Study: Poorer, less-educated people tend to like rap, country, disco, etc.
Options
A Talented One
Members Posts: 4,202 ✭✭✭
Love the opera? Hungry for hip hop? It turns out that your musical likes and dislikes may say more about you than you think, according to University of British Columbia research.
Even in 2015, social class continues to inform our cultural attitudes and the way we listen to music, according to the study, which was recently published in the Canadian Review of Sociology.
“Breadth of taste is not linked to class. But class filters into specific likes and dislikes,” said Gerry Veenstra, study author and professor at UBC’s Department of Sociology.
The study involved nearly 1,600 telephone interviews with adults in Vancouver and Toronto, who were asked about their likes and dislikes of 21 musical genres. Veenstra himself is partial to easy listening, musical theatre and pop.
Poorer, less-educated people tended to like country, disco, easy listening, golden oldies, heavy metal and rap. Meanwhile, their wealthier and better-educated counterparts preferred genres such as classical, blues, jazz, opera, choral, pop, reggae, rock, world and musical theatre.
The research touches on a hotly debated topic in cultural sociology: whether one’s class is accompanied by specific cultural tastes, or whether “elites” are defined by a broad palette of preferences that sets them apart.
The study determines that wealth and education do not influence a person’s breadth of musical taste. However, class and other factors – such as age, gender, immigrant status and ethnicity – shape our musical tastes in interesting and complex ways.
What people don’t want to listen to also plays a key role in creating class boundaries. “What upper class people like is disliked by the lower class, and vice versa,” said Veenstra.
For example, the least-educated people in the study were over eight times more likely to dislike classical music compared to the best-educated respondents. Meanwhile, lowbrow genres such as country, easy listening and golden oldies were disliked by higher-class listeners.
http://news.ubc.ca/2015/06/03/what-musical-taste-tells-us-about-social-class/
Even in 2015, social class continues to inform our cultural attitudes and the way we listen to music, according to the study, which was recently published in the Canadian Review of Sociology.
“Breadth of taste is not linked to class. But class filters into specific likes and dislikes,” said Gerry Veenstra, study author and professor at UBC’s Department of Sociology.
The study involved nearly 1,600 telephone interviews with adults in Vancouver and Toronto, who were asked about their likes and dislikes of 21 musical genres. Veenstra himself is partial to easy listening, musical theatre and pop.
Poorer, less-educated people tended to like country, disco, easy listening, golden oldies, heavy metal and rap. Meanwhile, their wealthier and better-educated counterparts preferred genres such as classical, blues, jazz, opera, choral, pop, reggae, rock, world and musical theatre.
The research touches on a hotly debated topic in cultural sociology: whether one’s class is accompanied by specific cultural tastes, or whether “elites” are defined by a broad palette of preferences that sets them apart.
The study determines that wealth and education do not influence a person’s breadth of musical taste. However, class and other factors – such as age, gender, immigrant status and ethnicity – shape our musical tastes in interesting and complex ways.
What people don’t want to listen to also plays a key role in creating class boundaries. “What upper class people like is disliked by the lower class, and vice versa,” said Veenstra.
For example, the least-educated people in the study were over eight times more likely to dislike classical music compared to the best-educated respondents. Meanwhile, lowbrow genres such as country, easy listening and golden oldies were disliked by higher-class listeners.
http://news.ubc.ca/2015/06/03/what-musical-taste-tells-us-about-social-class/
Comments
-
I am smart so this is probably wrong
-
Didn't expect reggae to be liked by the better educated and wealthier individuals.
-
Why would I trust a Canadian survey about American music?
-
I played the alto sax and trumpet for 8 years. I love the symphony and the orchestra and have a deep appreciation for classical music. However, I'm a hip-hop head to my core. I'm a fan of all genres of music really, except country. And even then, there are exceptions. Johnny Cash gets a lot of burn on my ipod.
This survey sucks any damn way. There are a lot of people of different backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses that love all genres of music.
-
Man if the ? don't got soul I ain't listening. ? you and Mozart. You ? Mooli
-
I ? wit all types of genres of music, if you only ? wit the rap/hip hop on the radio or just only listen to music on the radio, your probably a slow ? anyway.
-
Another attempt to discredit and trivialize Black culture and music. Did they specify what type of Hip Hop? Who was interviewed on the phone and how were they selected? Why the ? should I care about a survey in Canada?
-
1. If anything Canada would be unbiased about Americans since they are not actually American.
2. This is not a survey to discredit blacks as they pointed up country and rap and disco all ranked for less educated people.
3. This is not to say everyone who listens to rap is poorer or less educated.
I think there is some truth to people who only listen to rap or only listen to country exclusively tend to be from a lower class and have less access to education. That doesn't mean they cant break out of those areas or find access to more education but there is some truth to that.
-
This makes perfect being poor typically means less exposure to different cultures and artforms thus a creating a less sophisticated musical palette.
Basically poor people have terrible taste in art because they are not exposed to enough good art -
reggae..pop?
-
country, disco, easy listening, golden oldies, heavy meta,,,i will say this though, these genres of music are usually terrible
-
So i guess sitting in the house drinkin champagne and listening to jazz music with no vocals is whats poppin ? that cracka ? we want that chillin in the jects at the bootleg man house drinking monshine cooking out listening to lil boosie
-
makes sense
-
wait you're telling me some country redneck bumpkin is more likely to listen to country???
hold up thats a Canadian survey. ? them -
5onblackhandside wrote: »I ? wit all types of genres of music, if you only ? wit the rap/hip hop on the radio or just only listen to music on the radio, your probably a slow ? anyway.
I aint gonna pretend and be on some "I like all kinds of music" ? . I ? with hiphop/ rap it is what it is -
People like what they like, ? out of here. I know a lot of poor folks that ain't buying rap music, so who is? Besides that, they surveyed a bunch of random ? from Canada lol.
-
5onblackhandside wrote: »I ? wit all types of genres of music, if you only ? wit the rap/hip hop on the radio or just only listen to music on the radio, your probably a slow ? anyway.
I aint gonna pretend and be on some "I like all kinds of music" ? . I ? with hiphop/ rap it is what it is
Ain't no pretending here B, I ? wit all types of music. Open your mind to different ? . I was always like that doe. -
Heavy metal is usually listened to by poor disgruntled youth. All the rest (except disco, cuz who the ? still listens to disco) tend to have lyrics about not growing up without money that poor people can relate too. So its not really surprising they'd make this claim.A Talented One wrote: »Poorer, less-educated people tended to like country, disco, easy listening, golden oldies, heavy metal and rap.
-
Its funny because there are even people on this board who say things like what type of rap you listen too reflects your intelligence. Its all nonsense to me I listen to whatever I want and dont really care what anybody else listens too. People who say stuff like that are usually salty anyway.
-
I don't seem to like this study but ...
Richer people tend to find every way to separate themselves from the less well off
I don't blame them if you grinded and got money no telling what you had to go through for it
Less problems associated with other genres
That's just like you favorite rapper once he makes it he aint going back to the hood to put himself at risk
He deserves to be where he at because he paid his fare share of dues
When people are young they get into sh*t when they get older they just wanna be safe
-
? , I'll listen to some Ennio Morricone and Ludovico Einaudi, or some days all I want to listen to is Rich the Kid and Johnny Cinco. My music taste doesn't define my Intelligence.
-
Don't shoot the messenger fellas. I didn't do the research.
-
A Talented One wrote: »Don't shoot the messenger fellas. I didn't do the research.
don't backtrack ? , you posted the thread lol -
I knew my love of musical theatre would be appreciated one day. now if only it could make me a million pounds....£££££
