audioslave
Larosterna1852@reddit
The undercard this year is full of lots of great newer bands though, I'm going and that's a lot of what I'm looking forward to.
SFButts@reddit
I'm a big fan of Native James personally
ArtisticOperation399@reddit
That's because mainstream rock has almost completely disappeared. While incredible rock music continues to be made, there's been no rock or metal bands that have enough well known hits to play in a club.
The last big hitters peaked around the mid 2000s: Muse, Avenged Sevenfold, MCR, Lost Prophets.
To be honest, by 2008 rock was on its last legs. What were the two big rock hits that year? Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon, and Photograph by Nickelback.
ISellAwesomePatches@reddit
You're not wrong. A band I saw Friday night had no support act so had Face Down DJs.
I mean, I loved that stuff at the time but I realised it hasn't been long enough since Kerrang TV was on in the background constantly at all my friends' houses to care to hear any of that again. The crowd loved it but I swear the guy was playing the same Top 100 countdown playlist Kerrang would play.
Boring.
Capital-Just@reddit
Try listening to the music the play in Argentina. They pretty much only play music from the UK from 40 -50 years ago.
BlueHeron0_0@reddit (OP)
That sounds sad
Capital-Just@reddit
A lot of it's Morrissey, so it''s certainly a bit melancholy.
peanut_dust@reddit
Trashcan?
BlueHeron0_0@reddit (OP)
Sorry, english is not my first
Rubbish bin?
reverandglass@reddit
Rubbish bin is correct English for a bin, but I'd argue that a "trashcan speaker" is well known enough to let it pass in this context
BlueHeron0_0@reddit (OP)
I don't know the context... Is there such a saying?
reverandglass@reddit
Maybe it only exists in music circles but "trashcan speaker" is a common phrase in my world.
peanut_dust@reddit
Never heard of trashcan speaker in the UK.
A tenous link might be 'bass bin', but i haven't head or said thst for many years. It's sub/woofer.
SFButts@reddit
Songs that I think were as big as despacito from last year. Birds of a feather - Billie eilish. Ordinary - Alex Warren. APT - Rosé. Not Like Us - Kendrick Lamar.
BlueHeron0_0@reddit (OP)
After your comment was the first time I actually went on youtube and listened to them with music videos and learned their names, so fair enough, they're decent
Other commenter mentioned golden from kpop demon hunters which also counts I think
callisstaa@reddit
That song from Kpop Demon Hunters.
Ill_Yogurt_4659@reddit
So the girls have something to sing to when drunk
OddProfessor7253@reddit
Reading comprehension is lacking in this thread.
It’s not an observation about the music playing currently vs music 10-15 years ago
It’s an observation that the music that was current 10-15 years ago was played when it was current, and then seemingly progression stopped and it’s been played every year since, rather than being replaced by more current music
I’ve noticed it too
setokaiba22@reddit
People have said above mind it’s because the people who grew up as young adults with this music are now the ones with the buying power
But I agree even if you go to more younger aimed bars they play the same music still, nostalgia pulls aside it is odd
tollbearer@reddit
I think it's as simple as the 1970s-2010 were the most creative period in western history, and we've been downhill since the early 2000s. It's the same with all media. All the best films, books, music, even games, were made at least a decade ago. Everything since feels derivative.
colei_canis@reddit
This is a common opinion which can be disproven easily; pick a random year in your range and listen to what was in the charts - all of it not just what you remember. 90% of it will be total dreck and this will apply to every year for the most part.
Music's not getting worse, you're just getting older.
tollbearer@reddit
Im not very old, though. And all my friends agree older music and films are generally better. Basically everyone i know, down to my 18 year old brother, agrees, things really fell off from about 2010 onwards.
Even doing your challenge, i listen to loads of random stuff from the 70s, 80s, 90s, but almost nothing post 2010, even although those should be my prime years, and the music im most attached to. Even the biggest stars at the moment are still millenials or older. taylor swift and ed sheeran still dominate the charts. It seems like theres just been no iconic, timeless stars or songs since about 2015. Maybe a few, but theres been a gradual fall off after about 2005. You can even see it in the youtube charts, go look at the top sogns ever streamed on youtube, and its abislutely dominated by stuff a decade to 3 decades old https://kworb.net/youtube/topvideos.html Almsot nothing younger than 9 years.
BusStopWilly@reddit
54 years old and I absolutely agree.
waitingfordos@reddit
You guys just aren't paying attention. Loads of bands are out there making creative new music, you just might not like it or have heard it
Da_coomler@reddit
Aye cause it's probably shite.
