Authors: Steven Tepper, Eszter Hargittai
Download: PDF (576 KB)
Citation:Â Tepper, Steven & Hargittai, E. (2009). Pathways to Music Exploration in a Digital Age. Poetics. 37(3):227-249.
Abstract
With the increasing spread of information technologies, a growing number of options are available for users to try new cultural products. The rise of new digital media has changed not only how artists create and distribute content, but also how listeners find and access new material. The new options exist in the context of older traditions such as using one's social networks or traditional media to find content. This paper looks at the as of yet largely unexplored terrain of how young consumers of cultural products find music that is new to them in an environment with an unprecedented number of possibilities. Based on original data collection focusing on college students' digital media uses in the realm of music consumption, we compare the prevalence of IT services in the process of finding artistic creations not yet present in the user's repertoire. We find that while students certainly do use digital media to find music new to them, social networks and traditional media such as the radio continue to play a very important role in the course of exploration.
Outline
- Introduction
- Pathways to experimentation
- Data and methods
- Music in the lives of college students
- Popular methods for finding new music
- Explaining differences in music exploration
- Conclusion
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