Learn how to choose the right music for your audience with Loudly.

We all know that different genres attract different audiences. We can use this information to grow a following specific for what our product or content requires, or by tailoring targeted content to reach the audiences we need with the soundtracks that they want to hear.

Generation X, born from 1965 - 1980, grew up alongside a range of genres, from feel-good dance, the emergence of disco, house, and old school hip hop. One of the more niche musical styles for this generation was the 1990s grunge music movement from Seattle’s rainy punk origins.

If you can determine whether your audience listened to more alternative rock or hip-hop, you can break down into further subgenres. Post rock, math rock, progressive rock will appeal to some, while old-school golden-era hip hop and RnB will attract others. Test which soundtracks get better responses and use the feedback to hone in on what your audience is enjoying. 

People born from 1981-1996 represent Generation Y, the segment known for its large number of consumers and hefty amount of clout - both financial and cultural.

Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers were icons for this generation, who value experiences such as live music concerts over material goods such as owning physical copies of CDs or vinyls. It is this generation that witnessed the lifespan of music consumption as it crossed from physical to digital to subscription assets. 

While the Gen Y music taste is incredibly diverse, their values are increasingly shifting towards supporting artists they care about, who use social media platforms to break through the barriers between them and their audiences and show their off-stage personalities in efforts to build strong fan relationships.

Showing that your brand also values the artists as humans rather than just as musicians will align with the Gen Y outlook and strengthen your audience’s alignment with your brand.

Showing the creators, the providers, highlighting how their values coincide with your brands own values: this transparency is the key to growing a bond of trust between you and your audience. 

Generation Z is also referred to as the “A.O. Generation”: Always On.

Kids from all over the world are growing up with smartphones in their hands. The developing world is catching up quickly, and globalization, constant internet access and interconnectivity are rising at an exponential rate. With this pressure to release constant new content came a new wave of popular music.

As artists face a stronger pressure than ever to release new music, autotuned ‘cloud-raps’ over ‘type-beats’ took over the radio.

Using the voice more as an instrument than as a conveyor for lyrics, and repeating on-trend beats in new catchy ways rather than trying to advance the genre, became the popular norm.

New school rappers such as Lil Pump, Lil Peep, 6ix9ine and late pioneer XXXtentacion are popular sounds to imitate in order to grab the attention of a Gen Z audience. 

Finding the sound your audience needs and using it to keep their attention will help you grow your following with the niche content that your audience is wanting.

You can use this tactic to increase followers from a certain target audience, or you can spread various pieces of targeted content to reach different segments and bring them together. Whichever you choose, keeping in mind their musical preferences will always be beneficial.