Demographic Influence On Musical Preferences

Reana Brethen

What impact does socioeconomics and geographic exposure have on musical preference?

Music is derived from person’s roots and their history of said parties. Music evolves at the same fast paced rate as society and is typically influenced from previous genres. Music in specific geographical locations and socioeconomic environments are mostly created based on surrounding issues and hardships that face the parties involved. Many factors effect what musical preferences people enjoy such as ethnicity, background, the areas they reside within and basic income.

There is a wide variety in types of music in different geographical locations. For instance, African music has had a long journey. The beat of the music that tribes created travelled with the Africans when sailing over to America. Eventually, reggae evolved in the Caribbean. In later years, African Americans started singing revolutionized versions of their previous music (Bebey 83). Using the beats of their ancestors, they eventually created gospel, blues, jazz, and etcetera. Even these genres would later branch off and evolve into more contemporary genres such as hip hop and rock n’ roll. (Bebey)

Other cultures also have their own music which have
On the other hand, an individual who grows up in a stable home where they receive attention and may learn to be independent over time may use music to express themselves rather than the individual who uses music as an outlet. These two examples are composed of completely different surroundings of how music preference can be formed. From these two types of examples, one may develop an idea of which social class those persons may reside in. In the United States, people have created stereotypes for the social classes which exist within the