Examining the Impact of Social Identification with Music on Music Streaming Behavior

Abstract

According to the Nielsen Music 360 Research Report, 67% of all music consumers in the United States used digital music streaming services to listen, discover, and share music online in 2014 (The Nielsen Company, 2014). As such, communications scholars and music industry professionals are beginning to recognize the importance of understanding the factors that influence digital music listener behavior. Therefore, this study proposes an expanded theory of planned behavior model (TPB) by incorporating social identification into the original TPB model framework in an effort to gain a better understanding of people’s intentions to use digital music streaming services as well as the amount of time spent listening to them. Results suggest that both the original TPB and expanded TPB models can be successfully applied within the context of digital music streaming service use. Specifically, attitudes emerged as positive contributors to intention to use digital music streaming services, while social identification and behavioral intention emerged as positive contributors to streaming behavior. Both models also explained a larger percentage of intention to use digital music streaming services as compared to streaming behavior operationalized as total time spent listening. Thus, this study implies the practical importance of understanding the differences between what drives listener intentions as compared to what drives the actual amount of time listeners spend using digital music streaming services.