What radio can do to increase a song's appeal: A study of Canadian music presented to American college students

Abstract

Four experiments examined whether it was possible to quickly and easily increase the appeal of unfamiliar rock songs presented to American college students. In Experiment 1, reading an essay about an artist increased the appeal of the artist's songs, but repeated exposure to the songs did not. In Experiments 2a and 2b, repeatedly following an affectively neutral song with a liked song increased the appeal of the first song. In Experiment 3, listening to a music critic praise a song increased the song's appeal. These results show that intramusical and intrapersonal strategies, evaluative conditioning, and persuasion by authority can be used to increase a song's appeal. It should be possible for radio stations to use these cost-effective techniques to expand their playlists without a net loss of listeners. Copyright © 2009 Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research.