HighOnOnionFarts@reddit
1870s-2010 more like.
mondo_generator@reddit
Beethoven and Mozart looking at each other like what
GoldenFlame1@reddit
Now we remake and remaster or coverwhatever sold well within that period
_lippykid@reddit
I’ve worked in branding and marketing for the last 20+ years and this is the first time I’ve heard of brands not wanting to target the current generation of late teens/20’s. Gen Z has the highest unemployment rate of any generation by far and brands now want to focus on millennials as they have the highest buying power. Makes me wonder if that is bleeding into music too
colei_canis@reddit
I suspect the lack of commercial focus on Gen Z in favour of millennials for economic reasons is motivating them towards a DIY approach in some respects as well, along with all the AI slop bobbing about everywhere. There's a lot of niche scenes they seem to creating largely under their own steam.
To be honest I kind of welcome this, I'd rather listen to something some zoomer did on the cheap than a bot.
cannedrex2406@reddit
Well, it doesn't help that half of Gen Z is still too young to join the workforce
Daveddozey@reddit
You unemployment was about this level just before the 2008 crash, it then increased dramatically to over 20%
It was similarly high in the “blood brothers” era of the early 80s, and post black Wednesday
https://www.statista.com/statistics/813142/youth-unemployment-rate-in-the-united-kingdom/
Jamericho@reddit
All the previous generation would have had half the gen too young to work though? That’s how comparisons work.
JoeBagadonut@reddit
Streaming services like Spotify have completely changed how people consume music now. Radio was king for so long but now people can seek out whatever they want with ease. I’m looking at the current top artists on Spotify in terms of monthly listeners and I can probably count on one hand the number of their songs I’ve encountered “in the wild”.
There’s a universality to older music because what was popular back then was omnipresent in a way what’s popular now just isn’t.
HighOnOnionFarts@reddit
Young people's listening habits used to be largely dictated by whatever was being served on the radio or TV music channels.
Now they have Spotify algorithms.
WestleyMc@reddit
Yeah I DJ’d back in the day and on the rare occasion I go out I am always surprised by how many of the songs are what I played back then..
I don’t mean the odd song, I mean almost all of them… for young crowds
Time to dust off the decks?? 😂
doc1442@reddit
Congrats on being old
Aggressive_Chuck@reddit
This isn't what he said at all.
BuildingArmor@reddit
It's basically the answer though, rather than music they liked from the past being played, it's now moved on to music that younger people liked from the past being played.
Shoegazer83@reddit
Cause nothing interesting or significant has happened in mainstream music or popular music culture in 20+ years, there's also no such thing as the charts anymore where the general population would tune in to TV or radio and to see what's popular this week. If anything most kids today are on platforms like TikTok which is popularizing a lot of older music and more niche music (not a bad thing).
Expensive-Refuse855@reddit
Thats always been the case. People like familiarity and if a song has been out for several years, people are familiar with it.
I assure you, in the early 00s and 10s the 'modern music is bad' rhetoric was prolific. You can still see the comments on YT if you look for them.
Interesting-Bit725@reddit
Depends where you go — perhaps the places you choose are aging with you and the rest of their clientele.
GeekyGamer2022@reddit
Because modern pop music is fucking shite.
layendecker@reddit
I've got a theory on this. 10 years ago people largely listened to the radio in offices and cars. Yea you had cd players but most people would just have the radio on.
Since Bluetooth and Spotify you don't have anywhere near as much incidental new music. Young people find a lot through TikTok, but the landlord at the local is not likely to be in this group, so it just echo chambers.
AutomaticInitiative@reddit
As an old, 10-15 years ago, they were playing music that was 10-15 years old then. They're aiming for nostalgia, and that's what they've done for at least my lifetime.
Daveddozey@reddit
And 25 years ago clubs were full of 80s songs
TheNathanNS@reddit
To answer this, no. "Viral" music has changed considerably from 2010.
Music back then was mostly played on the radio, Spotify wasn't as big as it was, and music videos too were also more popular. Party Rock and Gangnam Style not only had catchy lyrics but also unique dances that people wanted to copy. Being played on the radio means you probably heard it to/from school/work or even when your dad's driving you shopping etc.
Most music nowadays goes viral differently, people still listen to the radio of course, but it's not as popular as it once was. Smart cars have spotify/deezer/apple music built in, so instead of being fed the same songs, you can fire up an album or listen to new releases, but I noticed some songs tend to go viral when it's heavily picked up on tiktok, be it that "oh no, oh no no no" one or people making "based edits" using Little Dark Age by MGMT back in 2022.
Daveddozey@reddit
I was so depressed when I found out gamgham style was from 14 years ago when they danced it on For All Mankind (set in 2012)
Dai_Bando@reddit
We don't have trashcans in the UK, we have bins and waste paper baskets.
