A study by College Rover, a student-parent information tool for college, found that award-winning American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift is the artist most listened to by students with the highest grade point averages (GPAs).
The study involved 1,025 students within the 18–23 age bracket who were asked about their study soundtracks. Based on students’ Spotify API, songs they listened to were analyzed to see which music correlates with higher academic achievement.
API is an interface that programs can use to retrieve and manage Spotify data over the internet.
The study also looked into 48,077 songs in “study” playlists to explore what music makes up these playlists. It also analyzed song characteristics such as valence, tempo, and loudness.
The result revealed that Swift is the favorite artist of students with a high GPA of 3.5 to 4.0, accounting for over 30% of the respondents. She was followed by Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd with 29% and American R&B singer SZA with 26%.
As for the male students, The Weeknd topped the list with over 35%, followed by British-born rapper 21 Savage, American rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar, and Canadian singer-rapper Drake, all of whom have 28%.
The reason for their music choices is simply “to make studying more enjoyable” and “to relax and reduce stress,’’ the study said.
The study further revealed other key takeaways when it comes to the correlation between music and scholastic performance.
People who listen to metal while studying are the least likely to have a high GPA (37%), male students are 166% more likely than female students to listen to EDM while studying, and the most common genres in studying playlists on Spotify are lo-fi, classical/instrumental, and soundtrack.
The study underscores the fact that students agree that listening to music is important when it comes to study sessions. But whatever the genre, the perfect study song is “not too fast, not too loud, and just mellow enough to keep you from falling asleep.”
Have you updated your Taylor Swift playlist?
