Hip-hop and rap are undoubtedly the most popular genres among Gen Z. According to a study conducted by Statista, 40% of Gen Z respondents listed hip-hop as their favorite genre of music. Artists like Drake, Travis Scott, and Post Malone are some of the most streamed artists on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
Every generation has its own soundtrack. The Silent Generation (people born in the '20s and '30s) had big band and swing. Baby Boomers (born in the '40s and '50s) had rock and soul. Generation X (born in the '60s and '70s) had grunge and hip-hop.
Gen Z spend more time with music than the overall population. Those age 13-24 in the U.S. spend 3 hours and 43 minutes daily listening to music — an average of 40 minutes more than the rest of the population. Their top genre preferences are Hip Hop/R&B, Top 40, and Alternative Rock.
Bop: A word to describe a really good song or beat. Synonyms: Jam, hit. Example: “I love this song. It's a bop.”
Members of Generation Z, or Gen Zers, have been undeniably shaped by the Great Recession of 2007–09 and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The most popular contemporary artist listened to by Gen Z music lovers is Drake. The rapper and singer is known for his catchy beats and collaborations – he seems to have worked with everyone! From Rhianna to Beyonce, to Jay Z and DJ Khaled, his vocals have played in the background of so many great tracks.
Comedy is Gen Zers' favorite genre, with 38% selecting it as one of their three favorites.
The vast majority (82%) of Gen Z and Millennials say they use music to alter their mood.
Instead, sped-up versions value an overarching vibe, maintaining the general aesthetic of a track without the need to consider it too deeply – a perfect formula when users are simply looking for a sound to match their visuals. There's also something to be said for the high-pitch chipmunk voice.
Researchers and popular media loosely use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years for defining Generation Z.
Spotify may be the dominant music streaming service, but 16-24-year-olds (the gen Z consumer segment) make up only 25% of its weekly active users.
Gen Z TikTokers aren't just downloading and absorbing content. They're creating it. 83% of TikTokers have created a video themselves. Since the platform makes it so easy to create, with intuitive in-app features and a simple interface, it's no wonder Gen Z are ready to put their content out there.
“Members of the millennial and Gen Z generations are especially likely to be prone to nostalgia for the 90s/00s now, as they remember their childhood, teen years and late adolescence,” she says. “Those years predate much of the stress imposed by dramatic transformations in the way we currently live.”
More “media” than “social,” if you will. Gen Z, on the other hand, uses TikTok as more than just an entertainment consumption platform; they use it to communicate. It is a medium for video-based dialogue, it's used to express opinions and build communities of like-minded individuals.
What years are Gen Z? Gen Z spans from 1997 to 2012, meaning anyone born within those years belongs to this generation. According to Pew Research, the cutoff represents major political, economic and social events that set Gen Z apart from Millennials.
In 2023, the Gen Z trend is towards more personalized and socially conscious brands. Their spending habits reflect a preference for brands that align with their values and utilize their preferred Generation Z social media platforms.
What are Gen Z aesthetics? Gen Z design aesthetics are often inspired by nostalgia, particularly for periods such as the early 1990s that the generation perceives to have been more stable than their childhood years.
Both generations appear open to music made before or after their youth. 62% of Baby Boomers say they would listen to Gen Z's music—or already do. 55% of Gen Zers say the same about Baby Boomers' music. 66% of Gen Z and 73% of Baby Boomers say they would listen to pop hits from the '80s and '90s in their free time.
Spotify's data finds that artists who were popular with Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, such as the Grateful Dead, Tiffany, Selena, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and The Righteous Brothers, remain relevant to Gen Z listeners as well based on which acts those listeners listened to for the first time in the past 60 days.
'Devastating – economically, socially and much more'
In the short term, Gen Z's stress is leading to ambivalence and withdrawal in their professional lives. According to 2022 data from Gallup, they are the most disengaged group at work. They also report more overall stress and work-related burnout than other cohorts.
In summary, a typical Gen Zer is a self-driver who deeply cares about others, strives for a diverse community, is highly collaborative and social, values flexibility, relevance, authenticity and non-hierarchical leadership, and, while dismayed about inherited issues like climate change, has a pragmatic attitude about ...
Hickly: Gen Z is obsessed with aesthetic culture because we are a generation that struggles a lot with identity and belonging to certain “aesthetics” gives a sense of belonging.