In July 2025, Oasis returned to the stage after 16 years apart - and reignited far more than just their fanbase.
The numbers were instant and staggering:
Oasis streams surged by over 400% in the UK and nearly 320% globally over their reunion weekend.
They gained 16.6 million new listeners this year alone.
And perhaps most significantly: Gen Z now accounts for over 50% of those new fans.
No new album. No modern marketing campaign. Just a band from the 90s re-entering culture with precision and force. So what’s really going on?
It’s Bigger Than Nostalgia
On the surface, this looks like a textbook nostalgia boom. But dig deeper, and it reveals something more strategic - and more culturally telling.
We’re in an era of infinite choice and limited connection. Music, like much of media, is increasingly hyper-personalised and algorithmically fed. While discovery has never been easier, shared experience has never been harder to find.
A 2024 Ipsos study found that only 1 in 5 Gen Z listeners regularly share new music preferences with their friends, compared to 3 in 5 in 2004. Everyone’s listening to something—but often, no one’s listening together.
That fragmentation has created a cultural vacuum. And legacy music is filling the gap.
The Emotional Pull of Legacy Acts
The rise of Oasis in 2025 is far from an isolated case. According to MRC Data, older songs now account for over 70% of music consumption in markets like the US. Vinyl sales are up 11% year-on-year in the UK. Legacy albums like Definitely Maybe and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? continue to chart, bolstered by limited-edition pressings, pop-up merch stores, and festival placements.
And far from resisting the past, Gen Z is embracing it.
A 2023 Deloitte Digital report found that 68% of Gen Z actively seek out music “from before their time.”
Spotify Culture Next data shows they describe older tracks as “comforting,” “identity-forming,” and “shared.”
This isn’t nostalgia—it’s emotional utility.
Shared Culture Is the True Commodity
What Oasis represent in this moment is more than Britpop. They represent shared cultural memory in a landscape of digital disconnection.
In a streaming era where “niche” dominates, legacy acts offer scale, cohesion and shorthand. They stand for something recognisable, communal, and often familial. Whether it’s singing “Don’t Look Back in Anger” in a stadium or buying the same £30 Lidl x Oasis-inspired parka, people want common cultural ground - and legacy music is delivering it.
It’s why Google embedded Oasis Easter eggs in its search UX. It’s why bucket hat sales spiked 89% in the weeks leading up to their first 2025 gig. And it’s why brands from Adidas to Lidl didn’t just ride the wave - they helped shape it.
What It Means for Brand Marketers
There’s a powerful lesson here for anyone trying to build meaningful connections in a fragmented market:
Relevance doesn’t always mean newness. It means resonance.
Legacy can outperform novelty - if it’s reactivated in the right way.
Cultural equity isn’t about time passed. It’s about emotional shorthand.
For Gen Z, music from the past isn’t old. It’s shared. And in a culture defined by endless choice, shared experience is more valuable than ever.
Key Takeouts
Oasis gained 16.6M new listeners in 2025, with Gen Z making up over 50%
400%+ surge in UK streams shows explosive re-entry
Nostalgia isn’t passive - it’s a strategic tool for emotional commerce
Brands that activated around Oasis - like Lidl and Adidas - tapped into cultural cohesion, not just content
The future of marketing isn’t just innovation. It’s reconnection