As far as music genres go, kids seem to be into a fairly wide variety of styles, with Top 40, Sk8ter, Rap, Hip Hop and Country rounding out their top-five list. Although our panelists listed a whole slew of their favorite artists, Avril Lavigne and Eminem got a stand-out number of nods, and many kids say the last CD they bought or received as a gift was from one of these two talents. But it should be noted that Avril and Em were just as ubiquitous on our panel's list of least fave artists, along with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, so there appears to be a very fine line between pop music idol and has-been.
By the time these kids grow into teens as with most things their tastes have really diversified. There are few clear standouts for fave artists, though Good Charlotte, Eminem and 50 Cent get multiple mentions. Many teens are proud of their non-mainstream interests, everything from gangsta rap or Christian rock.
Friends are the biggest influence when it comes to finding out about new bands, with radio coming in a close second and music video channels lagging pretty far behind. Surprisingly, though, kids say radio isn't a huge part of their music lives: 61% listen to it less than an hour each day, and 12% don't listen at all. Apparently, it's all about the ability to play what they want when they want, with 75% of kids reporting that they listen to their own CDs between half an hour and an hour each day.
Music is a usually a background element that kids work into their multi-tasking lifestyles. They most often listen to tunes in the car or while playing on the computer. But a significant number of our panelists still make time to do nothing else but listen to music.
With the tweens, CDs are still the delivery method of choice, since more than half of our 7-12 panelists have never downloaded an MP3. But web tunes are gaining new converts every day, especially as kids age up into the teen bracket. By the time they hit their teens 43% of our panelists say they never buy CDs since now they burn them. A third of our tween respondents are burning their own CDs, and customization is the main motivation for this switch, unlike their older siblings who are motivated primarily by cost and the second by personalization. But most kids still get the bulk of their CDs from parents and family members, so the financial incentive to download isn't as strong for them as it is for teens, many of whom have been cut off from the parental purse strings when it comes to tune expenditures. Some kids are already buying their own CDs, averaging one a month and frequenting the big-box music chains for the most part. Teens preoccupation with value for their limited dollar lead many of them to shop for music at discount department stores such as Walmart where they might not find everything they want but it'll be cheaper!
As to where parents fit into the equation, they still have some say in what music their kids listen to, and many of them have put their foot down about rap music because of the frequent swearing. Eminem, in particular, gets a thumbs-down from parents, though a few tweens will listen to him anyway in the privacy of their rooms. The generation gap between parents and offspring isn't quite as vast for tweens as it is for teens. A full two-thirds of our kids respondents say their parents listen to and enjoy some of their music picks. That number goes down to half when it comes to teens. By that age however they have started to assume that their parents couldn't possibly like their music. Hmm!?
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Insight: The majority of tweens are still into CDs, but there is a growing interest in downloading MP3s to make custom compilations, so there's a market opportunity for services like Apple's iTunes with this demo. In order to reach the teens somehow buying CDs needs to be made more affordable. Kids and teens enjoy a wide variety of music, so anyone looking to use music as a youth connection hook in entertainment and marketing efforts should think beyond the obvious artists-who might no longer be so hot by launch.
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For more information:
- Currently only available in the U.S., Apple's iTunes Music Store tries to both please the marketplace who want to be able to create their own inexpensive compilations, and compensate the artists and record companies.
- The Gap is rolling the dice that Missy Elliott and Madonna will attract a teen audience to their brand with their new commercial and ad campaign. View it here. To find out more about Reactorz contact us online at www.reactorzresearch.com. Or call 416-516-0705.
Reactorz is a youth-powered research engine. Our online community of kids ages 7 to 22 provide their opinion and insight into current events, issues, creative & product design, entertainment and communications strategies. Reactorz parent company Big Orbit gathers this information and empowers clients by connecting them with this target group through strategic consulting and creative development. For over a decade, Big Orbit has worked with corporate, government and non-profit organizations such as: Kraft Canada, Junior Achievement of Canada, Concerned Children's Advertisers and Key Porter Books. For a complete list of clients and case studies please visit BigOrbit.com or ReactorzResearch.com.
