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UVM Honors College Senior Theses Undergraduate Theses

2015

Assessing Music Listening Habits in a Media Rich Society

Carolyn Spinelli
University of Vermont

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Recommended Citation
Spinelli, Carolyn, "Assessing Music Listening Habits in a Media Rich Society" (2015). UVM Honors College
Senior Theses. 91.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/91

This Honors College Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Theses at UVM
ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in UVM Honors College Senior Theses by an authorized
administrator of UVM ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected].
 Assessing  Music  Listening  Habits  in  a  Media  Rich  
Society  
 
 
 
by:  
 
Carolyn  Spinelli  
 
 
 
 
 
A  thesis  submitted  in  partial  fulfillment    
of  the  requirements  for  the  Honors  College  of  
the  College  of  Agriculture  and  Life  Sciences  and  the  
Department  of  Community  Development  &  Applied  Economics  
 
Thesis  Advisor:  Jane  Petrillo  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
University  of  Vermont,  
 
April  17,  2015  
 
 
 
 
 

1  
 Table  of  Contents  
 
 
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………..        4  
Literature  Review…………………………………………………………………………………………..        6  
  History  of  the  Music  Industry………………………………………………………………          6  
  Problems  with  Piracy  Emerge………………………………………………………………        7    
  Benefits  of  Online  Downloading……………………………………………………………        9  
  Current  Listening  Habits………………………………………………………………………    11  
Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………………………    12  
  Survey  Software…………………………………………………………………………………..    13  
  Sampling……………………………………………………………………………………………..    13  
  Question  Types……………………………………………………………………………………    14  
Results……………………………………………………………………………………………………………  15  
  Description  of  Participants……………………………………………………………………  15  
  Genre  and  Artist  Preferences………………………………………………………………..    17  
  Ways  of  Listening…………………………………………………………………………………    23  
  Accessing  New  Music……………………………………………………………………………    24  
  Purchasing  Music  vs.  Illegal  Downloading………………………………………………  27  
  Live  Concert  Attendance………………………………………………………………………..  29  
Discussion  and  Implications……………………………………………………………………………..  31  
  Results  Applied  to  the  UVM  Population…………………………………………………..  31  
  Friends’  Roles  in  Music  Preferences……………………………………………………….  33  
  Status  on  Music  Piracy…………………………………………………………………………..    34  
  Limitations……………………………………………………………………………………………  35  
  Further  Research…………………………………………………………………………………..  36  
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………….  37  
References..……………………………………………………………………………………………………..  39  
 
 

2  
 Abstract  

Today  with  digital  technology  revolutionizing,  music  access  is  changing  and  

becoming  available  in  new  forms.  It  is  important  to  look  at  the  most  common  ways  it  

is  accessed  in  order  to  effectively  market  new  products  and  services  related  to  this  

field.  This  study  examined  the  music  listening  habits  and  preferences  of  University  

of  Vermont  (UVM)  students  as  a  whole  through  an  online  survey.  200  responses  

were  analyzed  for  the  results  of  this  study  and  respondents  consisted  of  a  mix  of  

academic  years  and  majors.  Results  indicated  that  rock  music  was  the  most  popular  

genre  and  the  top  three  bands  among  the  sample  were  Phish,  Led  Zeppelin,  and  Alt-­‐

J.  The  most  popular  streaming  service  was  Spotify,  and  the  highest  number  of  

students  listen  to  music  through  a  desktop  or  laptop  computer.  Qualitative  analysis  

indicated  that  friends,  family,  and  music  websites  have  the  strongest  influences  on  

music  tastes,  as  well  as  how  students  discover  new  music.  Attendance  to  live  

concerts  was  also  analyzed,  with  82.0%  of  students  attending  performances  

regularly,  and  the  majority  of  respondents  (64.0%)  said  they  have  seen  between  1-­‐9  

live  concerts  in  the  past  year.  Nearly  50  percent  of  students  admitted  to  

downloading  from  file-­‐sharing  websites  on  a  regular  basis.  Results  also  indicated  

that  college  students  prefer  to  buy  music  online  rather  than  in  physical  form  such  as  

CD  or  vinyl.  UVM  students  have  an  individualistic  taste  in  music,  with  indie  artists  

and  jam-­‐rock  bands  dominating  the  musical  preferences  of  the  college,  and  many  of  

them  find  new  music  from  a  variety  of  different  sources  as  opposed  to  just  one.      

 
 
 

3  
Introduction  
 
Music  is  a  fundamental  element  of  life  and  essential  to  defining  who  we  are  

as  people.  It  allows  for  the  expression  of  beliefs,  emotions,  stories,  moods,  and  

feelings.  Music  gives  people  a  sense  of  individuality,  and  gives  us  a  way  to  bond,  

communicate,  and  make  new  friends.    It  is  unique  to  geographic  locations,  taking  

form  in  different  styles  and  rhythms  around  the  world.  It  has  also  been  an  outlet  for  

telling  stories  throughout  history,  evolving  over  time  and  defining  our  country’s  

generations.  Specific  tastes  and  preferences  in  music  help  define  us  as  people  and  

also  as  a  community,  and  this  study  will  explore  the  individual  tastes  of  University  of  

Vermont  (UVM)  students  with  the  goal  of  finding  common  trends  within  the  

university.  

Music  is  an  important  part  of  people’s  everyday  lives,  and  with  technology  

constantly  advancing,  music  is  now  becoming  more  readily  available  in  different  

forms.  To  gain  a  better  understanding  of  how  the  music  industry  is  changing  with  

today’s  society,  the  music  listening  behaviors  of  UVM  students  were  analyzed  

through  a  questionnaire.  The  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  evaluate  how  UVM  students  

are  listening  to  music,  what  channels  are  most  common,  and  what  genres  are  most  

popular  among  the  UVM  population.  Results  of  this  study  may  apply  to  college  

students  as  a  whole,  and  can  therefore  be  utilized  as  a  marketing  tool  for  targeting  

this  demographic.  Through  a  literature  review  and  online  survey,  findings  will  also  

indicate  how  to  best  reach  college  students  and  reveal  the  most  common  listening  

habits  among  the  University  of  Vermont.    

4  
 There  is  a  need  for  this  study  because  college  students  are  a  unique  and  

significant  demographic,  different  from  many  other  target  audiences,  and  their  

behaviors  should  be  more  closely  analyzed.  College  students  are  constantly  sharing  

their  favorites,  whether  it  is  through  social  media  or  word  of  mouth.  They  are  very  

active  online  and  through  personal  devices  such  as  cell  phones  or  tablets.  They  are  

considered  “millenials”  and  can  be  targeted  in  a  variety  of  ways  through  the  modern  

industry  of  data  and  information.    

Spotify,  one  of  the  most  popular  music  streaming  services  in  the  world,  has  

collected  data  since  2014  from  college  students  around  the  United  States.  They  

determined  the  top  40  universities  in  the  country  who  subscribed  the  most  to  their  

student  deal.  “America’s  most  music  loving  schools”  are  consistently  researched  on  

a  variety  of  matters  such  as  preferences  in  genres,  artists,  tracks,  song  attributes,  

sleep  schedules  and  times  of  day  they  were  listening.  Results  of  their  initial  study  in  

2014  indicate  that  each  school  had  a  specific  trend  about  music  listening  and  the  

“top  40  most  musical  schools”  were  classified  into  categories  of  their  own.  For  

example,  New  York  University  was  the  “hippest”  school,  University  of  Colorado  

Boulder  was  the  “most  relaxed,”  University  of  Alabama  students  were  the  biggest  

country  music  lovers,  and  Cornell  University  students  were  “the  earliest  risers”  

(Buskirk,  2014).  These  results  are  very  unique  findings  and  could  be  expanded  into  

all  universities  throughout  the  United  States.    