FFJamie@reddit
Really hipe my hypothetical playlist gets some of that cool cred
FFJamie@reddit
I used to work in CEX where we often had the radio on.
The radio played the same 7 songs from that 10-20 year period everyday.
I think the Radio is just too scared to move on
sandstheman@reddit
As a millennial, when I went out 15-20 years ago I had a fair bit of disposable income; a weekend job that would pay for me a night out (a few drinks at home, then find a bar doing either all inclusive drinks or good bar deals). I now can go out and drink the same amount as I earn 3x as much. There's no way 18-20 year olds can go out now like we did without either the bank of mum and dad or multiple jobs, and those with multiple jobs probably don't have time or energy to go out.
Tl;Dr the "youth" of two decades ago are the youngest generation who can afford to comfortably keep going out so bars will pander to us
No-Television-9862@reddit
Do you mean bars/clubs? Many just stick to what people know and works, my whole 20s was just a repeat of fat man scoop fat joe what’s luv, show me love robin s and mr bright side
Scotty-Raspberry-36@reddit
Today's talant and consumers are too busy doom scrolling to escape from their shitty reality and unemployment
Appropriate_Data4991@reddit
I dunno but maybe is it because 10-15 years ago people stopped buying physical releases and streaming took over? Charts don't seem to be such a big deal these days, used to be everyone was tuned in to top of the pops or the chart show.
InfiniteAstronaut432@reddit
The_39th_Step@reddit
That’s not what they’re saying
BedGirl5444@reddit
It’s more whimsical
h_424@reddit
Because party rock anthem is a certified banger along with like a g6 and any Pitbull songs. I personally think the old songs are much better than the songs of today Im 21 but growing up I heard these songs being played so it's a nice nostalgic type of memory.
Nuclear_Option42@reddit
Because current music isn’t good enough
ItsTinyPickleRick@reddit
Music streaming means people listen to more old music than they used to
Successful_Yak5369@reddit
well the playlist sucks everywhere in the Uk
Jamie1386@reddit
I believe the current UK playlist consist only of Beautiful Things by Benson Boone and Ordinary by Alex Warren.
AutomaticInitiative@reddit
I swear everywhere I go is playing the uber annoying Tame Impala song Dracula. That and Where Is My Husband by Raye.
Gekey14@reddit
Streaming. Easier access to music means:
People's music tastes have become more refined when it comes to what they're listening to.
Over saturation of accessible music means there are less singularly popular songs that would be the clear choice to play at a pub or on the radio.
Older songs have more longevity since they don't just fall out of popularity after a certain amount of time.
Also, economically, playing songs from the 2000s or 2010s gets in more customers who know those songs and now likely have money. Or they're the ones working wherever the songs are playing and they're just on their playlist.
NoodleDoodlesocks@reddit
First guess is licensing costs.
smurphinden@reddit
Most music is absolute drivel these days.
m1_ab@reddit
There's good music and shit music from every decade - difference is, it's only the good stuff that gets replayed as time goes on, so everybody can look back say "music was so much better in the 00s/90s/80s" etc, because, for obvious reasons, nobody cares to remember the shitty music of that decade. Sure, there's plenty of drivel around now, but I guarantee in 10+ years time there'll be people saying "music is awful nowadays, it was so much better in the 2020s". It's like the circle of life 😂😂
Tao626@reddit
The phrase uttered by my dad, his dad, his dad's dad and his dad's dad's dad.
Music isn't worse, you're just old.
smurphinden@reddit
I'm not old though.
Music before I was born was far better than music made in my lifetime imho.
I've listened to the modern artists that headline Coachella. Much of it has the most innane and shallow lyrics.
Tao626@reddit
Oh, you've heard acts from Coachella? Well, that that speaks for all music made past 2010!
smurphinden@reddit
Never claimed it does 🤷♂️
Morganx27@reddit
Even if that were true (which it isn't, at least not in comparison to any other decades), I don't think many people view Bad Guy and Despacito as "back when music was good"
smurphinden@reddit
What are the big songs that should be getting that level of notoriety?
Bad Guy is a pretty decent tune. Despacito is the Macarena from the Twenteens.
Post 2010 has been pretty dire imho.
But obviously music taste is subjective.
OkCartoonist2586@reddit
Because nothing made in the last 10 years is any good.😂
I’m only half joking.
