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Perception of the usability of music-genre labels for the assessment of musical tastes

To identify and classify musical tastes, researchers have extensively relied on the use of music-genre labels. However, the validity and reliability of such a method remain unclear. In this study, we examined the extent to which 873 high school students felt able to assess their musical tastes based on music-genre labels. Participants were expressly asked to evaluate the usability of such labels. Results showed that a majority of respondents were uncomfortable with the use of music-genre labels, mainly because of music-genre labels’ complicatedness and internal heterogeneity. Sex and social milieu predicted the perception of the usability of music-genre labels only weakly. Overall, our findings suggest that the reliance on music-genre labels in research on musical tastes might be problematic. We recommend that complementary indicators of musical tastes be more widely employed in the future.