The effect of musical fit on consumers’ memory

This study investigated the impact of musical ‘fit’ on memory for items. Participants were asked to recall 20 items they had seen while listening to either rock music or classical music. Some of the 20 items were associated with either the rebellious stereotype of rock music or the affluent stereotype of classical music. More ‘rock items’ than ‘classical items’ were recalled when rock music was played, although a similar number of ‘classical items’ and ‘rock items’ were recalled when classical music was played. When rock music was played, participants recalled ‘rock items’ earlier than ‘classical items’ and the reverse was found when classical music was played. This suggests that musical ‘fit’ operates by raising the salience of items

Collaboration, cognitive effort, and self-reference in United Kingdom top 5 pop music lyrics 1960–2015

This research investigated associations between the lyrics of every song to have reached the weekly U.K. Top 5 singles chart from 1960 to 2015 and the number of people responsible for recording each song. Following computerized content analysis of the lyrics of the 4,534 unique songs, the results showed that the number of musicians involved was negatively related to use of cognitive terms, consistent with previous research on social loafing, and was also negatively related to instances of self-reference and use of language concerning social interaction, arguably in reflection of the inherent constraints on such that arise from collaborating with others

The Effects of Musical Fit on Consumers' Ability to Freely Recall Related Products

Previous studies have claimed that music can prime the selection of certain products and influence consumers’ propensity to spend because it activates related knowledge of the world and subsequently raises the salience of certain products and behaviours associated with that music. The possibility that music can raise the salience of associated products has not been tested directly, however, and ought to manifest itself through enhanced ability to recall the products in question when associated music is played. Accordingly, this study investigated the impact of musical ‘fit’ on product recall. Participants were asked to list as many Malay and Indian food items as they could while listening to either Malay or Indian music. Among ethnically Chinese participants, more Malay food items were recalled when Malay music was played and more Indian food items were recalled when Indian music was played. Ethnically Malay and Indian participants were more likely to recall food from their own cultures, irrespective of the music played

The Effects of Musical Fit on Consumers' Ability to Freely Recall Related Products

Previous studies have claimed that music can prime the selection of certain products and influence consumers’ propensity to spend because it activates related knowledge of the world and subsequently raises the salience of certain products and behaviours associated with that music. The possibility that music can raise the salience of associated products has not been tested directly, however, and ought to manifest itself through enhanced ability to recall the products in question when associated music is played. Accordingly, this study investigated the impact of musical ‘fit’ on product recall. Participants were asked to list as many Malay and Indian food items as they could while listening to either Malay or Indian music. Among ethnically Chinese participants, more Malay food items were recalled when Malay music was played and more Indian food items were recalled when Indian music was played. Ethnically Malay and Indian participants were more likely to recall food from their own cultures, irrespective of the music played

The relationship between pop music and lyrics: a computerized content analysis of the United Kingdom’s weekly top five singles, 1999–2013

The majority of research on music aesthetics treats music and lyrics as discrete entities, despite the artistic imperative that they should relate to one another in some way. The present research computer-analyzed both the music and lyrics of the songs to have reached the weekly United Kingdom top 5 singles chart from January 1999-December 2013 (N = 1,414). The findings indicate that the typicality of a given set of lyrics relative to the corpus as a whole was associated with their popularity; that there were numerous associations between each of six mood scores assigned to the music and various aspects of the lyrics (e.g., passionate music was associated with lyrics addressing hardship and less concern with precise numerical terms); and that the relative contribution of the lyrics and music to overall popularity varied according to the means by which these were operationalized so that, for instance, music and lyrics contributed equally to explaining peak chart position, whereas music outperformed lyrics in explaining the number of weeks spent on the top 5. Pop music and its lyrics are related to one another, and the relationship can be explained to some extent via existing concepts in the aesthetics literature