Eskarina_W@reddit
It's linked to who is listening to the radio. It's not teenagers anymore so there isn't as much demand for new music.
cinematic_novel@reddit
Mix of reasons probably. The manager was young around that time, or they think that period music will attract a nostalgic clientele that happens to have spending power. Or they just like the sound of it. I remember 80s music being as popular - if not more popular? - than contemporary music in the 90s and 00s
dav1dlol_@reddit
Idk but maybe music is getting worse. I can't stand some of the artists being played today like Sabrina carpenter and Gracie abrams, tbh I think those 2 gotta be the worst artists of current times.
Ok_Translator76@reddit
Theres plenty of good music out there. There was just as much shite music in every other decade.
dav1dlol_@reddit
good point. maybe I just noticed less since I was younger then
Ok_Translator76@reddit
Just personal bias really. A lot of people just think the stuff they listened to was good and everything else is bad or mid lol.
JLAshbourne@reddit
Do you mean business, like shops and restaurants and pubs? They'll want something bland and inoffensive, possibly tailored to their demographic. You know you're an ancient when the supermarkets are playing bangers.
jono12132@reddit
I'm really confused by this too. Where I live it feels like people think music stopped in 2004. I remember one night hearing Where Is The Love by the Black Eyed Peas in a bar, a couple of bars later it's getting played again. It's not even an upbeat song.
Some bars have started to move on a little to more early 10s stuff these days like Super Bass and Party Rock Anthem etc. Then you have bars just playing 80s stuff. 80s is good but it's such an overplayed decade, I don't need to hear more 80s.There's a popular rock club in my town. Basically it just plays 2007 pop punk every Saturday. Some of the people that go can't have been alive for a lot of it.
I find it interesting though, because while I feel like I'm aging out some venues in my mid thirties due to the age of the people that go, I rarely feel like that because of the music. I just often find it surprising that younger people like this kind of older music and don't want places that play more current stuff. But maybe it's just a lack of options in smaller towns and cities
Fugidinha@reddit
Because music from before 15 years ago was garbage
GordonLivingstone@reddit
Nah. You have to go back fifty years to get proper music.
ZuckDeBalzac@reddit
More like 250 years, poser. Mozart is where it's at, none of that modern crap
Morganx27@reddit
I reckon music got steadily better until about 1920, it's been up and down ever since.
KentuckyCandy@reddit
Mozart? Modern rubbish.
Gregorian chants. That's the real shit.
Got_Knees@reddit
Funny, listening to some Gregorian chants now.
neo101b@reddit
Or longer, if you watch tv shows and movies, they never play anything new.
It seems to be mostly covers of classic tunes, I guess they have the rights to the cover just
not the original artist.
doc1442@reddit
Only a small part, and they’re actually touring again
bowak@reddit
Only a couple of weeks until the Halifax gig!
Cirieno@reddit
Subtle. I like it.
happyhippohats@reddit
What
connolan1@reddit
Wild take if you're comparing to current music. All the best music is over 15 years old
Tao626@reddit
The age group who are most likely to have and be spending their money are now in their 30's and 40's. As per tradition of growing older and claiming all new music sucks, the last time they added a new song to their playlists was about 10-15 years ago when they'll claim music was last good.
Older people either don't spend as much money out or spend it on more expensive things in shops you probably aren't browsing. Younger people are less likely to have money to spend and the demographic is smaller. Places obviously cater to the current largest spending demographic who they want to keep coming back.
Flaramon@reddit
Pubs don't tend to play recent or live content because it costs them money. Songs from 10-15 years ago are cheaper to license in large bundles, and they're unlikely to get updated for a few years. They can't even play the radio without a license.
Here is a list of tariffs from TheMusicLicense:
https://pplprs.co.uk/business/other/
Morganx27@reddit
Do they not just pay a flat fee to PRS regardless of what they play? I think it's based on size rather than content
MadWorldEarth@reddit
Which places specifically are you talking about?
AskingBoatsToSwim@reddit
They've always done this as the appeal base is wider. Plenty of places play new music too
Mugweiser@reddit
Show us why you think this is a UK thing?
GALM-1UAF@reddit
How about places playing music from 20 years or more ago? More than once I’ve heard Justin timber lake rock your body, OutKasts hey ya and 50 cent still being played. It’s a never ending cycle of regurgitation.
RandomUser5453@reddit
I might be old. But to be honest there are not many great songs yoday. They are just trends on TikTok so viral for a short period of time and then that’s it,it feels old listening to a spec song like that after a few months.
Cirieno@reddit
It's not hard. Modern music is trash.
lapppiiii@reddit
Think bro just realised they are getting old 😭
PleasantCucumber2615@reddit
It's a sign of getting old.
You miss all the stuff that's going viral with the people there are down with it.
GarlicEmergency7788@reddit
Because you're in the demographic that is most likely to spend money. Give it another decade and it'll be weird young people music,
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