Although  University  of  Vermont  did  not  make  Spotify’s  Top  40,  this  does  not  

mean  the  university  is  not  “musical.”  Many  of  the  schools  in  Spotify’s  study  are  

larger  universities  that  have  large  numbers  of  students  specifically  subscribing  to  

5  
Spotify’s  student  deal.  The  following  study  will  determine  the  specific  

characteristics  of  UVM  students’  listening  habits  as  well  as  most  popular  genre  and  

artist  preferences.  

 
 
Literature  Review  

History  

The  first  emergence  of  the  “music  industry”  was  during  the  1400’s  in  Europe  

when  musicians  were  paid  to  provide  entertainment  at  festivities  and  celebrations.  

During  this  time,  music  was  printed  and  provided  an  economic  basis  for  composers  

and  music  publishers  by  selling  it  to  amateur  music-­‐makers  and  urban  residents.  

Eventually,  hundreds  of  years  later  in  the  1700’s,  music  publishers,  instrument  

manufacturers,  theatre  managers,  and  entrepreneurial  musicians  became  more  

prominent,  providing  a  solid  basis  for  the  music  industry.  They  built  Vaudeville  

style  venues  for  performances  and  invented  recording  technology  to  preserve  the  

music  of  the  time  period,  (Music  Timeline,  2014).      

Over  time,  the  mediums  in  which  music  was  recorded  improved  and  allowed  

manufacturers  to  enhance  the  sound  of  their  products.  After  Thomas  Edison  

invented  the  first  phonograph  in  1877,  the  nickel  jukebox  was  designed  in  the  

1890’s  and  became  very  popular.  Technology  became  more  advanced  during  the  

20th  century  and  the  dominant  form  of  listening  to  music  changed  several  times,  

from  radio  to  vinyl  records  to  cassette  tapes  to  CDs,  and  finally  to  online  music  

6  
stores  through  the  Internet.  At  the  turn  of  the  century,  the  major  popularity  in  music  

recording  brought  questions  of  copyright  into  play,  (Taintor,  2004).    

Problems  with  Piracy  Emerge  

The  major  issue  of  music  ownership  caused  problems  at  the  turn  of  the  

century  when  music  transformed  into  digital  format  and  became  easily  accessible  

on  the  Internet.  Before  the  emergence  of  digital  media,  pirating  music  was  difficult  

and  required  a  high  level  of  hacking  skills.    

Music  piracy  became  a  prominent  issue  around  1999  when  two  young  

college  students  named  Shawn  Fanning  and  Sean  Parker  debuted  the  revolutionary  

peer-­‐to-­‐peer  file-­‐sharing  network  called  Napster.  Although  it  was  extremely  popular  

among  users  of  the  younger  generation,  Napster  was  sued  in  December  of  2001  by  

the  Recording  Industry  association  of  America  (RIAA)  for  copyright  infringement  

and  was  eventually  forced  to  shut  down  service  in  July  of  2001,  according  to  Callie  

Taintor’s  PBS  article  “Chronology:  Technology  and  the  Music  Industry.”  After  this,  

other  file  sharing  services  emerged  such  as  Kazaa,  Morpheus,  Grokster,  and  

LimeWire,  which  were  also  sued  by  the  RIAA  and  artists  shortly  after  for  copyright  

infringement.    

Since  the  creation  of  file  sharing  sites,  the  music  industry  has  suffered  

immensely.  Music  sales  in  the  United  States  alone  have  dropped  53%,  from  $14.6  

billion  to  $7.0  billion  in  2013    (RIAA,  2015).  Millions  of  songs  are  downloaded  daily,  

and  approximately  30  billion  songs  were  downloaded  on  file-­‐sharing  networks  from  

2004  to  2009.    

7  
 Although  numbers  have  slightly  decreased  in  recent  years,  the  piracy  

problem  is  still  obvious  due  to  the  substantial  loss  of  money  and  jobs  in  the  music  

industry.  A  report  by  the  Institute  for  Policy  Innovation  suggested  “piracy  costs  the  

U.S.  economy  $12.5  billion  annually  as  well  as  more  than  70,000  jobs  and  $2  billion  

in  lost  wages  to  American  workers”  (Siwek,  2007).    

  Although  music  piracy  is  illegal,  the  majority  of  college  students  have  

downloaded  free  music  online  in  the  past.  College  students  have  been  notorious  for  

downloading  more  illegal  music  than  the  rest  of  the  population.  A  possible  

explanation  for  the  higher  numbers  of  illegal  downloading  in  college  students  is  that  

they  hold  negative  views  about  the  current  music  industry.  According  to  a  2012  

study  on  college  students’  moral  evaluations  of  illegal  downloading  at  the  University  

of  Rochester,  many  believe  the  recording  industry  receives  “an  excess  amount  of  

profit  at  the  expense  of  the  musicians  who  create  the  music.  Therefore,  the  belief  

that  the  music  industry  treats  its  own  musicians  unfairly  may  have  an  influence  on  

the  way  individuals  approach  illegal  music  downloading”  (Jambon  &  Smetana,  

2012).  This  same  author  revealed  in  their  literature  review  that  previous  surveys  

show  “college  students  do  not  believe  musicians  receive  enough  of  the  profits  from  

the  sale  of  their  own  music,”  meaning  “illegal  downloading  was  judged  to  be  most  

wrong  when  artists  were  described  as  receiving  the  profits  and  least  wrong  when  

the  industry  was  described  as  doing  so  (which  reflects  the  current  business  model  

in  the  music  industry)”    (Jambon  &  Smetana,  2012).  Also,  consistent  with  the  

stereotype  that  college  students  do  not  have  disposable  money,  “research  has  

8  
consistently  shown  that  individuals  who  judge  music  to  be  too  expensive  are  more  

likely  to  illegally  download  songs  online”  (Jambon  &  Smetana,  2012).  

The  Benefits  of  Online  Downloading  

Although  statistics  can  be  frightening,  illegal  downloading  of  music  is  actually  

not  all  that  damaging.  The  Internet  provides  a  whole  new  medium  in  which  artists  

can  market  themselves  and  create  their  own  brand.  Before  the  Internet,  there  were  

very  few  effective  ways  that  upcoming  musicians  could  promote  themselves  if  they  

had  not  yet  made  it  on  the  radio:  they  could  make  posters  or  flyers  or  rely  on  other  

artists  to  support  them.  The  web  provides  the  opportunity  for  artists  to  promote  

upcoming  concerts  and  events  as  well  as  create  a  large  fan  following  through  social  

networks  like  Facebook  and  Twitter.  These  are  all  ways  in  which  artists  can  

generate  revenue  for  themselves  and  create  a  fan  base.    

Another  upcoming  benefit  to  the  music  industry  is  the  popularity  of  online  

radio  and  streaming  services.  Pandora,  an  online  radio  service,  offers  listeners  new  

music  based  on  their  personal  interests  and  exposes  them  to  new  artists.  Because  

Pandora  shows  its  listeners  artists  that  they  have  not  previously  heard,  it  benefits  

the  artists  because  listeners  are  more  likely  to  purchase  their  music  after  they  have  

heard  it  (and  enjoyed  it).  It  is  a  win-­‐win  situation  for  both  Pandora  and  the  

subscriber  because  the  website  makes  most  of  its  revenue  based  on  advertisements,  

and  the  remainder  of  its  profits  come  from  users  who  pay  a  premium  monthly  fee.    

