Musical Preferences

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the ways in which musical preference has been defined and researched, and existing models and evidence for different influences on preferences such as individual differences, interpersonal dispositions and social networks. Whilst distinctions between short-term and long-term preferences have been useful for making sense of how our preferences develop over time, these definitions make it difficult to compare findings across studies using different methodologies. Existing models have been helpful for identifying the large number of influences on preferences and highlighting the role of reciprocal interactions between music, listener and context in shaping whether music is liked or disliked, however they remain limited in causal and predictive power. Key findings indicate that preference is influenced by exposure and familiarity, but also by age, personality, gender, identity, stereotypes, family, peers and broader social networks. Genre-based, attribute-based, qualitative and big-data methodologies each capture different aspects of preference, yet all have limitations when used on their own. Evidence from music streaming behavior and recommender systems highlights contextual variation across time, activity, and season, whilst qualitative research on favorite or meaningful music demonstrates the key role of autobiography, reminiscence, transformation and social connection. We argue that future research should integrate behavioral data with listener-centered qualitative methods, examine causal pathways to assess the relative importance of individual and social determinants of preferences, and explore how personally significant music supports wellbeing, identity and interpersonal connection across the lifespan.