Music Curation And Tastes

I was working with a client, and after I went through the basics of making a song, which he picked up pretty quickly, he commented, “So, in the end, it all comes down to music tastes.” What he meant by that is that technicalities are always a part of what anyone can learn, but if you don’t have good tastes, your music can’t be saved. If you’ve been working with me, you will know that one thing I coach students with is to avoid using words like good, extraordinary, cool, weird, or anything else that is an arbitrary term to refer to a sound. Besides being arbitrary, I avoid those terms because they don’t point out what one refers to; is it the punch? The clarity? The width? What does the student find cool, exactly?

Returning to music tastes makes an artist make or break it. But perhaps it is a bit more complicated, too. It fuels conversations and debates online, such as why some artists whose music we intensely dislike get much attention and praise. Is the problem the masses or our tastes?

This raised the question: can tastes be shaped or developed? Can we still strive if our tastes don’t match what the average listener wants to hear?

Or should one’s tastes adapt to the mass and lose their individuality?

Let’s examine tastes, where they come from, and how musicians become who they are.

Where Do Music Tastes Come From?

 

Music taste is shaped by a mix of psychological, cultural, and neurological factors. It combines exposure, emotional associations, personal identity, and cognitive processing.

 

Exposure & Familiarity: The Mere Exposure Effect

 

The first point regarding tastes and how they develop comes from what you’re exposed to. As a kid, your parents will be your first influences, as will the context in which you grow up. Countries like Brazil have a strong musical culture because people practice and grow up with music. I remember going there and seeing people singing or constantly listening to music. As I grew up, it was common to have the radio turned on, and it would either be talking shows or music that would play. Wherever you’d go, music was pretty much coming from the radio, often in restaurants or in shops. This is less common now as streaming has changed our surroundings, with people deciding what to play in their commerce.

We tend to like what we hear often. The more we’re exposed to certain sounds, the more we prefer them. This method was an aggressive method by commercial radios that could play the same songs over a rotation of a few hours. If the radio plays, people will get used to the same songs, and new ones will be introduced shyly until they become popular.

In this system, people are dictated to what they should appreciate. If I think of the average person not intentionally exposing themselves to new music, their tastes would be pretty rigid, and venturing off wouldn’t be an option. It’s the same for some people who go to a club and expect a specific musical direction not to change too much, as predictability is an element that can be reassuring if you have particular tastes.

Since exposure breaks the taste, some songs one might not like can grow on them. As a label owner, there are songs that I automatically flag as something that can win me over after a moment, and I listen to them a few times before deciding if I like them.

 

TIP: If you’re a musician, exposing yourself to random radio stations and visiting clubs you usually never go to is undoubtedly necessary to help nurture the plasticity of your music tastes.

 

If you read this blog, you’ll know that one thing I share about what people are looking for in music is familiarity but with a novelty twist. It is related to how we consume music as well. When there is a craving for music, more than often, we have a go-to genre or song we will go for.

 

Emotional Associations & Memory

 

Like scents, music can teleport you back to the past, bringing back certain moments or events with which it was associated. It is known that the brain releases dopamine when we listen to music that emotionally moves us. If we relate to events, festivals, or clubs, we can become interested in a new genre or song when seeing it in context, surrounded by a crowd of people who all move to it, creating momentum.

I have enjoyed going to festivals and loving to dance to music in the company of friends. I have vivid memories of spending quality time with people. We look at each other and are excited by appreciating a special moment where the music fits the mood perfectly. While I’ve been going to the MUTEK for 25 years now, there are people I exclusively see there and have been seeing them for that long, every year. After you meet people a few times and enjoy the music in their company, there will be more sharing and getting to know them, which leads to deeper friendships than just listening to music.

It’s one of the reasons I love the music I love today, which is partly linked to memorable moments of joy. Nowadays, I like to see people Shazaming music at events. It tells me they want to know more of the exact song they wish to bring to their life afterwards.