Spotify,  another  online  streaming  service,  which  was  launched  in  2008  (but  

has  become  more  popular  in  recent  years),  offers  free  listening  to  its  subscribers  

9  
and  also  makes  its  money  on  advertisements.  It  offers  a  premium  membership  like  

Pandora  in  which  listeners  pay  a  monthly  fee  and  do  not  have  to  listen  to  ads.  

Premium  users  can  also  have  access  to  more  music.  According  to  Spotify’s  website,  

the  service  has  over  60  million  users  and  over  15  million  of  which  (20%)  pay  the  

premium  fee  (Spotify,  2015).    

The  benefit  of  Spotify  is  that  users  get  what  they  always  wanted  in  the  first  

place:  their  favorite  music  in  real  time.  Because  of  this  service,  listeners  no  longer  

have  a  legitimate  reason  to  pirate  music.  Spotify’s  chief  content  officer  Ken  Parks  

said  in  an  interview,  "We've  taken  millions  of  people  used  to  stealing  music  and  

gotten  them  to  pay  more  than  their  fair  share.  By  historical  standards,  someone  

spending  $120  a  year  is  spending  a  lot  of  money  on  music,"  (Patel,  2012).  

The  IFPI  (International  Federation  of  the  Phonographic  Industry),  which  

represents  the  recording  industry  worldwide,  also  indicated  that  online  streaming  

services  are  growing  significantly.  Subscription  services  increased  revenues  up  

51.3%  in  2013,  “exceeding  $1  billion  for  the  first  time  and  growing  consistently  

across  all  major  markets”  (IFPI,  2013).    

Users  benefit  from  the  web  because  it  provides  many  more  options  for  

consumers  and  music  enthusiasts.  It  lets  listeners  discover  more  artists  and  songs  of  

their  taste,  allowing  them  to  continue  supporting  online  services  and  generate  

payments.  Also,  many  online  services  are  luckily  free  for  consumers,  letting  

advertisements  make  the  payments.  This  “piracy  inspired”  model  could  potentially  

10  
be  the  future  of  the  business,  and  it  is  currently  moving  in  that  direction  due  to  the  

popularity  of  online  streaming  services.  

 
Listening  Habits  

There  have  been  numerous  academic  studies  looking  at  the  most  common  

music  consumption  and  downloading  habits.  In  addition  to  Spotify’s  fascinating  

research  about  American  colleges’  listening  habits,  major  research  institutions  have  

also  (Nielson  Music,  2011)  conducted  surveys  to  find  the  major  factors  influencing  

consumption  among  this  demographic.  Many  studies  have  revealed  the  reasons  and  

ethics  behind  their  choices,  as  well  as  genre  preferences  and  listening  habits.  The  

following  studies  will  highlight  major  music  trends  among  larger  populations,  such  

as  other  universities,  the  United  States,  and  the  world.    

On  a  global  scale,  music  consumption  habits  are  very  diverse.  According  to  a  

Neilson  study  conducted  for  Midem  music,  there  is  no  single  channel  being  used  by  

even  60%  of  the  global  online  audience”    (Nielson  Music,  2011).  The  study  also  

indicated  that  there  are  nine  channels  of  music  being  used  by  20%  or  more  of  global  

online  music  consumers.  This  may  lead  results  to  be  mixed  regarding  what  channels  

are  most  common,  suggesting  a  combination  of  different  sources  rather  than  one  

popular  outlet.    

An  important  detail  in  the  Neilson  report  is  that  younger  demographic  in  this  

study,  referred  to  as  “the  digital  natives,”  spends  the  most  time  using  online  

services.  Ages  21-­‐34  are  considered  to  be  “the  ‘core’  digital  music  audience,”  and  

utilize  digital  music  mediums  significantly  more  than  older  respondents  of  the  

11  
survey.  Results  indicated  that  the  younger  people  “do  more  of  everything  than  the  

average:  they  watch  more  music  videos  (on  the  computer  or  TV),  they  download  

more  songs  (paid  or  not),  they  stream  music  more.  Beyond  35,  there  is  a  slight  but  

consistent  erosion  of  music  consumption  from  any  of  these  channels”  (Nielson  

Music,  2011).  This  will  be  important  to  consider  when  studying  the  habits  of  college  

students,  who  fit  this  age  demographic  and  have  a  stronger  online  presence.  

American  music  listening  habits  as  a  whole  were  studied  for  the  first  time  in  

2014,  on  a  smaller  level.    An  Edison  Research  study  called  “Share  of  Ear”  analyzed  

daily  music  journals  submitted  by  nearly  3,000  respondents,  giving  the  music  

industry  “the  first  consistent  measurement  of  all  audio  consumption”  (Webster,  

2014).  The  study  evaluated  a  number  of  audio  usage  trends,  such  as,  “location  of  

listening,  the  devices  on  which  audio  is  consumed,  listening  by  time  of  day,  the  type  

of  audio  content  (music,  news,  sports,  or  talk/personalities),  and  even  across  

individual  brands  within  the  Online  Radio  space”  (Webster,  2014).  Results  indicated  

that  over  50%  (52.1%)  of  Americans  spend  their  time  listening  to  AM/FM  radio  

(Webster,  2014).  The  average  time  spent  consuming  audio  is  4  hours  and  5  minutes  

per  day,  and  newer  sources  of  music  such  as  Internet  radio  account  for  nearly  one-­‐

fourth  of  all  listening  (Webster,  2014).    

 
 
Methods  
 
A  quantitative  survey  was  distributed  for  the  purposes  of  this  study,  with  a  

combination  of  open-­‐ended  and  close-­‐ended  questions  to  determine  the  most  

popular  habits  of  students.  The  questionnaire  consisted  of  12  questions  and  was  

12  
kept  short  to  encourage  participation.  The  survey  was  distributed  over  the  course  of  

2  months  to  ensure  a  higher  number  of  responses,  and  nonprobability  sampling  was  

used  due  to  convenience  technique.    

Survey  Software  

The  survey  was  conducted  entirely  online  through  UVM’s  Lime  Survey  

software,  ensuring  it  was  in  fact  UVM  students  responding.  Lime  Survey  is  a  user-­‐

friendly  program  that  allows  survey-­‐makers  to  create  different  question  types  and  

answer  options  for  participants.  The  program  also  creates  codes  for  answer  options.    

After  receiving  200  responses,  results  were  exported  from  Lime  Survey  in  

Microsoft  Excel.  Only  completed  responses  were  used  in  the  analysis  of  this  study.  

Open-­‐ended  questions  were  then  coded  through  qualitative  analysis  to  determine  

common  themes  and  ideas  among  responses.  After  all  data  was  accounted  for,  the  

Excel  spread  sheet  was  imported  into  SPSS  Software  to  examine  frequencies  and  

distributions.  

Sample  

The  participants  of  this  study  consisted  of  students  pursuing  higher  

education  at  the  University  of  Vermont.  200  completed  responses  were  analyzed  in  

order  to  find  the  most  common  music  consumption  habits  at  the  University  of  

Vermont.  A  convenience  sampling  technique  was  used  to  gather  data,  as  the  survey  

was  distributed  through  only  social  media.  More  specifically,  the  survey  was  posted  

on  each  UVM  class’  group  on  Facebook  and  widely  marketed  on  my  personal  page  as  

13  
well.  Facebook  was  a  very  effective  way  of  reaching  a  large  number  of  UVM  

students,  as  data  shows  that  95%  of  college  students  use  Facebook  on  a  regular  

basis  and  it  is  the  most  preferred  social  media  platform  (Viner,  2014).  Facebook  is  

the  most  popular  social  media  in  the  world,  with  over  890  million  daily  users  since  

December  of  2014  (Facebook,  2015).  In  today’s  technologically  rich  society,  college  

students  are  among  some  of  the  most  experienced  with  social  media,  checking,  

communicating  and  getting  their  news  through  Facebook.  Therefore,  this  platform  is  

a  very  effective  way  of  reaching  this  particular  group.      

