Music Videos Are the No. 1 Driver of Nostalgia

07-09-2026

(BHM) Vevo, the world's leading music video network, today announced the findings of "Then is Now," a comprehensive study exploring how nostalgia is shaping music discovery, cultural connection, and audience engagement across generations. Surveying more than 1,800 Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X consumers across the US, UK, and Australia, the report finds that shared cultural nostalgia significantly impacts consumer behavior and reveals music as the strongest driver of nostalgic feelings.

Across the generations surveyed, revisiting past content - including music and television - is the leading trigger of nostalgic feelings (76%). Sixty percent identify with "shared nostalgia," a collective memory shaped by cultural reboots and widely shared content rather than personal experience. This trend is especially prominent among younger audiences: 65% of Gen Z report experiencing "borrowed nostalgia" for cultural moments from before they were born or are too young to remember, and one in three say they feel they were "born in the wrong generation". For younger audiences, nostalgia is a form of cultural curation and identity-building, while artists are increasingly channeling borrowed nostalgia through retro-inspired visuals, styling, and fashion in new music video releases.

"The ease and accessibility of streaming is accelerating the discovery and use of nostalgic content more than ever before, from fueling catalog engagement with legacy artists to actively shaping the latest premieres. However, it's not just about revisiting what you loved years ago; people are craving shared moments and experiences, a contrast to the fragmentation driven by personalized algorithms," said JP Evangelista, EVP, Content, Programming & Marketing at Vevo. "That's why nostalgia has become a powerful form of cultural currency. The entertainment industry at large - from artists and their teams to production studios - are meeting this desire and have been incorporating nostalgia into music, fashion, TV and beyond."

The report reveals that music is the strongest driver of nostalgia, with 88% of respondents saying it sparks nostalgic feelings, outperforming movies, television, and gaming. Music videos lead among music formats (68%), ahead of audio tracks (59%) and live performance videos (50%). That emotional connection also drives discovery, with 67% of respondents saying hearing music from the past encourages them to explore other songs from that era, introducing audiences to catalog moments they may have missed the first time around.

"Nostalgia is a timeless, powerful driver of engagement in today's streaming era. The visual storytelling of music videos transcends the music itself and creates a deep emotional and psychological connection for fans - both new and existing - in a way that few forms of entertainment can. Music videos from the past uniquely provide context to songs and major pop culture moments, making them an iconic source of inspiration," said Laura Vanison, VP, Research & Measurement at Vevo.