Question

Claim: That Jazz and Opera makes us the happiest of the genres

Comments

I think jazz can definitely make you happier but that is more so up to the individual. Theres so solid evidence that particular genre makes you happier than others

Answer 1

In short, this claim may be loosely accurate based on the study, but has shaky reliability, and therefore should not be taken as completely true. The main study referred to in the Classic FM article was conducted by OnBuy, a UK based online marketplace (OnBuy). They claim that their study consisted of examining the 27 most popular music subreddits and counting the number of positive words used on each. While they provide numbers claiming to have reviewed hundreds of thousands of comments in total, there is no reputable research organization or references backing it. However, they do cite a psychotherapist named Şirin Atçeken. The company she works for, WeCure, is another UK based health company focused on cosmetic procedures such as plastic surgery and dental implants, but also provides trauma therapy (WeCure).  In addition, their study has been referenced in other articles, such as in The Dubrovnik Times and iHeart Radio(The Dubrovnik Times)( iheart.com). The Classic FM article also mentions an article on Frontiers, a research publishing platform that provides evidence of music in general improving verbal memory (Frontiersin.org). However, neither jazz nor metal genres are referenced. Other articles also make claims that both jazz and metal has the happiest listeners, such as an article on musicessentials.com (themusicessentials.com). In conclusion, while there may be some evidence to suggest that jazz and metal are the happiest genres, it should be taken with a hefty grain of salt.

Answer 2

This article claims that fans of opera and jazz are happier than fans of other music genres. It is based off a language study conducted by OnBuy, which is a British shopping website. OnBuy explains that they analyzed millions of comments made on Reddit by specific music genre fans and whether their comments were positive or aggressive. However, their research isn't backed up by any official sources besides being mentioned in articles on iHeart Radio and The Dubrovnik Times. In the article they mention the psychotherapist Sirin Atceken, who works for We Cure, which is a company specializing in health and wellness packages, but I would hardly count that as a reputable source for an article about music. Overall, I think the article is misleading, as it doesn't have any substantial evidence of the claim being made, and should be viewed like an article on Buzzfeed- entertaining, but not entirely factual. 

Answer 3

The claim shown in the title of this article that "Opera and jazz fans are among the happiest of news genres" is inadequately proven by the research provided, and the author of the article even contradicts themselves. First, scanning Reddit for positive and negative comments is hardly worthy of being considered trustworthy research, especially when done by a random website like OnBuy.com. Second, the author contradicts themselves in the article because, according to the Reddit research, metal listeners are the 2nd happiest and opera listeners are 3rd. I was able to find other articles backing up the claim that jazz listeners are the happiest, but once again, none of these articles were posted by well-known reputable sources. There is not enough data to say that this claim is 100% false, but there is even less data to support that this claim is 100% true. Therefore, I believe this claim to be extremely exaggerated and misleading.

Answer 4

This claim has some truth to it when it comes to public perception of different music genres and their effects on one’s mood, but it is seen as exaggerated and misleading due to the way that the evidence was obtained. An article published by the Dubrovnik Times referenced the same study that was mentioned in the original article linked with the claim, which shows that the survey methods mentioned in the claim are shown to be accurate by another source. However, the survey relies strongly on outgoing public perception on Reddit, which is only one online platform. In comparison to music fans worldwide, this is a small percentage of people that was used to obtain the conclusion of the study. Furthermore, the study did not place much emphasis on the scientific effects of certain music genres on the brain and how that affects one’s mood. There was also a small discrepancy between the title of the article referenced in the claim and the results of the actual study. The article’s title says that jazz and opera have the “happiest” music fans, despite metal actually coming in at second place before opera at third place when it comes to having the “happiest” fans according to the study. Ultimately, there is some truth to this claim but it is exaggerated, can become highly subjective, and is not representative of the opinions and music’s scientific effects on all music fans.

Link to source: https://www.thedubrovniktimes.com/lifestyle/feature/item/11044-metal-or-jazz-study-reveals-the-happiest-music-fans