There  were  nearly  3,000  users  in  each  graduating  class’  group,  and  students  

of  all  years  were  very  interested  in  the  topic  of  study.  Although  there  was  an  original  

plan  to  print  out  surveys  and  hand  them  out  around  campus,  the  turnout  through  

Facebook  was  much  higher  than  expected,  and  this  step  was  not  necessary.  In  total,  

275  students  started  a  survey,  but  there  were  only  200  fully  completed  responses.  

75  students  started  a  survey  but  only  partially  completed  it.  

Question  Types  

Questions  were  categorized  into  five  main  groups  when  the  survey  was  

designed:  Music  Taste,  New  Music,  Live  Music,  Preferences  &  Habits,  and  

Demographics.    While  completing  the  survey  online,  all  the  questions  in  each  group  

were  displayed  together  on  their  own  page.  Questions  asked  about  a  variety  of  

topics  including  favorite  genres  and  bands,  concert  attendance,  downloading  habits,  

most  common  mediums,  and  music  streaming  services.  To  find  out  how  students  

access  new  music,  they  were  also  asked  how  they  find  their  new  music.  In  order  to  

14  
find  out  how  often  students  are  exhibiting  certain  behaviors,  a  Likert  scale  was  used  

for  a  set  of  questions,  giving  students  the  option  to  choose  on  a  scale  of  very  rarely  

to  always.  The  set  included  a  variety  of  sub-­‐questions,  such  as,  “how  often  do  you  

search  for  new  music,  download  from  file-­‐sharing  websites,  purchase  music,  or  

attend  live  concerts?”  The  Likert  scale  included  a  variety  of  answer  options  such  as  

“Never,”  “rarely,”  “sometimes,”  “often,”  “very  often,”  and  “always.”  

 
Results  
 
Description  of  Participants  

  The  total  sample  consisted  of  200  students  at  the  University  of  Vermont.      

Twenty  percent  were  first  years,  22.5  percent  were  sophomores,  21.5  percent  were  

juniors,  and  33.0  percent  were  seniors.  Three  percent  were  graduate  students  or  fit  

into  the  “other”  category.  Those  who  chose  this  option  were  returning  students  or  

alumni.  The  highest  number  of  respondents  was  in  the  College  of  Arts  and  Science,  

accounting  for  43.5  percent  of  the  total  sample.  The  next  biggest  college  represented  

was  the  College  of  Agriculture  and  Life  Sciences  with  19.5  percent.  

Table  1  and  Table  2  on  pages  14  and  15  show  the  demographic  results  of  all  200  

respondents,  and  Figure  1  on  page  15  shows  the  results  of  students  based  on  the  

geographic  location  of  their  home  state.    

  The  majority  of  participants  were  from  the  northeast  region  of  the  U.S.  

(86.4%).  Over  half  of  the  respondents’  permanent  homes  are  in  New  England    

 (58.8%).  Out  of  this  group,  20.0  percent  of  these  students  were  from  Vermont,  22  

percent  were  from  Massachusetts,  7.0  percent  were  from  Connecticut,  6.0  percent  

15  
 were  from  New  Hampshire,  2.5  percent  were  from  Rhode  Island  and  1.0  percent  

was  from  Maine.  Locations  in  the  “other”  category  varied,  including  Colorado,  

California,  Illinois,  Florida,  Washington  D.C.,  Maryland,  Oregon,  and  Arizona.  There  

was  also  one  international  student  from  Ontario,  Canada.  There  was  no  significant  

relationship  between  geographic  location  and  preference  of  music,  however  chi-­‐  

square  analysis  indicated  there  was  a  relationship  between  geographic  location  

(recoded  variable)  and  how  students  developed  their  current  taste  in  music  

(recoded  variable).  

Table  1.    Demographic  results  by  year  at  UVM  

Year   Frequency   Percentage  
First  Year   40   20.0%  
Sophomore   45   22.5%  
Junior   43   21.5%  
Senior   66   33.0%  
Graduate  Student   1   0.5%  
Other   5   2.5%  

 
Table  2.  Demographic  results  by  College  of  Major  
College   Frequency   Percentage  

Agriculture  and  Life   39   19.6%  

  Sciences  
Arts  and  Sciences   86   43.2%  

Business  Administration   19   9.5%  

Education  &  Social  Services   9   4.5%  
Engineering  &  Mathematics   9   4.5%  
Environment  &  Natural   25   12.6%  
Resources  
Nursing  &  Health  Sciences   12   6%  

16  
 13.6%  

4.5%  

New  England  
9.5%   New  York  
New  Jersey  
Pennsylvania  
58.8%  
Other  

13.6%  

 
Figure  1.  Demographic  results  by  geographic  location    

Genre  &  Artist  Preferences  

Overall,  UVM  students  had  a  wide  variety  of  tastes  and  preferences  in  genre.  

The  most  popular  was  Rock,  with  22.5  percent  of  students  choosing  it  as  their  

favorite.  The  next  most  preferred  type  of  music  was  Indie  with  19.5  percent,  

followed  by  “Other”  with  12.0  percent.  Hip  Hop  was  fourth  most  common  genre  

with  10.5  percent,  followed  by  Country  and  Electronic,  both  with  8.0  percent.  Figure  

2  on  page  16  displays  the  full  distribution  of  students’  preferences  by  genre.  

While  the  survey  provided  11  categories  of  music  for  students  to  choose  

from,  many  respondents  did  not  feel  their  favorite  type  fit  of  music  within  the  

17  
confined  options.  In  fact,  “other”  was  the  third  most  common  response  to  this  

question  with  12.0  percent  of  respondents.    Many  who  chose  this  option  provided  a  

more  specific  answer  that  was  a  ‘subgenre’  of  the  given  options.  For  example,  three  

students  named  “Jam,”  which  is  a  contemporary  form  of  rock  that  stems  from  

unique,  live  concerts  with  lengthy  instrumentals.  Others  combined  different  genres  

into  one  for  this  question,  with  answers  such  as  “Indie  Folk”  and  “Folk  Punk.”  Many  

other  respondents  also  said  “Funk”  or  “Soul,”  feeling  that  this  did  not  fit  any  of  the  

broadly  provided  genres.    

The  next  question  in  this  group  asked  students  to  name  their  top  3  favorite  

artists.  Hundreds  of  bands  from  a  variety  of  genres  were  named  in  responses  to  this  

question.  Favorite  bands  that  were  named  more  than  once  were  put  into  a  list  and  

entered  into  a  word  cloud  generator  (Fig.  3).  Figure  3  on  page  18  is  a  word  cloud  

that  shows  the  most  commonly  named  artists  and  bands,  with  size  corresponding  to  

frequency.    

The  top  bands  that  came  up  most  frequently  were  rock  bands  such  as  Phish  

(the  most  popular  band  by  a  landslide  with  19  responses)  and  The  Arctic  Monkeys,  

as  well  as  classic  rock  bands  like  Led  Zeppelin  and  The  Grateful  Dead.  Other  top  

artists  varied  among  genre,  such  as  Alt-­‐J  (Indie-­‐Rock),  The  Head  and  the  Heart  

(Indie),  Kendrick  Lamar  (Hip-­‐Hop),  Mumford  and  Sons  (Folk),  and  Vampire  

Weekend  (Indie).  Asking  for  favorite  bands  and  artists  gave  a  better  idea  of  the  

specific  types  of  music  that  UVM  students  prefer,  as  the  genre  question  narrowed  

down  preferences  in  a  broader  sense.  