 

TIP: One exercise I give people I coach is to keep a journal of music that brings back souvenirs and emotions. Being in touch with your musical world is a way of reconnecting with periods of one’s life. As a musician, you are the sum of all the moments you collected, music-wise. To have your own glossary is also a way of getting inspiration.

 

 

 

Cultural Influence & Social Identity

 

The urban tribal music of today could be punk/Goth, techno, hip-hop, or ambient, as they gather people for community events of celebration. Those events have their codes, sometimes their dressing standards and habits, which is a way of creating culture and developing identity. People want to find their way to find their purpose in the eco-system, either by wanting to create events, be musicians, have a venue or any other way to contribute.

Music is the common thread that brings everyone together, which means it needs specific characteristics to fit the codes. If one is not a contributor in some ways, they are music lovers who are there for the atmosphere and a certain quality of sound. Seeing your community appreciating the music can shape your tastes. Seeing the crowd enjoying the music is a form of validation that one can go for.

Since each community follows specific music directions, while two places might enjoy the same music, they might also have different appreciations. Imagine two clubs enjoying the same music but one having a more extensive, more precise sound system. It might educate the crowd to be more attentive to details. Some venues with lesser-quality sound might rely on the friendliness of the attendees as their community glue. Having lesser quality sound might mean that artists who are selectors of a specific type of sound might work better.

This shapes the culture of the clubgoer.

TIP: Are you aware of the places and venues you attend for music and what makes it unique? Sometimes, thinking about what you love about it can reveal much about your music needs.

Cognitive Processing & Pattern Recognition

 

How your brain functions can influence your tastes. Some people like complex music (jazz, prog rock, avant-garde electronic) because their brains enjoy deciphering intricate patterns. Being exposed to more challenging music can also mean that you’ve come across many expositions to music and need to be challenged more. Your brain can influence how you listen to music.

For instance, if challenging music is your thing, there are fewer chances that you will listen to complex music in the background. While one might consume music in that way, it might also be mushed entirely up because if played at a low volume, all the textures might disappear.

Others prefer simple, catchy structures because their brains prioritize immediate emotional connection. The “Predictability vs. Surprise” balance is key: we enjoy music that surprises us just enough without feeling completely random. Your understanding of music makes you appreciate different aspects of music that one who doesn’t know much about it might not perceive. This is the same for any art or food. The more you know, the deeper the connection can be.

 

Regarding the various levels of music listening, here are some that come to my mind:

 

Deep Listening  (Intentional, immersive, full attention)

• Pauline Oliveros coined the term deep listening, which is about fully immersing yourself in sound and absorbing every detail with heightened awareness.
• It involves active engagement with the sonic space, textures, and emotions.
• Can be meditative, introspective, or analytical.

Technique for Musicians: Try “blind listening”—close your eyes, take notes on timbre, structure, dynamics, and spatial depth.

 

Critical Listening  (Technical, analytical, mix-focused)

• Musicians, producers, and engineers use it to dissect music on a technical level.
• Focuses on sound quality, mix balance, stereo field, EQ, dynamics, and production choices.
• It often requires repeated listens to analyze details like compression, transients, or stereo width.

 

Analytical Listening  (Structural, theoretical, compositional)

• It is more about music theory, form, and arrangement than mix engineering.
• It involves breaking down chord progressions, melody, harmony, rhythm, and motif development.
• Often used by composers, instrumentalists, and theorists.

 

Focused Listening   (Engaged, but not hyper-analytical)

• A balance between pleasure and analysis—you’re paying attention but not dissecting every note.
• Common among serious music fans, critics, and artists.
• It’s more about experiencing the entire track rather than breaking it apart.

 

Background Listening  (Passive, environmental, secondary)

• Music playing while doing another activity (working, cooking, reading, driving).
• Less conscious attention, but still influences mood and perception.
• Often, lyric-focused genres become blurred into ambiance.

 

Emotional Listening   (Nostalgic, mood-driven, cathartic)

• Music is primarily felt rather than analyzed.
• Associated with memories, experiences, and deep emotions.
• Lyrics and storytelling play a substantial role.

