Demographics, social and political statistical aspects of Melodifestivalen

[LalehForWD]

Snapped something interesting from a commentary @ Schlagerprofilerna.

Vem tittar på Melodifestivalen? (in Swedish)
Henrik Ekengren Oscarsson - Professor i statsvetenskap (Political science)

Basically it gives statistical evidence of what is already "known" to us. Every second Swede (53%) watch Melodifestivalen, regardless of social group and political preference. However some patterns can be recognised:
Melodifestivalen watchers categories
* Greater share of the Swedish women
* People interested of media (TV, music etc) in general
* Lives in a city

Nota bene: No pattern for age, profession or social status.

 

[Mannone]

Thanks for the information! Much more interesting though, if not practicable, would be to investigate patterns when it comes to taste in music. Who prefer one song before another? I think these kind of questions are really interesting.

 

[demonl]

Farmers prolly too busy turbo-charging their tractors to watch MF

 

[Mannone]

Farmers prolly too busy turbo-charging their tractors to watch MF

Farmers prolly too obstinate and prejudiced when it comes to rainbow publicity stunts like MF. "Real men" don't watch MF... döh.

 

[Verjamem]

It's true, that Swedes is more interested in MF than Eurovision ?

 

[LalehForWD]

It's true, that Swedes is more interested in MF than Eurovision ?

I would say they are two different events really, where Melodifestivalen have much more support by media. Melodifestivalen pretty much decides participants in for example the Swedish summer shows. Simply put, Melodifestivalen plays important roles in Swedish entertainment business, independent from ESC.

 

[LalehForWD]

Thanks for the information! Much more interesting though, if not practicable, would be to investigate patterns when it comes to taste in music. Who prefer one song before another? I think these kind of questions are really interesting.

I guess you're after the question: Who votes in Melodifestivalen? Good point. Perhaps confirm the teen girls voting power and the silent majority which sometimes show their strength.

But taste differs over time in the short sense and the long sense. For example last night I digged Amaranthe's wonderful shameless mix of pop and metal. This morning I listened to Jussi Björling and the shoegazing Alcest. I'm notoriously unfaithful to genres, in fact I hate genres. I wouldn't know what to answer if questioned about taste. In Melodifestivalen I have a hard time to pick a favourite initially, so I vote for several artists in the semis. Hopefully some of my choices make it to the final. I guess most watchers are there just to have a good time and their overview of the songs pretty random. I believe most actually pick the winner as they watch the program.

 

[Mannone]

I guess you're after the question: Who votes in Melodifestivalen? Good point. Perhaps confirm the teen girls voting power and the silent majority which sometimes show their strength.

But taste differs over time in the short sense and the long sense. For example last night I digged Amaranthe's wonderful shameless mix of pop and metal. This morning I listened to Jussi Björling and the shoegazing Alcest. I'm notoriously unfaithful to genres, in fact I hate genres. I wouldn't know what to answer if questioned about taste. In Melodifestivalen I have a hard time to pick a favourite initially, so I vote for several artists in the semis. Hopefully some of my choices make it to the final. I guess most watchers are there just to have a good time and their overview of the songs pretty random. I believe most actually pick the winner as they watch the program.

Spot on. Taste differs and that was also my motivation not to assign a ranking when i posted my top 50's all-time in the Lugano-Oslo (LO - hoho) forum earlier today. I'm completely unfaithful to genres too, but I'm also certain that many (if not most) people are rather faithful and rigidly constrained to a few genres.

I had a conversation with a new friend the other day, whom I've recently met, and it was time to share our music. And somehow I nailed his taste in music when he let me guess. Metal, heavy metal and even heavier non-rhythmic noise. How could I suspect that his taste in music would confirm that stereotype in my mind - "the leisurely peaceful mind listening to heavy metal"? Why are some people just very faithful to genres and others not? The study you referred to implies that it has nothing to do with level of education, and certainly not with intelligence either.

This example: Vybz Kartel - Real BadMan (Gaza World Riddim) APRIL 2011 {TJ REC} - YouTube
Why do I love that song, and why do I find it catchy and fluent to the point worthy of imitation, while this same friend of mine just hear "a maniac wrangling around" (his words in swedish: "en galning som käftar omkring"). Am I mad? I don't consider myself to be mad. I have a normal education. I just think that song has a perfect flow. Moreover, he replies to me by sending the following piece of metal and I just don't get it. I never will. Mercyful Fate "Come to the Sabbath" - YouTube

Is it about lyrics? Does he react in a negative way on what the lyrics are about? Nah, it can't be about lyrics. I can barely hear a word they say. You just don't care about lyrics when you listen at music. Or do you? Honestly, at least I have never taken notice of lyrics. Not consciously.

How much does your taste in music tell about you? Why are some people bound to few genres of music while others are not? I truly love these kind of questions.

What do you think, Laleh? Are you the prophetess I'm looking for?

 

[LalehForWD]

^ Haha metalheads are introvert puritans and obsessed with "real" xxxx-metal (replace xxxx with metal genre of your choice). They fancy well recognisable patterns e.g. guitar-riffs which only differing in details, over new combinations, ie variations over the well known. The Americans are the most conservative, but on the other hand often excel in simple pure energy. As you probably know Scandinavians are huge in metal and have been so for decades. I get the impression that the type of person who are into metal differ from Europe and the US. Generalisations are always wrong, but this is working class music in the US while music for the more refined tasters in Europe. Personally I'm pretty allergic to the machismo wailing singers common in classic heavy metal/glam metal - hate it with passion - so majority of the classic metal isn't listenable to me. Instead it's the pompous, dynamic, dramatic symphonic metal that attracts me most. Best example is Dutch Epica's Design Your Universe (A New Age Dawns, Part VI) (Blocked on Spotify/WiMP for Swedes ). Fantastic great music!!

No I don't think you can make any assumptions on people based on their music taste, although it's often done. Happens to me all the time when people think I have a cheesy taste (talking about Melodifestivalen or Loreen). It's just to laugh about such anxious insecure hipster behaviour. I would say for music taste there are two traps which are easy to get caught in:
1) Limit yourself away from things you DON'T like instead of looking for things you like. Huge difference. It's very easy to dislike things and be content with the familiar. The work involved to grasp the new or different is developing, but difficult and hard.
2) Always looking for and fancy the new, the latest, the trendiest and using the word "dated". Obviously there is no such thing as dated music. I get caught here very often.

 

[Mannone]

Intuitive assumptions and generalisations are often doomed to failure. I'm more interested in any research that may present significant results, like the study you introduced in this thread. Then I do think you may find significant differences for some variables. Maybe not ordinary unimaginative demographic variables like age, gender, level of education, will show much of value, but I'm sure something will. Time spent in prison? Do that affect your choice in music? Whether you lost a parent as a child or suffer from some kind of PTSD? I want to collect data for everything. What kind of soul choose what type of music?

But we seem to agree on this matter. I like your number 1 and 2. There is no such thing as "dated" music. Maybe more modern music, but never "outdated" genres. Regarding metal, I actually don't even think my friends, the metal heads, know very much about metal sub-genres. They just listen to the ordinary hard rock bands (Volbeat? Sabaton? Disturbed? - or whatever they have been trying to fob off on me) and despise everything else, in their eyes, "cheesy", "childish" or "sickly-sweet". Maybe I just have too many unpolished friends that simply aren't interested in organizing their metal. You, on the opposite, are interested in music and actively searching for music within the metal field. Accordingly, you seem to be thoroughly conversant with it.

Anyway, Epica wasn't so unbearable after all. Still not for me. And what is with metal bands always making songs that never ends?