18  
 Rock   22.5%  
Indie   19.5%  
Hip  Hop   10.5%  
Country   8.0%  
Electronic   8.0%  
Pop   7.0%  
Folk/Bluegrass   3.5%  
Alternative   4.0%  
Jazz   3.0%  
Reggae   1.0%  
Classical   0.5%  
R&B   0.5%  
Other   12.0%  

  Figure  2.  Favorite  genre  preferences  among  UVM  students  

 
 
It  is  important  to  note  that  a  significant  number  of  respondents  who  chose  

“other”  for  the  genre  question  specifically  named  “Alternative”  as  their  music  of  

choice.  This  answer  option  was  not  originally  part  of  the  survey,  but  during  analysis  

it  became  clear  that  many  students  felt  it  was  its  own  category.  After  incorporating  

it  into  the  final  results,  4.0  percent  of  students  preferred  alternative  music.    

These  results  are  consistent  with  existing  research  on  favorite  artists  by  

state,  according  to  Echo  Nest,  a  music  intelligence  company  that  works  closely  with  

large  music  streaming  companies  such  as  iHeart  Radio,  Rhapsody,  Sirius  XM,  and  

Rdio.  In  a  recent  interview  with  USA  Today,  he  said,  "People  are  really  engaged  in  

music.  They  want  to  talk  about  it"  (Durando,  2014).  This  may  explain  the  high  

response  rate  for  the  questionnaire  and  the  significant  interest  in  the  topic.    

19  
 20  
 
 

 
Figure  3.  Favorite  bands  among  UVM  students  

 
 
 Finally,  an  open-­‐ended  question  asked  students,  ”How  did  you  develop  your  

current  taste  in  music?”  Through  qualitative  analysis,  several  clear  themes  arose.  

Students  mainly  acquired  their  taste  through  friends,  family,  live  concert  

experiences,  radio,  through  websites  online,  or  combinations  of  all  the  above.  Many  

people  claimed  their  parents  or  family  membered  initially  shaped  their  current  

preferences.  For  example,  many  people  named,  “my  dad,”  or  “my  sister.”  Others  

went  into  more  depth,  such  as  a  junior  from  Vermont  who  explained,  “I  grew  up  

listening  to  country,  it  is  what  I  am  most  familiar  with.  But,  through  friends  and  the  

radio  I  have  broadened  my  taste.  I  like  a  little  of  everything.”    

Many  other  students  developed  their  taste  by  being  surrounded  by  friends  

and  other  young  music  enthusiasts.  One  graduate  student  simply  said  they  

developed  their  current  taste  in  music,  “from  going  to  UVM,”  which  implies  that  the  

school  has  significant  and  distinctive  community.  Another  sophomore  simply  

answered,  “through  listening  to  music  with  friends  and  getting  inspired  by  their  

music  tastes.”  This  answer  embodied  one  of  the  main  themes,  and  there  were  many  

similar  answers  to  this  regarding  the  role  of  friends.    

Some  students  indicated  that  seeing  live  music  plays  a  significant  role  in  their  

preferences  of  music.  A  sophomore  majoring  in  Community  Entrepreneurship  went  

into  great  detail  and  said,  ”I've  always  loved  punk  rock/  rock  music.  Since  I  was  a  

pre-­‐teen,  I've  enjoyed  going  to  concerts.    The  energy  I  got  at  concerts  was  an  

indescribable  rush.  So  I've  been  continuously  listening  to  the  music  that  makes  me  

feel  awesome.”  A  senior  from  New  Jersey  also  had  a  unique  response,  explaining  

their  taste  came  about,  “by  experiencing  incredible  live  performances  that  have  me  

21  
going  to  see  as  many  great  bands  who  jam  as  much  as  possible.”  Some  also  

suggested  that  music  festivals  are  a  great  way  of  finding  new  music.  

Some  students  also  gained  their  preferences  from  being  involved  in  certain  

activities  or  organizations.  For  example,  one  sophomore  explained  their  current  

taste  developed  “through  daily  activities.  When  I  began  to  workout  daily,  my  music  

preference  went  from  slow  indie  to  techno/dance.”  On  a  slightly  different  note,  a  

senior  Latin  major  explained  that  they  acquired  their  preference  through,  “singing  

in  the  UVM  Latin  Jazz  Band  and  attending  concerts,  and  going  to  see  live  music  even  

if  I'm  not  familiar  with  the  band.” Daily  surroundings  can  also  greatly  influence  a  

person’s  actions  or  preferences.    

Many  could  not  narrow  down  one  way  in  which  they  developed  their  taste,  

so  they  said  a  combination  of  all  previous  answers,  not  naming  one  specific  reason.  

Individuals  seemed  to  gain  their  taste  in  music  through  a  blend  of  experiences,  

exposure,  and  people  in  their  life.  For  example,  a  first  year  Psychology  major  said,  

“My  parents  definitely  shaped  things  initially,  but  then  friends  and  the  Internet  

helped  me  branch  out.”    

Responses  to  the  question,  “how  did  you  develop  your  current  taste  in  

music?”  were  unique  and  one-­‐of-­‐a  kind.  Some  answers  did  not  fall  into  any  of  the  

previous  specific  categories,  and  were  unique  to  the  respondent,  such  as  those  who  

play  in  a  band  or  work  at  a  music  venue.  However,  the  final  coded  categories  

(friends,  family,  the  Internet,  live  concerts,  or  a  combination  of  all  the  above)  largely  

summed  up  how  college  students  at  UVM  came  to  like  the  music  they  do.  

 
 

22  
 Ways  of  Listening  
 
Another  goal  with  the  survey  was  to  determine  the  most  common  devices  

students  use  to  listen  to  music.  They  were  asked,  “What  is  your  most  common  way  

of  listening  to  music?”  and  given  5  mediums  as  well  as  an  “other”  option  to  choose  

from.  The  majority  of  respondents  said  they  use  their  computer  or  tablet.  Nearly  

half  of  the  sample  (49.0%)  preferred  this  medium.  The  next  most  common  method  

of  listening  was  on  cell  phones,  with  29.5  percent  of  students  using  them  to  store  

and  play  music.  Twelve  percent  of  students  preferred  personal  devices  such  as  

iPods  and  mp3  players.  Radio  and  home  audio  systems  (such  as  CD  players  or  vinyl  

records)  were  the  least  common  mediums,  accounting  for  3.5  and  5.5  percent,  

respectively.  Figure  4  below  visually  displays  the  distribution  of  the  most  common  

mediums  with  percentages.  

0.5%  
12%  

3.5%  

Computer  or  tablet  

5.5%  
Cell  phone  
Home  audio  system  
49.0%  
Radio  
Personal  device  (mp3)  
Other  
29.5%  

Figure  4.  Preferred  mediums  of  music  listening  

23  
 On  average,  UVM  students  are  also  listening  to  between  one  to  three  hours  of  

music  per  day.  Nearly  equal  percentages  of  students  said  they  listen  to  1-­‐2  hours  

(32.5%)  or  2-­‐3  hours  (31.0%)  on  a  daily  basis.  Only  7.5  percent  of  respondents  said  

they  listen  to  under  an  hour  of  music  per  day,  and  the  remaining  percentage  

(29.0%)  said  they  listen  to  3-­‐4  hours  or  more  in  a  day.    

