What Kind Of Impact Does Your Music Bring To Society?

Individuals with a job and a profession will always carry an influence, whether it is bad or not, whether we realize it or not, including music. Music is an art form, and cultural activity, whose medium is sound. If you are a musician, you might realize that the sound and messages you release through your art form directly impact your listeners in powerful ways. When I was looking for live music venues in Melbourne, I came across this jazz singer who was singing what was said to be her original song. Not going to lie, I found myself ‘being brought into the world of Jazz in Manhattan for some unknown reason. It seems as if I was exaggerating, but deep down inside, I know that song gave some sort of happy feelings I have never found in other songs before. So if you ask me if music can impact things and people, the answer is yes, it can…in some ways. Find out here in this article!

Cultural impact

The popular music of our day reflects the culture of our day. We can see the fingerprints of a certain generation in the lyrics and sound of that time. One recent and almost outrageous example of this is the song "#SELFIE" by the Chainsmokers. It's a pretty spot-on commentary about the youth and media culture of our day. Aside from that, in this day and age, culture is changing far more frequently than ever before, reflecting styles of music that are evolving and birthed just as rapidly.

Still, culture and music always flow together. What our parents used to dig, kids of today would consider it as lame. And in a few years, the music we think is cool now will probably be outdated. It's nothing against the music, but that’s how culture goes.

Moral impact

It is not a question anymore whether or not music has moral impacts on those who listen to it. We have seen so many music fans idolize their superstar to the point of copying their idol’s fashion style. Even some of them who actually have a skill in singing will have the same style of singing as well. That being said, if you do a quick Google search on the impact of music on morals will yield many results on the negative impact it has on society, especially in the realm of rap and hip-hop music. In all styles of music nowadays, there are a plethora of songs with lyrics that glorify sex, drugs, and violence. However, music can definitely play a significant role in determining what seems to be right or wrong, okay or not okay, and good or bad. For that reason, you need to become wary about the messages that you are putting out with your songs, but to take it a step further, what if the songs you wrote intentionally carried positive messages or even negatives? While it is okay to listen to any kind of songs, it is not okay if you randomly take inspirations from lyrics that contain negative influence and do negative things based on the lyrics, right?

Emotional impact

We have seen many suicide cases done after the victims listened to a certain song that provoked some emotional impacts on the listeners. This is probably the most obvious and direct impact music has on people in society. It makes us feel a certain way. Music sets moods and creates atmospheres. Also, as humans, we're so behaviorally influenced by the way we feel. That's why we throw on an upbeat playlist while we're working out, put on jazz on a romantic date, or get up and dance when a four-on-the-floor beat is going down. When I wake up in the morning, I know exactly what songs to play to get me focused and ready for what's up ahead in my day. Now that's powerful.

Music has the potential to change a mood, to shift an atmosphere, and to encourage a different behavior. I’m not saying you should avoid some songs that contain lyrics that have negative impacts on your emotions. It all depends on you and how you take it. Are you listening to certain songs because you like the tone? In the end, the lyrics don’t matter, what matters is how we all consider the songs as.