A Framework for an Empirical Evaluation of Popular Music
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22008204 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cevin Soling (0000-0003-0140-8879), John Stauffer (0000-0002-0126-0301), Laura Dodge |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 446-468 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-09 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Interdisciplinary Literary Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2161-427X • E-ISSN: 1524-8429 |
| Publisher | The Pennsylvania State University Press (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.5325/intelitestud.27.4.0446 |
| OpenAlex | W7118191697 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 19 |
Popular music criticism often includes ratings where reviewers ascribe a number out of ten or a number of stars or something similar. In addition, institutions such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or music magazines such as Rolling Stone select and grade artists and songs they deem exemplary. The process by which critics and institutions evaluate music is not founded on any transparent, established objective metrics, so personal tastes and other biases likely play a significant role in their critical ratings. The present research examines whether academic reviewers can consistently assess songs by evaluating specific features. The findings suggest that the process of judging music quality through approaches that are not replicable and not operationalized is unreliable due to the absence of any methodology, and that assessments of academic reviewers are largely consistent, whereby a more reliable and less biased approach to rating popular music can be implemented
Criticism · Empirical research · Operationalization · Popular music · Diverse Music Education Insights · Music History and Culture · Social and Cultural Dynamics
Emotional Effects Of Music
From the functions of music to music preference
“Like static noise in a beautiful landscape”
“Just the Way You Are”
A Language of Its Own
Discophilie or Discomanie
Computer-based music feature analysis mirrors human perception and can be used to measure individual music preference
The structure of musical preferences
A circumplex model of affect
The do re mi's of everyday life
An Authoritarian Panacea
Don't patronize me
| Highly cited | No |
|---|