 
 
Accessing  New  Music  
 
A  significant  part  of  the  questionnaire  was  dedicated  to  finding  the  sources  of  

new  music  for  the  UVM  population.  Many  questions  in  the  survey  were  asked  to  

narrow  down  the  places  and  ways  students  at  UVM  find  new  music.  Participants  

were  asked,  “How  do  you  discover  new  music?”  (Fig.  5)  and  “How  often  do  you  

search  for  new  music?”  (Fig.  6)  The  distributions  of  results  are  presented  in  the  

figures  on  the  next  page  and  page  25.    Overall,  students  at  UVM  are  very  actively  

seeking  out  new  music  to  listen  to.  Only  13.0  percent  of  respondents  said  they  never  

or  rarely  search  for  new  music,  meaning  87.0  percent  are  at  least  looking  for  new  

music  “sometimes.”    

The  highest  percentage  of  students  (44.5%)  said  they  access  their  new  music  

through  websites  online,  followed  by  through  friends  (32%).  Radio  was  the  third  

most  common  source  of  new  music  (16%),  followed  by  “other,”  which  mostly  

consisted  of  responses  saying  “all  of  the  above.”    Going  to  see  live  music  was  the  

least  common  way  of  finding  new  music,  with  only  3.5  percent  of  responses.  

In  today’s  society,  it  is  safe  to  say  millenials  are  accessing  the  majority  of  

their  music  digitally  and  through  the  Internet.  The  results  in  Fig.  5  also  indicate  this.  

24  
 Since  a  majority  of  students  are  accessing  their  music  through  websites,  students  

were  asked  to  indicate  which  online  services  they  use  most  frequently.  They  were  

given  6  popular  music  websites  as  well  as  an  “other”  option  and  asked,  “Out  of  the  

following  streaming  services,  which  would  you  say  you  use  most  frequently?”  

Participants  were  asked  to  check  any  options  that  applied  in  this  question,  so  each  

result  is  based  on  the  sample  as  a  whole.    

4.0%  
3.5%  
16.0%  

Radio  
Through  friends  
Through  websites  online  
Going  to  see  live  music  
44.5%   Other  
32.0%  

Figure  5.  Responses  to  the  question,  “How  do  you  discover  new  music?”  
 

25  
35%  

30%   29.0%  

24.5%  
25%   23.5%  

20%  

15%  

10.0%   10.0%  
10%  

5%   3.0%  

0%  
Never   Rarely   Sometimes   Often   Very  often   Always  
Figure  6.  Responses  to  the  question,  “How  often  do  you  search  for  new  music?”  

YouTube   47.5%  

Spotify   50.5%  

SoundCloud   19.5%  

Pandora   38.5%  

iTunes   42.5%  

Beats  Music   0.5%  

Other   6.5%  

0%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%  

Figure  7.  Most  popular  streaming  services  among  UVM  students  

26  
 Responses  indicated  that  many  of  the  given  options  were  popular  among  the  

UVM  community.  As  indicated  by  the  literature  review,  over  half  of  students  

(50.5%)  and  the  largest  number  in  the  sample  use  Spotify  as  their  main  listening  

service.  YouTube  (47.5%)  and  iTunes  (42.5%)  were  also  very  popular,  with  nearly  

half  of  respondents  using  them  as  well.  Pandora,  the  personalized  Internet  radio  

service,  was  also  closely  behind  with  38.5  percent  of  responses.  Figure  6  below  

shows  the  total  distribution  of  answers.    

A  small  number  of  students  (6.5%)  answered  “other”  when  asked  about  what  

streaming  services  they  use.  Those  who  indicated  which  other  services  are  popular  

recommended  8tracks,  Archive,  Bandcamp,  Google  Play  Music,  Grooveshark,  Lastfm,  

and  Songza.    

Purchasing  Music  vs.  Illegal  Downloading  

 
With  music  piracy  becoming  a  more  evident  problem  in  today’s  society,  it  

was  important  to  analyze  how  often  students  are  illegally  downloading  music.  

Respondents  were  given  a  Likert  scale  and  asked,  “How  often  do  you  download  from  

file-­‐sharing  websites?”  to  determine  the  regularity  of  music  piracy.  This  question  

was  worded  carefully  to  encourage  honest  answers  and  steer  away  from  the  

negative  connotation  of  illegal  downloading.  Results  for  this  question  were  

distributed  evenly  among  the  given  categories  (never,  rarely,  sometimes,  often,  very  

often,  always).  The  highest  percentage  of  students  said  “sometimes,”  accounting  for  

21.5  percent  of  the  sample.  However,  cumulatively,  almost  half  of  the  sample,  43.0  

percent,  said  they  download  free  music  from  the  Internet  “often,”  “very  often,”  or  

27  
 “always.”  Adding  this  to  the  number  students  who  said  “sometimes”  reveals  64.5  

percent  of  UVM  students  admitted  to  illegally  downloading  music  on  a  regular  basis.  

The  vagueness  of  this  question,  however,  brings  up  many  more  questions  that  could  

be  used  for  future  research.  

To  get  an  idea  about  music  purchasing  and  downloading  habits,  respondents  

of  the  survey  were  also  asked  how  often  they  buy  music.  In  general,  UVM  students  

do  not  purchase  music  very  often.  The  majority  of  respondents  said  they  “never”  or  

“rarely”  purchase  music,  both  online  and  physically.  Responses  to  both  of  these  

questions  were  nearly  equal,  with  38.0  percent  claiming  they  never  buy  music  

45%  

40%  

35%  

30%  

25%  
Online  
20%   Physically  

15%  

10%  

5%  

0%  
Never   Rarely   Sometimes   Often   Very  Often   Always  
online    

Figure  8.  Responses  to  the  question,  “How  often  do  you  purchase  music  online  and  how  
often  do  you  purchase  music  physically?”  

28  
  

and  39.5  percent  claiming  they  never  buy  physical  music.  Figure  8  below  compares  

the  results  of  the  two  questions  and  reveals  the  purchasing  habits  of  UVM  students.  

Overall,  students  purchase  slightly  less  physical  music  (i.e.  CDs  or  vinyl)  than  they  

do  online,  which  is  to  be  expected  in  today’s  digitally-­‐rich  society.  

 
Live  Concerts  

Concert  attendance  was  also  a  significant  topic  for  the  purposes  of  this  study.  

Two  questions  in  the  survey  were  dedicated  to  asking  how  often  students  go  to  

concerts.  First,  they  were  asked,  “How  often  do  you  go  to  live  concerts?”  and  given  

the  Likert  scale  of  choices.  Overall,  more  students  seem  to  be  seeing  concerts  than  

not,  with  only  17.5  percent  who  say  they  “never”  or  “rarely”  go  to  shows.  Answers  to  

this  question  greatly  varied,  with  3.5  percent  of  people  who  never  see  concerts  

ranging  to  people  who  see  several  a  week,  but  the  majority  of  students  said  

“sometimes”  (39.0%).  Figure  9  on  the  next  page  shows  the  complete  set  of  results  to  

this  question.  

Respondents  were  also  asked  to  estimate  the  number  of  concerts  they  have  

seen  within  the  past  year  (365  days).  Students’  responses  were  read  and  recoded  

into  9  categories  with  intervals  of  9,  starting  with  zero.  Results  varied  for  this  

question,  but  the  vast  majority  of  students  (64.0%)  were  seeing  between  1-­‐9  

concerts  per  year,  which  averages  out  to  one  or  less  show  per  month.  Table  3  on  the  

next  page  shows  the  entire  sample’s  response  to  this  concert  attendance  question.  

Crosstab  and  chi  square  analysis  also  indicated  that  there  was  a  strong  

relationship  between  year  of  graduation  and  how  often  students  attend  concerts.  

