There are two different kinds of music fans: Casual and Passionate
Casual fans make up the majority of music fans. They usually follow trends, and hardly ever go out of their way to discover new bands. Most often, they find out about new music from commercial radio stations, television shows, or movie soundtracks.
When they are teenagers, social pressure often dictates what they listen to. For example, if most of their friends are listening to Green Day, then it’s highly likely they are also listening to Green Day. They never go to live shows by themselves. Usually at least one friend would have to show interest in going to a show before they decide they want to go also. The typical casual fan’s interest in music peaks when they are in high school and college. This is when they are downloading the most songs and going to the most shows.
Speaking of downloading, that is the primary way in which they acquire music. For them, buying vinyl records or even CDs is just unheard of. They couldn’t care less that a WAV file sounds much better than an mp3 or that nothing quite sounds as pure as a recording on vinyl.
A causal fan never goes to a local band’s show unless they know someone either in the band or a friend of the band. They generally assume that most local bands remain “local” because they just aren’t good enough.
When a casual fan has a favorite song, they will listen to that song hundreds of times, yet still not become sick of it. In addition, if they hear a mediocre song hundreds of times, they will mostly likely grow to like it (as long as they can sing along to it), even if they first hated it.
When a casual fan gets older, they stop listening to music as much. They stop going to shows almost completely, except for the occasional arena show. They dump much of the music they listened to while they were younger, telling others that they’ve “outgrown” it. By the time they are in their thirties, they are listening to talk radio more than music on their way to work each day. Casual music fans are rarely musicians, but when they are, they usually give up playing instruments by this time.
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Passionate music fans are the minority. Most are borderline obsessive compulsive when it comes to their personal collection. They can talk about music for hours at a time, often having conversations that seem pointless to casual fans. A casual fan wonders “who gives a crap?” when passionate fans argue who was more influential: The Pixies or Nirvana?
Passionate fans sometimes follow trends, but usually go out of their way to discover new music. They’d prefer that their favorite bands never get too big, for two main reasons:
a) so they can go to their shows without crowds or expensive tickets
b) so they can appear more hip or cool to others for liking such obscure (yet critically-acclaimed) music
They most often find out about new music from word of mouth, music magazines, and, most importantly, the internet. Web sites like Pitchfork and the Hype Machine are integral in finding out about the latest, greatest stuff before their friends do.
When they are teenagers, passionate fans most likely begin in the “casual fan” category, but then break out in reaction to societal pressure. When they find their niche, they cling to it like family and often become very narrow-minded with their tastes. For example, fans of death metal in high school generally share disdain for country.
This generally changes in college, however, as passionate fans begin to branch out to many genres of music, finding the universal appeal of qualities such as melody, harmony, and complex rhythm structures. A passionate fan generally doesn’t care if they are the only one in their group of friends that likes a certain band or artist. They’ll even go to live shows by themselves.
The passionate fan’s interest in music peaks usually in their twenties, but even after they settle down and start a family their interest never declines much. They never stop acquiring music, and often end up with a ridiculously large collection of CDs, vinyl records, and even obsolete formats like cassettes and 8-track tapes.
If a passionate fan likes a band, they will tell the whole world about it (as if the whole world really cared). They go to countless local shows, often treating local bands like rock stars before hype takes over. Because most passionate fans are musicians themselves, they empathize with other musicians trying to make a living doing what they love, while simultaneously envying other musicians when they achieve any sort of success that exceeds their own.
Most passionate fans eventually become disillusioned about mainstream music due to its appearance as a product, something meant to be consumed for profit without any regard for artistic integrity. Because of this, they are often called music snobs or elitists. By the time they are in their thirties, they are annoying casual fans due to their “childish obsessions.”
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While there are many differences between casual fans and passionate fans, most of us come to like music a certain way. We are not born into this world with Godspeed You! Black Emperor blaring on our headphones. Our environment mostly controls our destiny, beginning with our parents. I think the natural inclination for kids is to rebel against their parents. Therefore, if your parents listened to New Order, it is simply not cool for you to listen to New Order. Instead, maybe some AC/DC or Black Flag will do.
Another obvious influence is friends. Never underestimate the power of peer pressure, especially during the tween stage, when kids often will stick their tongues in toasters if all their friends are doing it. The tween stage is critical- this is often when kids begin to find their own identity separate from their parents and/or siblings (although older siblings usually do tend to remain influential throughout the teenage years). Disney knows this. They have capitalized on it well.
Nearly all of us are introduced to music through mass media. Most kids aren’t going to check out Daytrotter or a college radio station on their own. There’s a transitional stage to get to that point because the more experimental the music is, the harder it is to get into it. Before I liked Sonic Youth, I had to like Weezer, and before I liked Weezer, I had to like Hootie and the Blowfish.
By the time we are in high school, we think we’ve got it all figured out. Both casual and passionate fans completely disregard entire genres, simplifying kinds of music into neat categories. Going to live shows is mostly a social activity for teens. Songs are downloaded mostly on impulse. It is also during this stage when passionate fans and casual fans begin to materialize into two distinct groups. Sometimes, one may not become a passionate fan until much later in life, but usually by the time one is in their twenties, they are on a direct track and usually don’t even think about getting off that track.
