Commentary

Do Musical Tastes Reflect Your Political Affiliation?

One pastime that crosses all political and demographic barriers is a propensity to listen to music. A recent Nielsen Music 360 study put political affiliation in the crosshairs. It analyzed the different musical tastes of Republican, Democratic, Independent and unaffiliated voters.

Particularly looking at the Independent and unaffiliated groups, can we make any assumptions about their political leanings, based on their music preferences?

According to the study, Independents are 17% more likely to listen to classic rock ‘often’ than the general population, and 25% more likely to ‘often’ listen to classical music. None of these selections match up with either Republicans or Democrats.

Independents are 11% less likely than the general population to be avid country listeners, which is the most listened to genre among Republicans, and 12% less likely to listen to R&B, the preferred genre among Democrats.

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When looking for influencers or surrogates that might attract Independent voters, music might not be the most effective approach. Per Nielsen data, 63% of Independents say they are tuned into current events, more likely than Republicans or Democrats.

We can safely assume that Independents weigh their choices based on policy and political acumen. As their registration suggests, they don't react based on custom, which might be the case with many Democrats and Republicans.

Unaffiliated voters, who skew younger -- 45% more likely to be Millennials, have music tastes that understandably match more closely that of registered Democrats. They are 22% more likely to be avid R&B listeners, and 12% more likely to listen often to rap. Unaffiliated voters are also 13% less likely to be avid country music listeners.

The musical tastes of unaffiliated voters match closely that of Democrats, which is likely due to the younger age demographic. The similarity may also be useful when courting those voters through surrogates and at political events.

In reality, many Independents and undecided voters have already made their choice for president. According to Reuters, only 9 million people, or 7% of registered voters, are still undecided. Of course, with many states pretty much already in the bag for either Clinton or Trump, the crucial number that can make a difference is probably significantly lower.

1 comment about "Do Musical Tastes Reflect Your Political Affiliation?".
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  1. Robert Barrows from R.M. Barrows, Inc. Advertising & Public Relations, October 7, 2016 at 3:09 p.m.

    For some great political music, treat yourself to a FREE CLIP of a song I co-wrote called "Run For Office" at www.barrows.com/music.html

    "Run For Office" is a satire about power, politics, sex, lies, money and greed...all the stuff that politics is made of.

    The people will love this song...politicians will hate it. There is also a link on that page where you can download the song for 99 cents on iTunes. 

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