How TV, Social Media & Music Streaming Revived Catalog Music | On the Record

Rob Jonas, CEO of Luminate, joins On the Record to break down nostalgia and catalog music listening, and why older songs are dominating more than ever in the streaming era. From the Stranger Things effect to TV/film synchs and social media amplification, Jonas explains what the data shows about how fans discover (and rediscover) music now.

Host Kristin Robinson also digs into what “catalog” vs. “deep catalog” actually means, why breaking new artists is harder than ever (with roughly 150,000 tracks uploaded per day), how streaming data differs from the sales-era “one data point” model, why rock listening skews older, why film/TV data is less transparent than music. Also discussed is the latest on AI music detection vs. attribution (including labeling and avoiding false positives), the surprising rise in CD sales (and how much of it is driven by K-pop) and a fun “Spin the Record” segment with rapid picks including ELO, New Order and Paul McCartney.

Kristin Robinson: Today we’re gonna talk about nostalgia and catalog music listening

Rob Jonas: I think that all this music being amplified on social media or, or included in, in TV shows is definitely driving that effect. We’ve all talked about the Stranger Things effect and-

Kristin Robinson: Yeah

Rob Jonas: … the effect of very high-profile streaming content driving massive awareness in, in older music.

Kristin Robinson: Older music dominates in rock more than any other genre. Seventy-five percent of rock listening comes from tracks older than 60 months. 

Rob Jonas: Look, for the rock genre, we see that definitely skewing towards older demographics.

Kristin Robinson: Mm hmm.

Rob Jonas: And we- one thing we know about older demographics is they have a strong affinity to the music they discovered when they were younger. Don’t know how much you can control it.

Kristin Robinson: Is there an increasing level of competition for frontline artists to gain the attention of the public?

Rob Jonas: Well, I think it’s, look, harder than ever to, to break through. We’re now seeing close to 150 … tracks a day being uploaded to streaming platforms. Twenty percent of all music that’s sitting on streaming platforms today has received almost no listenership.

Kristin Robinson: Everything old is new again. I don’t know about you, but to me, it feels like our modern entertainment ecosystem is a lot of recycling of old stuff. Every cinema is playing a sequel, every Broadway stage is hosting an adaptation, and so many viral songs are just old, from Justin Bieber’s “Beauty and the Beat” to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” to new hits like “A Bar Song” by Shaboozey or “First Class” by Jack Harlow, which rework old melodies and lyrics from previous hits into something new. So it feels like nostalgic throwback media is now everywhere. Thankfully for you guys, my guest today is CEO of Luminate, Rob Jonas, and he’s been tracking this trend for years, and he’s going to break it down for us. Rob Jonas, welcome to On the Record. Thanks for being here.