Music Subculture

Music is a seemingly universal art form that penetrates essentially all forms of pop culture while still existing as self-contained form of entertainment. Because of the massive cultural importance of music, many individuals define themselves by their musical interests. This raises a question: do people’s musical likes and dislikes define them? Many studies have been done regarding music and its correlation with personality or behaviours, especially for “harder” genres (punk, metal, etc.). However, there is not a significant amount of data to confirm existing stereotypes regarding the aggression, health, or morality of listeners of hard music genres.
In a study of University of Texas at Austin students, 60 students were paired with each other.

Youth, in particular, gravitate to some of the most striking subculture. Youth who identify with similar subcultures often share similar traits, however, traits shared within a subculture do not necessarily have to be positive or negative. For example, a 2009 Swedish study demonstrated that youth who identify with subcultures that emphasise extreme appearances are more likely to be anxious, shy, or “socially inhibited” than youth who belong to more traditional social groups (Bešić and Kerr, 118). Three major extreme subcultures were examined within the Swedish study: punks, goths and synths. All three are musically influenced, punk and goth subcultures are somewhat universally recognized, with the remaining subculture defined within the study: “synths are named for their interest in electronically synthesized music, and they are recognized by severe, all-black clothing and dyed-black hair” (Bešić and Kerr, 116). Although youth within a subculture may share similar traits, it is important to note that in spite of the significant link between music and subculture, there are important distinctions between the two. Although there is an interesting relationship between hardcore subcultures and associated youth, the correlation between musical interest and personality or behaviour is less

Positive behaviours exhibited by hardcore music fans were examined in a 2009 study. Within the study, the category that included fans of punk, rock, and alternative music were actually more conservative with their money than fans in different categories that included more mainstream genres such as: hip-hop, dance, R&B, and electronic (Leung and Kier, “Spending” 691). Interestingly, within that study, metal, ska and punk genres were additionally grouped together, and it was determined that “this factor [metal, ska and punk genres] did not have any significant relationship with attitude towards money” (Leung and Kier, “Spending” 691). The researcher speculated that the anti-establishment messages within the genres could be a factor, although no concrete explanation was