Streaming platforms have radically changed the way in which consumers listen to new music,as the process of discovery slowly shifted from an indirect exposure to songs to an increasingly interactive play between users and platforms. Customers are constantly supplied with services offering new releases as well as unexplored artists or genres, that aim at incentivizing and facilitating the consumption and discovery of new contents. The following study aims at investigating the effect of subjective expertise on streaming platforms users’ consumption preferences. It is argued that the potential knowledge offered by a platforms’ service interacts with consumers’ different levels of expertise, affecting willingness to discover new music. Subsequently, the study explores the effect of subjective expertise on two motivational variables, namely, variety seeking and need for uniqueness. In order to test the hypothesis a survey was conducted in which participants were presented with a fake playlist offering two types of potential consumption knowledge (breadth and depth). Participants were randomly assigned to one of the knowledge conditions, as well as a novice or expert condition in which subjective expertise was manipulated. The results showed that novice and expert consumers’ preferences in willingness to discover differ significantly according to the type of consumption knowledge offered by the service. No differences in variety seeking behaviors were found, even though expert consumers appear to be more inclined to seek for uniqueness when listening to music on streaming platforms.
Date of Award | 15 Oct 2020 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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Supervisor | João Niza Braga (Supervisor) |
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- Music discovery
- Subjective expertise
- Streaming platforms
- Consumption knowledge
- Variety seeking
- Need for uniqueness
- Mestrado em Gestão e Administração de Empresas
Music discovery on online streaming platforms: the role of consumers’ subjective expertise
Narici, V. (Student). 15 Oct 2020
Student thesis: Master's Thesis