I never felt like I identified with being part of Generation Z until I walked into Connect by Live Nation’s Love Song event and saw a mug with my name on it.
Not literally – instead it had a picture of a name tag that said: “Hello. I’m Nostalgic for an era that’s not mine.”
The event in question was the release of Connect by Live Nation’s annual study, Love Song, responsible for “charting the vital signs of music lovers”. It has been running in Australia since 2019 and this year surveyed 1,301 Kiwis, from Gen Z to Boomers.
Since last year’s Love Song, a lot has happened, says Live Nation’s Integrated Marketing Director Erica Valenti as she presented the study results.
With culture arriving all the time – from Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s beef and Taylor Swift’s Eras tour to Cowboy Carter and Charli XCX’s brat – it can be hard to keep up, for Gen Z and brands a like. Trends have gone from lasting six months to maybe a few weeks before something new swoops in.
But read the room and ask the people what they want, says Valenti. A prior role at Red Bull showed her that the beverage brand does this well.
“They find a community, start small and ask what they want and then keep showing up in music.”
Helping read that room is where Love Song comes in – gaining insights into the notoriously hard-to-reach Gen Z and their relationships with music, entertainment and brands.
And the results show that when asked how they devoted their time and energy in 2024, Gen Z answered that music was top of the list at 47.4%, ahead of their careers, relationships and health and fitness.
This is new to me
In 2025, that sense of “nostalgia for an era you didn’t experience” is a major theme.
Love Song found music nostalgia is everywhere in what songs people are listening to, to the soundtracks of popular TV shows like Stranger Things.
Live Nation’s Integrated Marketing Director Erica Valenti says it became clear that nostalgia works in different ways across the generations.
For Millenials, Gen X and Boomers, it brings the joy of happy memories for that era. For Gen Z, it provides comfort and connection for simpler times. It’s why the TV show Friends still remains popular – it provides a window into a different world.
These days, discovering new music is not just about being the first to hear the latest releases, it also includes blasts from the past, which is why tunes from 10 to 40 years ago continue to show up.
Santana Superfan
I had never realised how true that was for me – I’m a 97 baby but, thanks to a shared love from my parents, Santana, a band that has been around since 1966, has long been one of my favourites. Years of rewatching the 2000 Supernatural concert on DVD led to Santana’s Christchurch show being my first gig.
The band has appeared in my top five artists every Spotify Wrapped for four of the last five years, and I’m frequently served daylists titled “Latin Guitar God” featuring nothing but Santana songs.
Just a few days earlier, I had been chatting with my partner about what music we were enjoying currently. “I’ve been listening to Santana and the Riverdance soundtrack – it’s good writing music,” I told him. He looked at me and laughed: “Good to see you’re branching out.”
Tune in for Love Song study part 2 next week!
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