A Study on the Relationship Between Musical Genre Preference and Sociodemographic Factors : Focusing on Gender, Generation, Education, and Political Orientation

This study explores the influence of key socio-demographic factors- gender, generation, educational attainment, and political orientation-on individual preferences for music genres. A survey was conducted with 400 adult respondents who regularly listen to music, examining their preferences across six genres: ballad, dance, hip-hop, rock, trot, and classical. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to identify patterns of association, with polynomial regression models applied to certain genres to account for nonlinear generational effects. The results indicate that generation is a significant predictor for most genres, particularly showing nonlinear relationships in ballad, dance, and hip-hop preferences. Gender differences emerged as well, with women showing a stronger preference for dance and classical music, and men for rock. Educational attainment was significantly related only to classical music, with higher-educated individuals reporting greater preference. Notably, political orientation showed contrasting tendencies between rock and trot, where liberal individuals were more likely to prefer rock while conservative individuals tender to prefer trot. Although the overall explanatory power of the regression models was modest, the findings suggest that musical taste reflects not only individual preferences but also broader socio-cultural identities. This study contributes to the literature by incorporating political orientation into the analysis of music preference and by highlighting genre-based distinctions as a meaningful lens for understanding patterns of musical taste.