Chinese and Italian music consumers - A comparative study to understand the differences between the two and how they influence music consumption

Abstract

Music industry has undergone great changes over the years, following tastes and needs of the market, evolving thanks to the new technologies. From the analogical period, we shifted towards the digital one, in which streaming music services have completely revolutionized music. In the first chapter of this paper, I retraced, through a careful literature review, what are the fundamental steps of a constantly evolving market, which adapts to its "public". Consumers are among the main protagonists of the music industry, a keystone to its success or failure. For this reason, in the second part of this thesis, the consumption of music is the highlighted point, with a focus on China and Italy. Why these two countries? After careful researches, I found a literary gap in the comparison between these two consumers. Are there differences between Italian and Chinese consumers in terms of music use through streaming music platforms? What are the factors that most influence their choices? The third chapter, the heart of this study, is focused on trying to investigate this matter through a questionnaire, submitted to Italian and Chinese university students. I also tried to answer to this question: what are the differences between the two types of consumers and how do they influence music consumption? In conclusion, what I propose to do through this study is to fill an important gap that concerns Italy and China, focusing on the music industry market, and responding, analyzing the answers obtained, to questions that to date have not yet found an answer.