Music Exposes Listeners to Alcohol References, Potentially Influencing Drinking

At least one in four contemporary songs references alcohol, according to an analysis of multiple studies that hints at the effects of music exposure on listeners' drinking. Music is nearly ubiquitous in modern life, thanks partly to smartphones and streaming services. A 2022 study found that we listen to (on average) 961 h of music per year, or 2 h and 38 min per day. Music is a powerful social and emotional influence and can shape attitudes and behaviors. This may be particularly so among young people whose engagement with music is relatively high. Research has found that alcohol references are common in lyrics and videos and have increased in recent decades. Although drinking behaviors have been linked to alcohol-related content in various media, little attention has been paid to music in this regard. Understanding the connection could inform policies and interventions that reduce alcohol-related harms. For the analysis in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research, investigators in Australia reviewed studies estimating the prevalence of alcohol references in music and exploring possible links with drinking behaviors.

Researchers conducted a search in literature databases for studies measuring the prevalence of alcohol-related content in song lyrics and music videos: beverages, brands, behaviors (e.g., chugging), contexts (e.g., bars), and altered states (e.g., tipsy). Of 23 papers included in the new analysis, eight focused on music videos, of which five measured lyrical content too. Three articles tackled the association between alcohol references in music and drinking-related behaviors. The investigators used statistical analysis to explore the prevalence of alcohol references in music, several contributing factors, and any association between music exposure and drinking behaviors.

The 23 studies involved 12,224 songs, of which 24% contained at least one alcohol reference in the lyric or video. The five studies that analyzed both lyrics and visuals reported that 29% of songs contained alcohol references. The prevalence remained high when considering lyrics only (in 17 studies involving 10,511 songs, 22%) and visuals only (in five studies representing 1965 videos, 25%). Prevalence varied significantly between studies. The analysis implicated several moderating factors, including the source of the music, genre, study period, and sample size. For example, music sampled from popular rap charts contained more alcohol references than songs sampled from Billboard, music TV channels, and YouTube. Rap music had a higher prevalence of alcohol references than rock music; pop and country music were in between. The prevalence of alcohol references seemed stable from the 1990s to the 2010s and subsequently increased. The three articles on the association between alcohol references and consumption each reported that music exposure influenced drinking—for example, a 2011 study in bars showed that playlists with alcohol references were associated with higher customer spending on alcoholic beverages than playlists featuring the same artists but no drinking references.

The review findings underscore music as a prominent medium for alcohol-related exposure, potentially affecting the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of listeners and raising their risk of alcohol-related harm. The analysis was limited by inconsistent study methodology. More research using standardized measurements of music content is needed to clarify the existence and scale of behavioral effects and identify relevant mechanisms.

The prevalence of alcohol references in music and their effect on people's drinking behavior: A systematic review and meta-analysis. G. D. Alen, D.A. Luxford, E. Kuntsche, Z. He, B. Riordan. (pp. 435–449).

中文翻译：

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音乐让听众接触酒精，可能影响饮酒

根据对多项研究的分析，至少四分之一的当代歌曲提到了酒精，这些研究暗示了音乐接触对听众饮酒的影响。音乐在现代生活中几乎无处不在，这在一定程度上要归功于智能手机和流媒体服务。2022 年的一项研究发现，我们每年（平均）听音乐 961 小时，即每天 2 小时 38 分钟。音乐具有强大的社会和情感影响力，可以塑造态度和行为。对于音乐参与度相对较高的年轻人来说尤其如此。研究发现，歌词和视频中提及酒精的情况很常见，并且近几十年来有所增加。尽管各种媒体上都将饮酒行为与酒精相关内容联系起来，但在这方面却很少关注音乐。了解这种联系可以为减少酒精相关危害的政策和干预措施提供信息。为了进行《酒精：临床与实验研究》中的分析，澳大利亚的研究人员回顾了估计音乐中酒精含量的研究，并探索了与饮酒行为可能存在的联系。

研究人员在文献数据库中进行了搜索，以寻找衡量歌词和音乐视频中酒精相关内容流行程度的研究：饮料、品牌、行为（例如，喝饮料）、背景（例如，酒吧）和改变状态（例如，醉酒） 。在新分析中包含的 23 篇论文中，8 篇重点关注音乐视频，其中 5 篇还测量了抒情内容。三篇文章探讨了音乐中的酒精提及与饮酒相关行为之间的关联。研究人员利用统计分析来探讨音乐中酒精提及的普遍程度、几个影响因素以及音乐接触与饮酒行为之间的关联。

这 23 项研究涉及 12,224 首歌曲，其中 24% 在歌词或视频中至少包含一处酒精提及。分析歌词和视觉效果的五项研究报告称，29% 的歌曲包含酒精内容。仅考虑歌词（在涉及 10,511 首歌曲的 17 项研究中，占 22%）和仅考虑视觉效果（在代表 1965 个视频的 5 项研究中，占 25%）时，患病率仍然很高。研究之间的患病率差异很大。该分析涉及几个调节因素，包括音乐来源、流派、研究时期和样本量。例如，从流行说唱排行榜采样的音乐比从公告牌、音乐电视频道和 YouTube 采样的歌曲包含更多的酒精参考。说唱音乐比摇滚音乐更常见地提及酒精；流行音乐和乡村音乐介于两者之间。从 20 世纪 90 年代到 2010 年代，提及酒精的流行率似乎稳定，随后有所增加。关于酒精提及与消费之间关联的三篇文章均报告了音乐接触对饮酒的影响——例如，2011 年在酒吧进行的一项研究表明，与包含相同艺术家但没有提及的播放列表相比，包含酒精提及的播放列表与更高的顾客在酒精饮料上的支出相关。饮酒参考。

审查结果强调音乐是与酒精相关的接触的主要媒介，可能影响听众的看法、态度和行为，并增加他们遭受酒精相关伤害的风险。该分析因研究方法不一致而受到限制。需要使用音乐内容的标准化测量进行更多研究，以阐明行为影响的存在和规模并确定相关机制。

音乐中酒精提及的流行及其对人们饮酒行为的影响：系统评价和荟萃分析。GD Alen、DA Luxford、E. Kuntsche、Z. He、B. Riordan。（第 435-449 页）。