Canadian Sociology Study Seeks to Identify and Explain Musical Snobs

If we’re honest, we’re all music snobs to some extent. But what shapes those musical tastes? Why do you hate and disdain some genres of music while loving others? What is it about our environments that make us the music fans we are?

FYI Music News points us to a study published in the Canadian Review of Sociology entitled “Class Position and Musical Tastes: A Sing-Off between the Cultural Omnivorism and Bourdieusian Homology Frameworks”(sexy title, huh?) seeks to explain things.  It was written by Gerry Veenstra at the University of British Columbia who polled about 1,600 people in Vancouver and Toronto on their musical preferences.

Here’s the topline summary:

• Canadians in lower income classes (and with less education) show a preference for country, disco, easy listening, oldies, metal and rap.
• Canadians in higher income and (and with more education) dig pop, rock, reggae, classical, blues, jazz, opera, world music and musical theatre.

I have no idea what you can do with this information, but try not to abuse it.