Social class continues to inform our cultural attitudes and the way we listen to music, researchers said.
"Breadth of taste is not linked to class. But class filters into specific likes and dislikes," said Gerry Veenstra, study author and professor at University of British Columbia (UBC)'s Department of Sociology.
The study involved nearly 1,600 telephone interviews with adults in Vancouver and Toronto, who were asked about their likes and dislikes of 21 musical genres.
Their wealthier and better-educated counterparts preferred genres such as classical, blues, jazz, opera, choral, pop, reggae, rock, world and musical theatre, researchers found.
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The research touches on a hotly debated topic in cultural sociology: whether one's class is accompanied by specific cultural tastes, or whether "elites" are defined by a broad palette of preferences that sets them apart.
What people do not want to listen to also plays a key role in creating class boundaries, researchers said.
"What upper class people like is disliked by the lower class, and vice versa," said Veenstra.
Meanwhile, lowbrow genres such as country, easy listening and golden oldies were disliked by higher-class listeners.
The study was published in the journal Canadian Review of Sociology.