29  
 This  is  a  reasonable  outcome  because  there  is  a  strong  chance  that  students  attend  

more  concerts  as  they  get  older.    As  students  get  old  enough  to  go  to  downtown  bars  

and  see  concerts  for  guests  21  or  older,  they  may  attend  them  more  frequently.    

Number  of  Concerts   Frequency   Percentage  

0   8   4.1%  
1-­‐9   126   64%  
10-­‐19   32   16.2%  
20-­‐29   11   5.6%  
30-­‐39   7   3.6%  
40-­‐49   3   1.5%  
50-­‐59   5   2.5%  
60-­‐69   1   0.5%  
70+   4   2%  
Table  3.  Responses  to  the  question,  “Approximately  how  many  concerts  have  you  
attended  in  the  past  year?”  
 
45.0%  

39.0%  
40.0%  

35.0%  

30.0%  

25.0%   23.0%  

20.0%  

14.0%   14.0%  
15.0%  

10.0%  
6.5%  
5.0%   3.5%  

0.0%  
Never   Rarely   Sometimes   Often   Very  Often   Always  

Figure  9.  Responses  to  the  question,  “How  often  do  you  attend  live  concerts?”  

30  
Discussion  &  Implications  

Many  themes  and  important  questions  surfaced  while  conducting  

quantitative  and  qualitative  analysis  and  studying  survey  responses.  College-­‐  

students  and  young  adults  are  constantly  using  services  provided  by  technology  and  

the  Internet,  and  they  can  be  more  easily  targeted  for  marketing  purposes  if  their  

listening  and  purchasing  habits  are  studied.  It  is  important  for  the  music  industry  to  

analyze  how  this  demographic  is  utilizing  new  technology  and  websites  to  their  

advantage,  as  they  are,  in  essence,  the  future  of  the  industry,  and  they  can  guide  

where  it  is  going.  

Results  Applied  to  the  UVM  Population  

Overall,  genre  and  band  results  could  be  distinctive  to  the  UVM  “culture”  and  

community,  and  say  something  about  the  lifestyles  of  students.  Many  stereotypes  

exist  based  on  interest  in  different  musical  styles,  however  some  evidence  suggests  

that  there  are  numerous  associations  between  musical  preference  and  lifestyle  

choices,  such  as  media  usage,  leisure  time  and  music  listening  (North  &  Hargreaves,  

2007).  These  results  could  be  generalized  to  the  UVM  population  as  a  whole,  with  a  

large  sample  size  that  is  diverse  in  classes  and  majors.  

There  was  strong  popularity  among  rock  bands,  specifically  classic  rock  and  

jam  bands.  Indie  was  also  the  second  most  popular  genre  among  UVM  students.  

These  results  may  have  been  predictable,  not  just  based  on  stereotypes  but  also  on  

actual  studies  that  have  shown  most  popular  musical  preferences  by  geographic  

area.  In  2014,  the  director  of  developer  platform  at  Echo  Nest,  (a  leading  music  

31  
intelligence  company  who  leads  major  streaming  services)  determined  the  most  

“distinctive”  musical  artist  to  fans  in  each  state,  and  indicated  that  Phish  was  the  

most  unique  to  Vermont.  This  is  a  reasonable  conclusion  because  the  band  here  

originated  at  UVM.  The  study  also  indicated  that  New  England’s  taste  as  a  whole  

“run[s]  to  jam  bands,  indie  and  classic  rock”  (Lamere,  Exploring  regional  listening  

preferences,  2014),  based  on  listening  behavior  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  music  

listeners.    

Not  only  did  Paul  Lamere  conduct  a  study  that  looked  at  the  most  loved  

bands  for  each  state  in  the  U.S.,  but  he  also  did  a  separate  analysis  on  the  actual  most  

streamed  artists  by  state.  Many  large  regions  of  the  country  were  dedicated  to  single  

artists,  such  as  Jay-­‐Z  and  Drake.  However,  results  of  this  data  confirmed  Alt-­‐J  was  

the  most  played  artist  in  Vermont  (Lamere,  Favorite  Artists  vs.  Distinctive  Artists  by  

State,  2014),  which  was  similar  to  UVM’s  survey  responses,  where  Alt-­‐J  was  the  

third  most  popular  artist  behind  Phish  and  Led  Zeppelin.    

One  of  the  most  interesting  results  during  survey  analysis  was  how  many  

students  selected  the  “other”  option  when  asked  about  their  favorite  genre.  

Although  the  highest  percentage  of  respondents  chose  rock  music  as  their  first  

choice,  this  result  may  be  a  significant  outcome  regarding  the  culture  and  

community  of  UVM.  Many  people  want  to  have  a  distinctive  and  individual  set  of  

answers  to  stand  out  from  the  crowd.  The  genre  choices  on  this  question  were  kept  

broad  to  be  inclusive  and  un-­‐biased,  however,  many  students  enjoy  more  specific  

subgenres  that  derive  from  the  wider  varieties.    

32  
 Asking  students  to  name  their  favorite  bands,  in  conjunction  with  their  genre  

preference,  was  not  the  easiest  task  for  some.  With  results  varying  from  recognized  

classic  rock  bands  to  newer  underground  artists,  every  respondent  had  a  unique,  

individual  set  of  answers.    In  a  way,  asking  some  students  to  describe  their  musical  

taste  seemed  to  “pressure”  them  to  come  up  with  a  unique  set  of  answers  to  stand  

out  from  the  rest  of  the  crowd.  Some  students  wanted  to  exert  a  sense  of  

individuality  and  wanted  to  name  a  set  of  three  artists  that  fell  into  one  cohesive  

theme.  This  seemed  to  be  a  reason  why  the  percentage  of  “other”  responses  to  the  

genre  question  was  so  high,  with  subgenres  provided  to  clarify  their  answers,  and  

some  unique  bands  named  that  were  only  mentioned  once.  This  result  also  goes  

hand  in  hand  with  the  “Indie”  music  popularity  among  UVM  students,  because  there  

are  many  newer,  contemporary  bands  that  fall  within  this  genre.  

Also,  it  is  very  important  to  note  that  an  unexpected  result  that  came  about  

when  studying  genre  was  the  popularity  among  Alternative  music.  Although  it  was  

not  an  original  answer  option  on  the  first  question,  many  students  considered  it  its  

own  genre  and  put  it  in  the  “other”  category.  If  it  had  been  provided  in  the  original  

answer  options,  it  most  likely  would  have  accounted  for  a  significantly  higher  

percentage  in  genre  responses.    

Friends’  Roles  in  Music  Preference  

Many  students  identified  their  friends  as  one  of  the  main  sources  for  their  

music  in  multiple  questions.  Over  10  percent  of  respondents  said  that  friends  were  

their  biggest  influence  on  their  current  taste  in  music,  and  32  percent  (nearly  one-­‐

33  
third)  said  that  they  discover  their  new  music  through  friends.  This  outcome  

indicates  that  word  of  mouth  is  a  strong  method  of  marketing  for  upcoming  artists  

and  bands  among  college-­‐aged  people.  This  also  suggests  that  UVM  as  a  community  

has  a  strong  sense  of  community,  and  that  groups  of  friends  have  strong  influences  

on  individual  behavior.  Friends  can  have  very  strong  influences  on  each  other,  

especially  when  it  comes  to  listening  to  music.  Music  listening  creates  bonds  

between  people  and  can  build  relationships,  as  “music  preferences  can  be  cues  for  

similar  or  dissimilar  values…with  similarity  in  values  then  contributing  to  social  

attraction”  (Boer,  2011).    