Popular music lyrics and the COVID-19 pandemic

A limited amount of previous research suggests that deteriorating socioeconomic conditions may be associated with greater popularity of music lyrics featuring negative emotional content and references to relationships. The present research considered this in charting popular music before and during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. A dataset based on the song lyrics of the top-5 charting weekly songs in the UK and USA from January 1999 to August 2020 was computer-analysed for interpersonal variables, such as satisfaction and human interest, and positive and negative emotional valence. Results indicated lower satisfaction and human interest in lyrics in the USA and UK in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the lyrics in charting songs in 2015-2019. The USA charting songs in 2020 also saw higher leveling and negative emotional content; and, when considering monthly data from 1999-2020, there was a positive association between economic misery and the number of negatively-valenced words. The findings broaden our understanding of the relationship between significant global events and trends in popular music

Parenting style as a predictor of music preference

Although previous research has established relationships between perceived parenting styles and children’s deviant behaviours and links between these behaviours and a liking for intense and rebellious music, no research has explored the associations between perceived parenting styles and children’s liking for different music styles. Whereas previous research has considered musical taste by looking at a small number of individual difference variables in isolation from one another, the present research used a cross-sectional correlational design to investigate whether parenting styles, the Big Five personality traits, sensation seeking, age, and gender were associated with a liking for different music styles. In total, 336 Australians completed an online, self-report questionnaire. Analyses demonstrated there were relationships between five of the six parenting style variables and five of the music styles considered. This indicates that various parenting styles were associated with musical taste, and the nature of these associations extends well beyond those concerning rebellious music and neglectful parenting that have been identified by previous research

Popular music lyrics and musicians’ gender over time: A computational approach

The present study investigated how the gender distribution of the United Kingdom’s most popular artists has changed over time and the extent to which these changes might relate to popular music lyrics. Using data mining and machine learning techniques, we analyzed all songs that reached the UK weekly top 5 sales charts from 1960 to 2015 (4,222 songs). DICTION software facilitated a computerized analysis of the lyrics, measuring a total of 36 lyrical variables per song. Results showed a significant inequality in gender representation on the charts. However, the presence of female musicians increased significantly over the time span. The most critical inflection points leading to changes in the prevalence of female musicians were in 1968, 1976, and 1984. Linear mixed-effect models showed that the total number of words and the use of self-reference in popular music lyrics changed significantly as a function of musicians’ gender distribution over time, and particularly around the three critical inflection points identified. Irrespective of gender, there was a significant trend toward increasing repetition in the lyrics over time. Results are discussed in terms of the potential advantages of using machine learning techniques to study naturalistic singles sales charts data

Popular music lyrics and musicians’ gender over time: a computational approach

The present study investigated how the gender distribution of the United Kingdom’s most popular artists has changed over time and the extent to which these changes might relate to popular music lyrics. Using data mining and machine learning techniques, we analyzed all songs that reached the UK weekly top 5 sales charts from 1960 to 2015 (4,222 songs). DICTION software facilitated a computerized analysis of the lyrics, measuring a total of 36 lyrical variables per song. Results showed a significant inequality in gender representation on the charts. However, the presence of female musicians increased significantly over the time span. The most critical inflection points leading to changes in the prevalence of female musicians were in 1968, 1976, and 1984. Linear mixed-effect models showed that the total number of words and the use of self-reference in popular music lyrics changed significantly as a function of musicians’ gender distribution over time, and particularly around the three critical inflection points identified. Irrespective of gender, there was a significant trend toward increasing repetition in the lyrics over time. Results are discussed in terms of the potential advantages of using machine learning techniques to study naturalistic singles sales charts data

Individual difference correlates of continuing versus ceasing musical participation

While researchers have begun to examine how social and emotional investment in music is related to psychological well‐being, very little research has considered how best to promote life-long participation in music across the lifespan. One particular gap in the existing literature concerns how and why individuals continue to participate or, instead, cease their participation in musical activities. The current research adopted a social psychological approach to quantitatively examine the differences between 383 Australian residents who have ceased (44.40%) or currently participate in musical activity (55.60%). Responses to an online questionnaire indicated that current participation in music was associated positively with a preference for reflective and complex music and the WHO‐Bref’s psychological quality of life dimension; and that current participation in music was associated negatively with peer musical engagement when growing up. Moreover, gender, age, and measures of musical background and experience were not significantly associated with continuing to participate in musical activities. These findings have clear implications for educators’ attempts foster continued musical participation