How Do Consumers Interpret The Meaning Of Listening Music In Trains

 How do consumers interpret the meaning of listening music in trains? 

Introduction

When people travel in trains, they are subjected to a wide variety of sounds originating from different sources. The different variety of sounds gets intermixed, resulting in distortion of original sounds, for example, Music from headphones, mobile ringtones, Music from speakers from iPads etc. These musical sources get mingled with other sounds like train announcements, conversations among passengers etc. Different consumers interpret Music differently. The purpose of this study is to understand how consumers interpret the meaning of listening to Music in trains. Research should be conducted for this as it would help to understand how consumers perceive listening Music in trains. The data for this study can be collected via primary research. This study was chosen as a limited study has been done in understanding the consumer’s perception of listening to Music on the train.

Research Objectives

• To explore the different factors impacting the music preference among consumers
• To understand how the music genre impacts music preference in consumers.
• Understand how do one’s personality and personality trait impact the interpretation of listening Music in train

Literature Review

Music is present in each and every corner. It is lined with train stations, airports and retail shops. It accompanies ball games, television programs and movies. Producers implement it to promote their goods and services while exercise, massage and yoga studios implement it to invigorate or relax their customers. Hence, all these applications of Music have been used as a base, and many of them prefered Music for their own purpose of listening. It was evident that Americans spent most of the time listening to Music (Huran, 2001). It is evident that on average, American spent more than 5 hours a day on listening to Music (McCormick, 2009; Levitin, 2006).

When it is a matter of selecting their own Music, individuals determine evidently various tastes. However, there is little awareness about the standards on which preferences of Music of an individual depend upon. An issue to such research was that Music is implemented for several objectives. One key implementation of Music in modern society was aesthetic appreciation and pure enjoyment (Levarie and Kohut, 1950). Another key implementation of Music is related to the ability of Music to encourage physical movement and dance (Ronstrom, 1999; Large, 2000; Dwyer, 1995). Most of the individual only implement Music occasionally, especially during enhancement and regulation of mood (Roe, 1985; Gosling and Rentfrow, 2003; Hargreaves and North, 1996). Teenagers reported that they implement Music for a mode of mood management, for minimizing loneliness, to distract from troubles and as a badge of recognize for intragroup and intergroup self-definition (Rentfrow and Gosling, 2006; Bleich, et al., 1991; Rentfrow, et al., 2009; Gan and Zillmann, 1997). Young adults and teenagers get inspired from their friends for listening Music as their friends prefer to listen to Music as their friends prefer to listen and this influence to define their social identification, musical preferences and tastes of Music (Hortacsu and Tekman, 2002; Scully and Creed, 2000). Music is also implemented to enhance cognitive function and concentration, to regulate vigilance and alertness and enhance the productivity of worker (Schellenberg, 2004; Emery, et al., 2003). Historically, it was evident that Music has been implemented for coordinating or motivating physical labour, expression of cognitive or physical fitness, transmission and preservation of ritual, religion and oral knowledge, comfort and social bonding (Levitin, 2008). 

Anderson and Cattell (1953) carried out research based on individual differences in music tastes, and preferences. The objective of the research was to establish a technique for determining dimensions of personality and unconscious traits. Cattell and Anderson (1953) established a music preference examination which consists of 120 jazz and classical music quotations. The authors then attempted to determine twelve aspects which they described based on personality and unconscious traits. Cattell and Anderson (1953) suggested that music preferences reflected on unconscious desires, urges and motives. The contemporary opinion given by Cattell and Anderson (1953) was that preferences of Music are demonstrations of specific psychological traits, probably in connection with particular constraints or experiences. Particularly, recent investigation on preferences of Music concludes through interactionist concepts suggested that individual seek musical surroundings that reflect and reinforce their emotions, attitudes and personalities (Swann, et al., 2002). Gosling and Rentfrow (2003) investigated individual distinctness in music preferences using 14 wide music genres in three samples of US. Outcomes from all three pieces of research assembled to conclude four aspects of music preferences that were complex and reflective (comprising blues, folk, jazz and classical genres, religious and intense (heavy metal, alternative, rock), conventional and upbeat (religious, soundtracks, pop, country) and rhythmic and energetic (electronica, soul, rap). In an investigation of music preferences among teenagers of Dutch, Delsing, et al. (2008) determined music preference for eleven music genres. It was observed that there are four aspects of music preferences. They are rock (comprising gothic, Hardrock / heavy metal, grunge/hardcore/trance, rap/hip-hop), urban (soul, rap), elite (gospel, jazz, classical) and pop (techno/trance, charts/top40). Colley (2008) examined self-addressed preferences for eleven music genres among students of British University. It was revealed that there are four aspects of music preferences such as sophisticated, heavy, rebellious and mainstream.