Rick Beato speculated video games occupy the place in teen culture music once did. Doesn't music have any value anymore?
The Good Old Days
Back in the days of vinyl you took your latest LP around to your mate's house (and rolled a spliff on it). You then listened to every track, good or bad, in the sequence the artist presented them!
Imagine Gen Z doing that!
Listening to music used to be a cultural experience with personal contact. It only existed in physical form; vinyl, then later cassette tape, CD, Minidisc.
Gen Z does not curate their own music. OK, there’s a small revival of analog but the collectable element has disappeared. It’s inevitable that when people no longer have a collection they think nothing about musical value, any more than they would about tonight's TV schedule. It's all linear. It's all on demand.
What value does Gen Z find in music?
Ah, but wait. Music still defines young people’s identity, places them in a musical tribe but this is largely hidden from view. UNTIL….
Gen Z values the experiential and, when Gen Z want an experience, on top of that bucket list is a music festival.
Musical experience does have value to Gen Z - as proven by the exorbitant, inflation-busting prices for festivals like Glastonbury.
But it had better deliver - after all ticket prices are equivalent to a foreign holiday now - and the on-site beer is cheaper abroad!
Is Rick Beato correct about video games? Well, you don’t see the explosion in outdoor events that revere video games. That’s a nerd’s pastime and thankfully watching some nerd play a first person shooter is not very riveting when you are not the first person!
Music is here to stay and Gen Z knows it!
Conclusion
Music has not totally lost its cultural importance for Gen Z but RECORDED MUSIC is effectively worthless because recorded music is free.
People only realise the VALUE of music when they want an experience i.e. Gigs
Then they will pay hundreds of pounds to shit in a trench and wallow in mud at a festival.
Who'da Thunk it?