Music sharing progresses from social activity to way of life
The Lee Clarion's Spotify account is home to the playlists created from surveys of Lee students.
Photo by Ariel Hensley, Senior Life Reporter
In the age of digital streaming, sharing music has developed into a means of self-expression and fostering relationships.
According to a Nielsen article, the average Millennial music listener streams 39.7 hours of music a week on varying devices, but especially smartphones. The most popular streaming platforms are Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music.
These music apps curate playlists based on the songs you have previously listened to, and YouTube similarly recommends videos based on your viewing history. This constant flow of music suggestions inevitably leads to the discovery of new genres and fresh artists.
Sophomore biochemistry major Jaret Youmans said he listens to music while he runs, does homework, walks to class, drives his car, stands in the shower—wherever and whenever he can.
“I listen to music nonstop because it’s kind of shaped me into the person I am today,” Youmans said. “It’s been a constant throughout my life.”
With countless songs at one’s fingertips, music is inescapable. No matter the artists or genre, it is everywhere we go.
In a survey conducted by the Clarion, 81.8% of Lee University student respondents listen to alternative and indie artists, 77.3% prefer pop, and the rest vary between rap, Christian, country, podcasts and the many sub-genres within.
The same survey yielded over 200 results listing participants’ favorite artists, ranging from pop/rock artists like The 1975, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish to indie/folk artists such as Johnnyswim, Novo Amor and The Lumineers to Christian artists like Bethel Music, Chris Renzema and so forth.
Youmans personally listed Cage the Elephant, Twenty One Pilots, LANY, Bad Suns and Mumford and Sons, all of which fall under different genres.
It is evident that music preferences are spread across the board depending on the person, but one thing many people have in common is the openness to share and explore new genres and artists.
Junior cinema major Taylor Payne believes sharing music and highlighting the details of songs is one way to express your personality and serves as a great conversation starter.
“[When you share music with someone], they might be like, 'Wow, I love that too,' and you can kind of get to know more about them just by the music they listen to,” Payne said.
According to an article from The Conversation, our relationship with music is intimate and personal, yet sharing it, especially on social media, is a clever and advantageous approach to forming connections with others.
“We use music to identify and announce particular tastes, values and messages. We allow music to speak for us, organising our ‘emotional and narrative lives and identities,’” The Conversation reports. “Spotify’s true strength lies in its capacity for sharing what you’re listening to with your friends, and as annoying as that can be at times, your consumption reflects outward from you as a recommendation.”
As a social experiment, the Lee Clarion will be creating monthly playlists based on the top five artists the participants in the survey submitted.
Categorized by genre, each playlist will feature tracks from the listed artists, as well as similar artists within that genre.
Playlists will be available on Spotify and Apple Music and will be shared on the Clarion’s social media pages.
If you would like to make song suggestions, please email Ariel Hensley at ahensl01@leeu.edu.
