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Fanfare For the Common Demographic

Posted at 10:00 AM on September 25, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis

A new study suggests that scientists can predict what kind of music you will like--from rap to rock to jazz to classical--based on your education, income, and other demographic information. Two British researchers surveyed 1,000 young people, and they confirmed not a few stereotypes:

"Those with the most education were also the main fans of opera, classical music, and jazz. For example, 8.5% of the classical music lovers had Ph.D.s, compared with 1.4% of those who favored disco music. And classical music lovers' incomes averaged $66,000 compared to $44,000 for lovers of popular dance music. Classical music buffs were also inclined toward intellectual fare, such as current-affairs magazines, whereas the rap/pop crowd favored magazines about cars, women, or celebrities.

Go on, we're listening.

One "clear pattern" to emerge was a clustering of antisocial tendencies among young fans of pop, rap, and rock. For example, 53% of hip-hop fans admitted to having committed a criminal act, compared to 18% of fans of musicals.

OK, we're going to go out on a limb here and suggest that bravado plays a role in the lives of serious hip-hop fans. Also this: We've often felt like committing a criminal act after seeing a musical.

(Not all survey results conformed easily to stereotypes: Opera buffs were least likely to take showers and wash their hair, for example, whereas fans of "DJ-based music" were frequent shampooers.)

Unfortunately, the survey did not prove that we were into country when country wasn't cool.

September 2006
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