Gen Z Leans Hard into Nostalgia to Drive Choices and Fandom
The heart-tugging pull of nostalgia tugs hardest on Gen Z, according to a study involving three generations of consumers in the U.S., U.K. and Australia.
“Then is Now: A Study on Modern Nostalgia” surveyed 1,800 people, evenly divided among the U.S., U.K. and Australia and among Gen X, Millennial and Gen Z consumers. The study was commissioned by Vevo, the music video streaming service owned by Sony Music and Universal Music Group.
Vevo has been active in the upfront marketplace in recent weeks touting the growth of its streaming service around moments in pop culture driven by nostalgia or nostalgic content. The platform is well stocked with the 1980s, ‘90s and 2000s tunes the enliven movies as well as scripted and unscripted TV series. When a new series packed with needle-drops such as Netflix’s “Stranger Things” or FX’s “Love Story: John F. Kennedy and Carolyn Bessette,” Vevo’s views see a related spike: To wit, views of Sade’s “No Ordinary Love” spiked 52% after “Love Story” bowed in February.
Consumers that come to Vevo from the pull of nostalgia or from discovering a vintage tune in a movie or TV show are increasingly likely to search for more material. The study documents the accelerating trend of Gen Z embracing “borrowed” nostalgia, or a yearning for the trappings of times that they never experienced. The typical 20 to 25-year cycle for nostalgic windows in pop culture is also accelerating thanks to Gen Z and younger millennials who grew up as digital natives. In the study, Gen X was defined as adults between the ages of 46-61, Millennials are 30-45 and Gen Z is 14-29.
“These digitally native consumers yearn for collective, shared experiences that existed before content was available immediately on demand,” the report states. “With streaming collapsing generational barriers, younger audiences have easy access to timeless content, allowing them to discover and form deep emotional connections with cultural moments from decades before they were born.”
From “Then is Now: A Study on Modern Nostalgia”
Rob Christensen, executive VP of global sales for Vevo, emphasizes how sticky nostalgic content and music can be.
“The new content today is more of a springboard for the library and nostalgic content to either be discovered for the first time or rediscovered by fans,” Christensen told Variety.
Vevo and its label partners are increasingly looking to prepare for big moments of nostalgia spurred by movies and TV shows, live events, anniversaries and such.
“We’re really focusing on our artists and our cross-screen viewership to show what content achieves when married with nostalgia. It’s premium pricing, but we can be competitive in price, because fact is the upfront is no longer just about scale,” Christensen said. “We don’t like to say that we compete with sports, but marrying the music and pop culture in the right way with a sports strategy with current and nostalgic content, you see great results.”
Among the notable insights in the study:
- Views of Beatles material climbed 62% on Vevo after the November 2025 released of the band’s “Anthology” multipart docuseries on Disney.
- Views of Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” video spiked 547% after the release of Amazon MGM Studios’ box office hit “Project Hail Mary,” which featured the song.
- 64% of Gen Z respondents say nostalgia “has a strong influence on content I watch.”
- 88% of Gen Z said nostalgia “makes emotional experiences feel deeper.”
- Kelis’ 2003 hit “Milkshake” saw a 66% bounce after retailer the Gap used the tune in a marketing campaign last year.
- 54% of Gen X respondents said they had “borrowed nostalgia” for eras they never directly experienced, compared to 55% for Millennials and 65% for Gen Z.
