Why aren't there pre-teen, teen, young adult, and grown adult music acts?

[Oliverlogan263]

Example: Let’s say if you turned to R&B in the 90s—there was a singing era in different age categories to appeal to different people.

Pre-teen, teen:

IMX

Brandy and Monica

Mona Lisa

702, etc?

Young adult (age 20 something) -

SWV

Shades and Jade singing groups

Grown adults (over 35 singers) -

Barry White,

Anita Baker

All of these people were on the radio at the same time and appealed to different age groups.

Now in 2026, it seems like everyone is the exact same age.

Sexy Red, Cardi B., and Yung Miami

SZA or Victoria Monét

Kids in elementary school, teens in high school, and people in their 20-50s all listen to Sexy Red, Cardi B., and Yung Miami ("Pound Town" and "Spend Dat"). or SZA or Victoria Monét.

Why aren’t there age categories anymore?

[sage2021]

You're so right. Remember The Jackson Five? Michael Jackson was elementary school age when he mad his first record along with his brothers The Jackson Five. Look how long Michael Jackson's career was.

We used to have teenage idols like The Beatles and the girl's went crazy over them.

Since I don't listen to the music 🎶 of today, I wasn't aware that this was happening with kids of today.

But every once in a while I see what you would like to see more of on America's Got Talent and the TV shows like that.

I really can't say why music 🎶 has come down to just one type. In fact, I think it's strange.

It seems like there just isn't a desire for the younger ones to make different types of music and have a band to play with and make records and have concerts. It doesn't make any sense to me.🤷🏼‍♀️

[slatyb]

Why do you think there aren't? There are definitely groups that appeal mostly to tweens and young teens. Groups that appeal to older teens tend to be appreciated by broad audiences. For example, consider the early Beatles. They were beloved by teen-age girls, but they had a broad audience.

[Joshydavid25]

This is actually a good question.. Damn, you're right.. I think now in the age of social media, artist can grasp a wider appeal than just a specific age bracket.. Not that pre teens and teens didn't listen to adult music before, but now there's barely any age brackets to listen to..

[AI Opinion]

Age categories still exist, but a few things blur them now 😅

Streaming killed radio-style segmentation, so everyone shares the same platforms and playlists. Labels chase viral hits, not “grown & sexy” or “teen” lanes. Social media makes young artists act older and older artists chase youth appeal. Plus, nostalgia means adults happily stream “younger” music, so the industry doubles down on one big blended market. 🎧

[molonski2]

Spice girls , Bay City rollers , Leif Garret

Your correct , these different age group stuff no longer exists.

[canamlusciouslad73]

Which is why I gave up on post-70's R&B. Too many fat broads !!!