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Like at first sight, lasting love? Attachments to Music on Streaming Platforms

Jean-Samuel Beuscart and Samuel Coavoux will present their research attachments to music in the digital age at the next seminar.

Event, Research Seminar

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Salle K.011, 1 place Saint Thomas d'Aquin 75007 Paris

Abstract

Streaming platforms have become the dominant way people access music. They are accused of devaluing the aesthetic experience: as music becomes ubiquitous, it is more and more a background noise for daily activities. How do platform users build tastes, i.e. ties between ego and selected tracks, albums, and artists? We use a mixed-methods research on two platforms, YouTube and Deezer, combining interviews (n=90) with the analysis of detailed logs of the music played and playlisted by a sample of 12,000 Deezer subscribers, to investigate this question.

We study digital attachments in three steps. First, we analyse the processes through which users build attachments through material inscriptions of music works in playlists. We distinguish three configurations of taste-building: 'comfort in the flow', 'the big playlist', and 'the distillation process'. Secondly, we focus on personal playlists to explore the nature of attachments formed in streaming contexts. This enables us to discuss the idea that digital music is “backgrounded” by comparing playlists centred on contexts, personal moods, or music itself. Finally, we analyse socio-demographic variations in these attachment practices and discuss the idea that curating playlists is a new form of distinction.

Biography

Samuel Coavoux is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at ENSAE/CREST. He studies cultural inequalities and digital consumption.
Jean-Samuel Beuscart is a Professor of Sociology at Sciences Po médialab. He studies the digitization of markets and consumption.

Practical information

The session will take place on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, in person and in English at Sciences Po, Room K.011, 1 Place Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin, Paris 75007.

Registration is mandatory via this link.