Research on the relationship between categorical unconventionality and popularity has produced mixed results. While many accounts suggest that unconventionality is penalized, much sociological theorizing indicates that success comes from a delicate balancing act between conventional and unconventional offerings.
Using data on the genre self-classifications of over 2 million musicians and bands across the United States [on MySpace…With 121 genres afforded and 3 available slots in which to apply genres to represent themselves, bands had around 300,000 unique categorical identities available to them], the authors find broad support for this balancing act.
Yet the shape it takes is also conditioned on local contexts, across both high-order complexes of musical genres and geographic space. The authors highlight the local metropolitan area characteristics that shift the relationship between unconventionality and popularity. They also create a typology of cities (“normalists”, “traditionalists”, “experimentalists”, and “specialists”) based on how their unconventional offerings are rewarded and punished. An online visualization tool enables further investigation of these relationships.
The authors close by proposing an agenda for how to study local heterogeneity in the relationship between unconventionality and popularity.
See Also:
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“Just the Way You Are”: Linking Music Listening on Spotify and Personality
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Scaling of Atypical Knowledge Combinations in American Metropolitan Areas 1836–174201014ya
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Hipsters and the Cool: A Game Theoretic Analysis of Social Identity, Trends and Fads
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Middle-Status Conformity: Theoretical Restatement and Empirical Demonstration in Two Markets