Why do People like music in general? Why do you like the music you like? This question came up to my head after being a fan to The Beatles for nearly 20 years, actually, since my teenage years.
It is a bit surprising when you question some absolutes in your life , like why do you like this or why you don't like that but I wanted to explore within me the reasons of why People like certain music the most.
I have read recently a book called "Contagious : Why Things Catch on" and it basically describes the science of sharing and why things go viral, so I decided to take this framework of the book to try to come up with an answer of why People like Music and Why Do I Personally like the Beatles?
The book uses a framework based on several years of studies of the Wharton Marketing Professor: Jonah Berger.
The framework is called the STEPPS framework :
-S Social Currency
-T Triggers
-E Emotions
-P Practical use
-P Public
-S Story
The Beatles were a bit a classic in the Nineties, it would have been a bit rare to have them as your favourite band in 1995. There was no twitter, no Facebook and no youtube back then. I remember listening to a Beatles song "Eight Days a week" on the Egyptian FM radio and it was really special, I don't know why it was special back then, but it just sounded different, I used to listen to Madonna and MJ and this sort of Eighties and Nineties stuff but this Band, "The Beatles" sounded very different, it has just struck a chord within me, I don't know why now after nearly 18 years but it did something. I bought a tape of the Beatles Best songs (Now this looks like Caveman stuff) then I remember going to the British Council to rent some CDs as the Beatles Records weren't available in any CD stores in Egypt. Something happened, I don't know whether it was a bit of a social currency to be listening to a band so genuine and yet so out of fashion at the time which made me feel part of a highly selected music connaisseurs , maybe it was this, maybe the music was fabulous , it still needs analysis:)
After this came the Anthology series of the Beatles which is a set of Recordings that came up in 1995 and 1996 about re-mastered Beatles songs along with the release of "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love". The Beatles suddenly became present on MTV which probably reinforced my passion for the band. The spread of the internet in Egypt since 1997 deepened my passion, I remember going to an internet Cafe and searching on "The Beatles" on Yahoo as my first ever internet researches :) So triggers like the release of new records, MTV media Buzz and the introduction of the internet have grown my passion for Beatles' music. Also learning guitar and playing the songs on it made the Beatlemania grow, you would listen to the songs , play the guitar, sing and so on. It is all a trigger based reinforcing behaviour, yet those were best days of music tasting in my life.
Then comes "Emotion" in the framework, Did the Beatles touch their fans emotionally? If you listen to the words of "Love Me Do", "Please Please Me", "She Loves You", "I want to Hold Your. Hands", "If I fell" , " In My life", "Hey Jude" and most of the Beatles songs, you would feel a high level of emotional arousal in the songs, it is pure love, happiness , excitement , Pleasure and Pain, you could see the Beatles as a soundtrack of life with all of its ups and downs. The high level of emotional intensity in the Beatles songs engaged their fans deeply and connected with their core feelings with the fans emotional ups and downs, the connection was there and is still unprecedented . And as emotions spread contagiously it could be easy to figure out why the love of the Beatles became contagious .
One last element if the STEPPS framework is "Story", the Beatles had a story. The four young lads coming from a small city in England with their heavy accents having 8 hours concerts and road trips in Germany , Stuart's death, the Cavern, John and Paul's moms deaths, Moving from Poverty to Stardom, changing the way music was perceived and recorded, changing the clothing , the hairstyles and the hippy shake of the sixties, the band had a lot of drama and a lot events happening that made them an endless story until today with all elements of successful stories like mega fame, fortune, hard work and friendship .
Scientists say that Music is closely linked to emotions and that music is the language of emotions, Look, I don't actually know why I like "The Beatles" in particular but the high level of emotional connection, seeing things differently and tasting emotions, feelings and life from different perspectives made my life richer.
So now, have a reflection about your favourite music band , artist and ask yourself why do You like this in particular ?
Enjoy Your Journey!
Have a good day!
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