R+P Post 2: Myself as a music consumer

When?
I listen to music every day and it has become part of my daily routine. As music is my main interest I listen to a large variety of music every day. I listen to my own music on my journey to and from school and when I am doing school work. I listen to more relaxing music towards the end of the day and while I am doing work so I can focus.

Where?
I listen to music:

• On the bus/train
• In the car
• In my bedroom 
• At friends houses
• At parties and in clubs
• At festivals and concerts

Who with?

I listen to music not only by myself but also with friends and family. However the music that I listen to by myself is different to the music I listen to with my family and different to the music I listen to with my friends.

How?

I mainly listen to music from my laptop at home or from my iPhone when I'm not at home. I also enjoy live music and going to concerts as well as listening to music in clubs to dance to. I enjoy listening to music when getting ready to go out as it puts me in a good mood.

Why? 

People can associate music with memories and emotions and therefore music can be pleasurable for a consumer as it can put them in a good mood or bring back positive memories. For example a consumer could listen to music before a night out to put them in an energetic mood, or before they go to sleep to relax themselves. Music can be used as a form of escapism or can equally be social as listening to music with friends for example at a live concert can be an enjoyable experience. 

Childhood

I remember listening to the song 'Smile' by Lily Allen a lot as a child as I remember my older sister and her friends playing it a lot at our house, and as I looked up to them a lot I also listened to it. It made me feel cool and grown up when I listened to it as I thought my sister and her friends were cool.

Early Teens

In my early teens I went through a faze where I enjoyed more 'indie' music such as Two Door Cinema Club. The song 'Something Good Can Work' was mine and my close friends favorite song and I have distinct memories of seeing this song live at Alexandra Palace which was an extremely fun experience.

Today:

The song 'Wile Out' by Ms Dynamite holds a lot of memories for me as I have seen her perform it live once in 2015 summer at Reading festival and twice in 2016 summer at Boom Town festival and Notting Hill Carnival. Therefore the song holds lots of memories of good times with my friends for me and always puts me in a good mood. 

To conclude peoples music taste evidently changes significantly as they grow up, as people get older they are able to make more conscious decisions about the music they want to listen to rather than being influenced by friends, family and current trends. Music has many gratifications for the listener:

• diversion
• personal relationships
• personal identity

 but the main reason I think people listen to music is to set a particular mood for a situation. The uses and gratifications theory will be useful during this project so we can tailor our video and marketing in order to gratify the needs of the audience. Music can hold memories for people and change their mood. People also consume music in many different ways in different situations. This research will be useful for my project as it will help us tailor our artist identity, marketing and brand to suit our target audience and the ways they consume music.