Integr8 Research Introduces ''Generational Music Cycle''

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, May 27, 2020 | 2:24pm CT

Matt Bailey

Using a parallel example of how authors William Strauss and Neil Howe used generational patterns to predict historical events (including, some might argue, current events) in the book "Generations: The History of America's Future," Integr8 Research President Matt Bailey has introduced the concept of a music cycle that is also based on generational patterns. According to Bailey, the creators and consumers of popular music at given points in time influence which generational music cycle we're in.

In an article at Integr8Research.com, Bailey writes, "The creators and consumers of popular music at given points in time influence which generational music cycle we're in. The idea that music is cyclical isn't new of course. Legendary programmer and consultant Guy Zapoleon has long championed The Music Cycle, observing that Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) moves through three predictable phases during a decade: Birth/Pop, Extremes, and Doldrums."

But why does music move through these phases? Bailey writes there is a longer-range cycle that both drives Zapoleon's music cycle and explains why we never seem to avoid its doldrums. He calls it the Generational Music Cycle, and it's based on Strauss and Howe's generational archetypes theory.

Two factors drive the Generational Music Cycle: Which generation is the primary creator of popular music? And which generation is the primary consumer of popular music? Combined, these factors spawn two different music cycles, each of which lasts about a decade and each of which contains the Birth/Pop, Extremes, and Doldrums phases Zapoleon outlines.

So Bailey ponders, "What does this generations-based music cycle suggest awaits us now?" In 2020, he says we're nearing the end of the millennial generation's Revolution phase. Since the early 2010s, they've been the dominant music makers and tastemakers. But waiting in the wings within the halls of America's middle schools -- or at the moment at home on Google Classroom -- are the kids that will soon begin impacting popular music.

Read the entire article here.