 

Physical Listening 💃🔊 (Bodily, dance-oriented, rhythm-focused)

• Music is experienced through movement—how sound interacts with the body.
• Often bass-driven and rhythmic.
• Common in clubs, raves, live performances.

 

Algorithmic Listening  (Streaming, AI-influenced, discovery-driven)

• A new mode of listening driven by streaming platforms.
• People let algorithms decide what plays next, shaping taste over time.
• This can lead to passive consumption rather than active music engagement.

 

Ritualistic Listening  (Spiritual, ceremonial, trance-inducing)

• It is used for meditation, religious ceremonies, shamanic rituals, and profound mental states.
• Often repetitive and trance-like, focusing on sonic immersion rather than melody.
• Ancient traditions have used drumming, drones, and overtone singing to induce altered states.

Personality & Mood

 

While how your brain works can influence your tastes, it is the same for your personality. It is almost cliche to relate to how specific demographics of people tend towards certain types of music, but you can also get a few hints of someone’s personality based on the music they enjoy. Based on your mood, you might be tempted to complement your emotional state by combining a specific genre.

Studies suggest that certain personality traits correlate with music taste:

• • Open-minded people are more likely to explore jazz, world music, and experimental genres. This is also a state of mind one might have on specific occasions.
  • Extroverts: Prefer high-energy, danceable music. Outgoing music is often pop, appealing to people’s general tastes. Easy-going music is often for extroverts to sing on.
  • Introverts Tend to enjoy more profound, more atmospheric music. They might feel a need to escape through music.
  • Neurodivergent minds: Often gravitate towards intricate, detailed sound design or repetitive, structured beats (e.g., techno, ambient, IDM). It can also be music that needs to get them interested with many sounds.

TIP: Is your music craving based on your current mood, or is it to induce yourself into a different one?

Since many musicians are neurodivergent, they tend to worry that people will be bored by their music. The truth is that they often overexpose themselves to their music, trying to fix anything that might be boring.

Sound & Timbre Preferences

 

Our ears get trained over time. Producers and engineers often develop a taste for sound design and mix quality. However, non-musicians might also develop an interest in music with a specific tone or aesthetic. A good example is dub techno, where the common thread is the washy pads and reverb.

Some people love EDM music for the intense sound design modulation on synths and the predictable drops. Eventually, some characteristics of one genre might cross over to another, which is one reason people might jump from one genre to another. Overexposure might also create aversion.

Also, If you spend years tweaking synths, you may become hypersensitive to modulation depth, harmonics, and spatialization, influencing what sounds “good” to you.

TIP: Developing your vocabulary on specific sounds that are interesting can help you understand these.

Algorithmic Influence & Reinforcement Loops

 

Streaming platforms (Spotify and YouTube) subtly shape our taste by reinforcing what we already like. Their recommendation engines push us toward similar sounds, reducing exposure to new styles. Some say that some YouTube channels are a modern take on what labels used to be because they might publish music from certain artists. One strategy these guys have is blending their music with the recommendations YouTube will propose to people, gaining more traction and followers. Each streaming sites

Some people “fight back” by deliberately seeking obscure or challenging music to avoid getting trapped in a musical bubble. The recent surge in the popularity of vinyl records is another way for people to drop out of the algorithmic influence.

🔹 Example: If you mainly listen to ambient techno, your recommendations will continue reinforcing that unless you intentionally explore different genres.

TIP: Releasing music is not the only option for your music. You could also simply give it to a Youtube channel.

Final tips

Your music tastes might be internally rooted or be influenced by your surroundings. Creating a community and attending music that offers music to your tastes are essential, as well as following people known to have unique tastes. BBC Radio 6 have selectors known for their tastes, but you can also count on some DJs who run radio shows or have been playing for a long time to be references and educators. For a while, I remember that when we would play sets, we would always test the crowd with challenging music between crowd-pleasers. We’d look at each other, saying, “That one is for the education.” If the crowd slowed down, we knew we were probably opening new interest, but it takes time.