Gabe Bullard discusses the cultural and legal trends that allow streaming music platforms such as Spotify to favor and revive older music.

Nostalgia Acts: Spotify, Streaming, and the Rise of Old Music

Wednesday, February 29, 2023

1-2:30pm

Humanities Lab, 228 Batelle-Tompkins

 The most popular music on streaming services is old. Nearly three quarters of streams go to songs that are no longer current. Is this a sign that the hits of yesterday are better than the songs of today? Is Spotify being taken over by nostalgic Baby Boomers?

Maybe, but this isn’t the entire answer. The rise of old music is the result of a collision between technological change, corporate maneuvering, artist litigiousness, and mass nostalgia. This collision leads to strange behavior on the pop charts, and it may very well be damaging creativity in music.

About our speaker

Gabe Bullard is a journalist and editor, and recent graduate of the MA program in Literature, Culture, and Technology at American University. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, a founding producer of the NPR show 1A, and is currently managing producer of NPR and WBUR’s award winning radio show “Here & Now.”

Take a look at Bullard’s work and visit his website for links to his other talks and published work.

This reading is organized by the Humanities Lab at American University.

This event is part of the Technology and Culture Colloquium at the Humanities Lab, a series of talks showcasing innovative contemporary perspectives on our mediated world.

This event is free and open to the public. Join us for refreshments and conversation after the discussion.

RSVP on Eventbrite.