College Students' Uses and Gratifications of New Media for Music Listening
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Authors
Whittle, Benjamin Chad
Issue Date
2014-12
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Communications , radio , online music streaming , Internet radio , terrestrial radio , music , Uses and gratifications theory
Alternative Title
Abstract
For decades, college students have tuned to their local radio stations to discover new artists and to hear their favorite songs. Now in the digital age, traditional radio faces increased competition from online music streaming services, including Pandora and Spotify. While previous research has reported on the growth in online music services, this study examines how these new services are being used by college students, and also the gratifications they receive from these services compared to traditional radio. This study sheds light on claims that students no longer listen to AM/FM, and that terrestrial radio can remain relevant in the age of digital media. College undergraduates from a midsize southeastern university were asked to participate by completing a survey about their likes/dislikes of traditional radio, as well as online music sources, where they discover new music, and why they choose to listen to music. The results showed that the participants received more gratifications from new media sources than from traditional radio. However, students continue to listen to AM/FM radio, indicating that these new sources have not yet replaced radio completely.