Personality traits predict music taxonomy preferences

Abstract

Music streaming services increasingly incorporate additional music taxonomies (i.e., mood, activity, and genre) to provide users different ways to browse through music collections. However, these additional taxonomies can distract the user from reaching their music goal, and influence choice satisfaction. We conducted an online user study with an application called "Tune-A-Find," where we measured participants' music taxonomy choice (mood, activity, and genre). Among 297 participants, we found that the chosen taxonomy is related to personality traits. We found that openness to experience increased the choice for browsing music by mood, while conscientiousness increased the choice for browsing music by activity. In addition, those high in neuroticism were most likely to browse for music by activity or genre. Our findings can support music streaming services to further personalize user interfaces. By knowing the user's personality, the user interface can adapt to the user's preferred way of music browsing.