music
In our daily lives, we are constantly surrounded by music. Everywhere we go, whatever we are doing, "music is now the soundtrack of everyday life" (Frith, 2003:93). Some of the music that we listen to is forced upon us – known as 'chance music', such as in shops, restaurants etc. , and some of it we choose for ourselves. This music will usually be dictated by our musical tastes – there may be the odd occasion where you have to listen to a particular piece by choice that you may not have done otherwise, for example if you are studying the music, however, the vast majority of the time it will be music that matches your tastes. For many people, their musical tastes may change over time, listening to different styles of music, from different artists. This would suggest that there may be external influences on our musical tastes. A popular argument is that "the musical tastes and styles followed or adopted by particular groups of consumers are affected by a number of social factors. " (Shuker, 2002:78) These tastes and styles that a "particular groups of consumers" follow are known as 'taste cultures'. It could be argued that these are formed because a large majority of people have a desire to belong to some form of group.