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Study Shows That People in Large Cities Listen to a More Diverse Range of Music
From Paris to Berlin to São Paulo: An international research team, including the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (MPIEA) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, investigated how urban life influences music preferences. The researchers analyzed the listening habits of 2.5 million people in France, Brazil, and Germany. They found that city dwellers’ music choices are more diverse and unique than those of rural areas. The study was recently published in the journal Nature Communications.
Bringing together experts from Germany, France, and the United States, the project also involved researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPICBS) in Leipzig, Deezer Research in Paris, and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
First, the team investigated how similar the songs listened to by people in the same region were. Evaluating a total of 250 million listening logs revealed that, in all three countries, the larger the city, the more individualized the music selection. People in large cities shared fewer musical preferences with their neighbors than those in rural parts of the country. At the same time, the personal “listening radius” also expanded with the size of the city—users listened to a broader spectrum of genres and artists.
The personal listening radius also changed across the age spectrum. From adolescence, the diversity of music choices increased rapidly, peaked in their late 20s, and slowly declined thereafter.
“In our 20s, people usually move away from home, meet new people at university or work, and have the time and desire to experiment,” explains first author Harin Lee from the MPIEA. “After we’re over 30, we remain open to new music—we just become more selective.”
Cities Promote Diversity Regardless of Demographics
After taking into account factors such as age, income, education, and social connections, the researchers found that city life has an independent effect on musical diversity. This suggests that urban interactions and experiences play a role in promoting a spirit of discovery and diversity themselves. The findings could also have cultural policy implications.
“There are clear differences in music choices between rural areas and megacities, which could be due in part to a lack of cultural resources,” Lee concludes. “Therefore, investing in venues and arts education outside urban centers could pay off.”
Harin Lee
harin.lee@ae.mpg.de
Lee, H., Jacoby, N., Hennequin, R. & Moussallam, M. (2025). Mechanisms of Cultural Diversity in Urban Populations. Nature Communications, 16, 5192. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60538-2
The research team evaluated audio recordings from 2.5 million people to analyze hearing behavior in ...
Copyright: Photo: Henry Be / Unsplash
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The research team evaluated audio recordings from 2.5 million people to analyze hearing behavior in ...
Copyright: Photo: Henry Be / Unsplash
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