Does Diversity Lead to Thrive? Exploring the Impact of Acoustic Deviation on Music Success

Abstract

<p>In the digital music era, where around 120,000 tracks debut daily (Luminate, 2023), success proves a rare challenge for artists, producers, and marketers. To stand out, creators often attempt to deviate from the norm. However, being too different may distance a creation from prevailing trends, potentially hindering success. Prior research on the acoustic elements influencing music success has focused on the impact of specific music features (e.g., tempo) on consumer response or examined broad acoustic elements across albums, often neglecting their nuanced role in different songs and genres. Our study examines a comprehensive set of acoustic features (e.g., loudness, key, mode, tempo, vocal, duration) and constructs a Deviation Index for each feature in each song. Focusing on the influence of deviation in acoustic features on consumer responses (e.g., streams and ratings), our multimedia dataset spans popular genres (e.g., pop, rock, jazz) and includes Spotify audio tracks, music tags, ratings, releases, and artist information from social media and music rating websites. Using machine learning, we analyze the acoustic features of all songs. Employing a mixed-method approach (i.e., recursive mixed-process models) with controls for individual artist heterogeneity and music genre diversity, we find that unique acoustic features enhance positive consumer responses to music. However, the optimal degree of deviation varies across features and genres. Our findings offer crucial implications for artists and producers in the music industry and contribute to the literature on variety-seeking, optimal stimulation levels, product portfolio strategies, and recommendations beyond the music domain.</p>