Status  on  Music  Piracy  

 
Another  goal  of  the  survey  was  to  find  out  how  often  students  at  our  

university  download  illegal  music.  However,  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  definitive  answer  

on  such  a  sensitive  topic.  Music  piracy  is  against  the  law,  and  although  the  survey  

was  kept  anonymous,  many  people  still  did  not  honestly  admit  that  they  engage  in  

the  illegal  activity.  Many  students  answered  “sometimes”  for  the  Likert  scale  

question  regarding  illegal  music  downloading.  However,  this  does  not  narrow  down  

exactly  how  often  “sometimes”  is.  This  word  could  mean  different  things  to  different  

people,  and  could  be  chosen  to  tone  down  the  degree  of  how  often  students  

download  pirated  music.    

Although  a  portion  of  some  did  not  hide  that  they  “always”  download  from  

file-­‐sharing  websites  (12%),  many  could  still  be  dishonest  on  the  illegal  file-­‐sharing  

issue.  The  reasoning  behind  this  is  that  results  indicated  a  high  percentage  of  

34  
students  who  seem  to  be  actively  seeking  new  music  on  a  regular  basis,  but  many  

respondents  also  said  they  say  they  “never”  or  “rarely”  buy  it.  If  students  are  

habitually  searching  for  and  listening  to  new  music,  but  never  purchasing  it,  there  

could  be  two  reasons  for  this.  The  first  is  that  they  are  streaming  all  of  the  music  for  

free  using  ad-­‐based  services  such  as  Spotify,  Pandora,  etc.  The  only  other  way  they  

would  be  getting  their  music  is  by  downloading  it  for  free  through  file-­‐sharing  

websites,  which  is  against  the  law.  Although  it  is  not  certain  that  students  are  

downloading  illegal  music  on  UVM’s  campus,  this  is  something  the  administration  

should  consider  enforcing  about  their  file-­‐sharing  policy.  

Limitations  

Although  there  was  a  significant  amount  of  data  collected  through  the  survey,  

there  were  still  some  shortcomings.  No  survey  is  perfect;  questions  can  always  be  

worded  differently  and  answer  options  can  sometimes  be  limited.  Many  questions  

could  have  also  allowed  for  multiple  answers  as  opposed  to  just  one,  or  more  “all  of  

the  above”  options.  I  left  a  comments  section  at  the  end  of  the  survey  for  students  to  

let  me  know  their  thoughts  or  questions,  which  brought  about  many  suggestions.    

Many  students  felt  limited  on  the  question  regarding  genre,  explaining  that  

was  difficult  to  choose  just  one.  A  method  of  studying  genre  that  may  have  been  

more  effective  for  this  report  would  have  been  a  ranking  order,  allowing  them  to  

choose  their  top  three  or  top  five  types  of  music,  or  perhaps  a  “check  all  that  apply”  

option.    

35  
 One  question  that  was  left  out  of  the  survey  was  about  gender,  which  may  

have  been  useful  to  finding  trends  among  preferences.  Many  experiments  indicate  

that  there  are  differences  in  music  preferences  between  males  and  females  

(Christenson  &  Peterson,  1988),  however  this  study  intended  to  find  the  

overarching  preferences  among  the  whole  university.  It  would  be  very  interesting  to  

conduct  a  separate  study  looking  at  the  relationships  between  gender  differences  

and  music  tastes  among  UVM  students.    

Another  drawback  of  the  surveying  method  was  a  small  chance  of  a  sampling  

bias  due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  conducted  entirely  online  and  on  social  media.  There  

is  a  small  percentage  of  college  students  do  not  use  Facebook,  or  do  not  use  social  

media  at  all,  which  should  also  be  considered,  because  these  students  were  not  

accounted  for  in  this  study.    

Further  Research    
 
This  study  aimed  to  get  an  overall  idea  of  how  UVM  students  are  listening  to  

music  and  asked  a  broad  set  of  questions  regarding  different  subjects.  However,  it  

would  be  interesting  to  conduct  further  research  and  develop  more  detailed  

questions  about  each  of  these  specific  topics.  For  example,  it  would  be  interesting  to  

look  closer  into  how  much  of  college  students’  total  music  collection  is  illegally  

downloaded,  and  how  many  times  per  week  or  month  they  download  illegally.  

Although  it  is  difficult  to  receive  honest  answers  on  touchy  subjects,  these  types  of  

questions  may  explain  the  reasonings  of  music  piracy.  It  would  also  be  interesting  to  

36  
study  students’  current  feelings  and  perceptions  on  the  current  music  industry  by  

asking  for  their  opinions  on  certain  statements.  

Many  studies  that  were  relevant  to  the  literature  review  examined  music  

listening  habits  of  large  samples  of  people.  Thousands  were  studied  in  these  

investigations,  with  a  range  of  ages  from  under  20  to  over  65.  Different  ages  of  

people  generally  have  different  music  listening  habits.  Instead  of  larger  samples  

with  all  age  types,  it  would  be  more  effective  to  break  down  these  age  groups  and  

study  each  one  in  more  detail,  such  as  teens,  college  students,  young  adults,  and  so  

on.    

Conclusion  

  Music  has  been  a  part  of  people’s  everyday  lives  for  hundreds  of  years,  

serving  as  a  source  of  entertainment,  relaxation,  and  inspiration.  It  can  be  heard  

anywhere,  whether  that  is  inadvertent  listening  or  selected  music  being  played  on  a  

device.  The  ways  music  has  changed  over  the  past  several  decades  is  remarkable,  

not  just  in  genre  but  also  in  the  methods  of  listening.    Music  mediums  have  shifted  

significantly,  from  record  players  and  CDs  to  an  entirely  new  digital  archive  of  music  

on  the  Internet.    Today’s  music  industry  has  struggled  to  keep  up  with  rates  of  illegal  

music  downloading,  and  college  students  have  been  known  to  intensify  the  problem.  

Although  most  UVM  students  said  they  only  download  illegal  music  “sometimes,”  

there  may  be  some  fabrication  about  how  often  this  happens.  College  students  do  

not  have  expendable  money,  and  research  has  shown  that  “individuals  who  judge  

music  to  be  too  expensive  are  more  likely  to  illegally  download  songs  online,”  

37  
(Jambon  &  Smetana,  2012).  This  may  further  explain  why  the  college  demographic  

has  exacerbated  the  problem.  

Everyone  has  their  own  personal  tastes  and  preferences  in  music  that  they  

enjoy  talking  about,  which  gives  people  a  way  to  communicate  and  bond  over  a  

mutual  interest.  It  is  said  that  many  people  “reinvent  themselves”  when  coming  to  

college,  and  it  is  interesting  to  see  the  influences  that  friends  and  environment  have  

on  individuals’  tastes  in  music.  Results  of  this  study  indicated  that  many  people’s  

views  on  music  changed  as  they  came  to  college  and  learned  about  more  new  artists.  

Friends,  family,  live  concerts,  and  the  Internet  all  have  influences  on  individuals’  

music  tastes,  and  also  serve  as  sources  for  new  music,  in  addition  to  radio.    

The  University  of  Vermont  has  a  unique  and  individualistic  taste  in  music,  

with  indie  artists  and  jam-­‐rock  bands  dominating  the  musical  preferences  of  the  

college.    This  study  helped  us  gain  a  comprehensive  view  of  UVM’s  music  listening  

preferences,  as  well  as  its  students’  favorite  genres  and  bands.  The  survey  also  

helped  answer  a  variety  of  questions  regarding  listening  habits,  concert  attendance,  

music  piracy,  and  other  important  topics  in  today’s  technologically  dense  society.    

An  important  takeaway  is  that  there  is  not  one  particular  source  for  college  

students’  music,  but  rather  a  combination  of  many  different  sources  and  channels.  

   

38  
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40