Around the States in 80 Tracks

Research from Songza tunes into the personalities of the states

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Songza

Jun 04, 2012, 04:51 ET

NEW YORK, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The characteristics of a state or region could be defined by the music they listen to, according to a study of US musical tastes commissioned by online music concierge service Songza.

The Songza report surveyed more than 1,000 US music fans about their musical preferences and profiled each state according to their playlists. The research reveals that the nation's song of choice to wake up to is "Somebody I Used to Know" by Goyte (42%); Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" makes half the nation (50%) more productive with their workload; but "Don't Stop Believin" by the Glee cast stirs up deep feelings of resentment and anger in 1 of 4 music fans (26.7%).

In summary, the Songza Report finds that:

  • **Based on musical preferences, and on a lighter note, if key US regions were viewed as an individual, they could be described as:
    • Southern: More outgoing than diligent
    • West Coast: Highly creative
    • East Coast: Gentle and diligent at their job
    • Mid West: Hard working and creative
  • On average, Americans spend slightly more than a year (13 months) of their lives downloading new tunes and creating playlists[1]
  • Just under half of Americans (41.7%) tire of listening to their playlists after the first 5 minutes of listening to new tunes
  • The majority of Americans choose rock music in the morning "to feel confident" (between 4am-9am)
  • When it comes to "getting lucky" and intimate, Americans opt out of Smooth and Mellow music, choosing Skrillex and British Punk to seduce their partners on weekend late nights (12am-4am)
  • The most popular time to listen to music is while exercising (58.3%), while slightly more than a quarter of Americans (25.1%) prefer to unwind to their favorite tracks while cooking
  • The average American spends $6.52 monthly on music downloads, nearly half of what they spent in 2011[2]

Elias Roman, Songza CEO, says, "Regardless of the genre, music has long been an integral part of American culture. We're not surprised to see how tastes, tempos and musical preferences define the characteristics of different regions."

NOTES TO EDITORS

The research, carried out by Songza in association with Survey Monkey, questioned more than 1,000 music fans about their musical preferences from Monday, May 28th to Wednesday, May 30th 2012.

**Personality dimension
Over the past decade, a number of studies have sought to link musical preference with personality. A few broad trends have been found to exist, which means in theory, Songza is able to say something about a state's "character" based on its musical preferences; however, it must be stressed that linking music preference to a state's "character" is still very speculative. The chart to define the personality dimension is available on request.

[1] 75% of those surveyed spend 6 hours of their week downloading new songs
[2] Average US consumers spend on music downloads is $13.31, Bango Omnibus Survey 2011

Contact:
Sabrina Lynch
Tel: 212 219 2787
Email: [email protected]
http://songza.com

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SOURCE Songza