A song may have been released ten, twenty, or forty years ago and still be at the beginning of its journey for someone new.

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Streaming, music videos, TV series, films, and social media are changing the way younger generations connect with the past.

Catalog music no longer reaches only those who remember the original release; it is also finding audiences who were not yet born when that music was created.

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A study published by Vevo in July 2026 found that 65% of Gen Z feels nostalgic for eras they never experienced or were too young to remember. One in three members of that generation even says they feel they were born in the wrong era.

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Vevo describes this behavior as borrowed nostalgia: an emotional connection to cultural moments that are not part of a person’s own memories, but were discovered through images, stories, references, and shared content.

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Traditionally, nostalgia was associated with returning to a song, film, or aesthetic that had once been part of our lives. Today, it can also grow out of discovery.

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A young person may feel connected to the music of the 1970s, the aesthetics of the 1980s, or the videos of the 1990s without having lived through those decades. That connection may begin with a TV series, a scene in a film, a clip on social media, a visual trend, or someone else’s recommendation.

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Music is one of the most powerful ways to create that connection.

Eighty-eight percent of those surveyed said music evokes feelings of nostalgia, more than film, television, or video games. In addition, 67% said that listening to music from the past encourages them to look for other songs from the same era.

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That behavior can begin with a single song.

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A track featured in a TV series can lead listeners to an entire album. A video rediscovered on social media can introduce an artist to a different generation. A collaboration, documentary, reunion tour, or anniversary can renew interest in works that have already been available for years.

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The opportunity is not only for an older song to gain momentum again, but also in everything that can happen after that first encounter.

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When someone discovers a track and finds a well-organized catalog, correctly linked artist profiles, available videos, and an accessible story, they are more likely to keep exploring.

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Among the music formats analyzed, videos were the strongest trigger for feelings of nostalgia.

Sixty-eight percent of participants identified music videos as a source of that emotion, compared with 59% for audio tracks and 50% for live performance videos.

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The difference is not simply about hearing a song.

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A video preserves the clothing, settings, movements, visual language, and the way an artist chose to present themselves at a particular moment in time. It helps place the music within a broader cultural world.

That is why revisiting a catalog can also mean taking another look at its visual history.

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A music video, live performance, archival footage, photographs, or stories about the creative process can become entry points for audiences who need more than audio alone to understand and connect with a body of work.

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Nostalgia can create an opportunity, but simply reposting an older song is not enough.

For a catalog to continue building value, it needs context.

That context might come from an album anniversary, a song connected to a current conversation, an untold story, a new version, rediscovered footage, or a link between an earlier work and an artist’s present.

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The key is understanding what still makes that music relevant today.

It is also important to maintain balance. New releases build the present and future of a project. A catalog adds depth, continuity, and a history that can support what comes next.

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These are not separate paths.

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A new song can lead audiences back to an artist’s earlier work. At the same time, a song from the past can be the first step toward discovering what that artist is creating today.

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For a long time, working on a release meant concentrating most of the effort around its release date. After that, the song remained available as part of a catalog that continued to grow with each new release.

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Audience behavior shows that this journey can be far less linear.

Songs can return, take on new contexts, and find new meanings. A work that represents a memory for one person can become a discovery for someone else.

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A catalog is not simply an archive of what has already happened. It is an active part of an artist’s or label’s story, and it can continue connecting with new generations when it is approached with intention and consistency.