‘Tis the season: Music-playlist preferences for the seasons.

Previous research on contextual correlates of musical taste has considered micro level influences extensively, but has yet to consider macro-level factors, such as time of year. The literature concerning seasonal correlates of mood and behavior suggests that colder weather is associated with low activity and a reflective cognitive style while warmer weather is associated with higher activity levels. Analyses of the season-based playlist music preferences of 402 participants as measured by their ratings of 24 adjectival descriptors of music indicated three dimensions: arousing, serene, and melancholy. Findings demonstrate listener preferences for arousing music for the warmer months, serene music for spring, and melancholy music for the cooler months. Consequently, these findings demonstrate that the nature of seasonal correlates of musical taste reflect the broader literature on the former, and more generally that macro-level factors are associated with musical taste and listening behaviors.Open Acces