You can easily identify someone based on their reaction to music. For example, if you play the first 15 seconds of Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” in any pub, you’ll immediately see the Gen Xers start bobbing their heads.

Similarly, try playing 3 Doors Down’s “Kryptonite” in that same pub and clear a space for the Millenials.

Similarly, Gen Z and the upcoming Gen Alpha have their own music that strongly defines them.

However, music also binds us together. Some tunes like “Happy Birthday” and “Encanto” transcend generational divides.

At HubUX, I did a quick poll and found that over 85% of the US finds unity in music. Just think about the last time you went to a concert, met the girls for drinks, hosted a dinner, or went to a friend’s local poker party. Music was likely playing in the background. And, when the right tune came on, the whole table might find themselves singing along.

AARP released a blog post with tips for “Sharing Music Across the Generations”. One of my favorite methods they highlighted was:

“Share your earbuds. Have a mediaplayer? Ask your kids, grandkids, or parents to listen to bits of your music now and then. Listen to their playlists. You will surely find something to talk about, whether it’s how the music makes you feel or the variety of the playlists. No mediaplayer? Ask the younger generations in your family to share theirs with you and to show you how it works! Or poke around on the Internet to find music sites.”

The role of podcasts

Let’s talk about other audio delights. As a podcaster, I love podcasts. For the last six years, my son and I have gone to karate which is about a one-hour drive. That is a long time to sit in the car with your teenager without listening to anything.

As you’d expect, our musical tastes differ. But! We found unity in podcasts. The early ones were true-crime-oriented, but we have moved around a lot in terms of subject matter and hosts.

My new favorite is GreenBook’s “GreenBook Podcast“.

While it isn’t the most creative name, in today’s world where even your local shoe shiner has his own podcast, being clear isn’t a bad thing.

As you know, GreenBook is the leading guide for all things market research and consumer insights. And, who better to bring be the voice of trends than the author of the GRIT Report, Lenny Murphy.

In the ninth episode of the GreenBook Podcast, Lenny Murphy sits down with Benjamin Humphrey, Founder and CEO of Dovetail. You may not have heard of Dovetail.

Dovetail is a new entrant into the research technology space. It allows users to transcribe recordings, discover patterns, and share insights, all in a Pinterest-like experience.

This Australian-based company of around 60 employees has recently closed a $63 million Series A round of funding led by the top tier investor, Accel.

If you’re interested, you can take a look at the press release here. It has a ton of relevant information about how investors are thinking about space.

Accel described what Dovetail is building as a sort of new category, namely the “system of record for user research”.

I think it is vital all researchers understand how Dovetail is thinking about the consumer insights industry. It is transcending both UX and market research, all while attracting new buyers because they are modeling the UX on existing social media platforms.

Learn more about the GreenBook Podcast here.

For further consideration

I’d love you to tune into my show, the Happy Market Research Podcast.

If you’d like to learn more about the research we did at HubUX about Music and Generations, or learn more about how HubUX’s research community platform, please email me.

BONUS! You are always invited to attend the MRxPros’ Virtual Lunch. This is a group of UX, CX, and market researchers that meets every week for 30 minutes to do three things: learn one new thing, make one new friend, and have fun.

Happy researching! 😊