Sad songs are becoming a trend in music, researchers say

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — While listening to music these days, do you ever stop and think, “This song is really sad”?

New research shows music is becoming more depressing.

If you’re someone who needs to crank up the music to get ready for the day you might actually be getting your day off to a melancholy start because music today is getting sadder.

Researchers at the University of California at Irvine looked at 500,000 songs released between 1985 and 2015 and categorized them according to their mood.

The study shows that the use of positive emotions has declined, while indicators of loneliness and social isolation have increased.

Anthony Kelly, an associate professor of music at Duke University, says there’s a reason behind the trends in current music.

“Once you add commercialism to art then you will have imitators, and because of that, things will seem like a lot of people are doing the same thing and similarly, the public will follow whatever that trend is,” he said.

Kelly says music changes every decade based on the environment.

Researches also discovered that the public “prefers happier songs.”