Myself as a consumer

I mostly listen to music on public transport or at home on my computer. When travelling, I consume music through my ipod as it helps to pass the time and keeps me occupied when there is nothing else to do. I use in-ear headphones which help to immerse me by blocking out any outside noise and provide a form of escapism, which is one of the reasons I listen to music.

When at home, I listen to music in the background while doing other tasks that don't require much concentration such as browsing the internet, cooking or cleaning. I cannot listen to music if I need to concentrate as I find it is a distraction.

Music is a huge part of the videos and films I make, as the right song can completely lift footage and add meaning and emotion to it. Music often inspires me, when I am listening to it I shoot scenes in my head that go with the song and it helps to get me into a creative mindset.

Usually music is an individual experience for me but I sometimes feel the need for it to be shared. My needs for a shared music experience are gratified when I go to gigs or listen to music with friends and at parties. I like to find new music to listen to through social media such as Facebook, Youtube or Spotify, These websites recommend new artists based on my likes and what I listen to, I have found lots of artists this way.

I usually acquire music by downloading it from itunes, borrowing CDs from friends or taking music from friends' itunes libraries. Looking through my friends' itunes libraries is another way of finding new music, as they recommend artists that they think I would like.

Music that means something to me:

Childhood: Growing up I was surrounded by music but the most prominent genres were Motown and Soul. My parents grew up with this music and passed it on to me and my sister, I was named after two Gospel and Soul singers: Mahalia Jackson and Ella Fitzgerald. This song 'A Change is Gonna Come' by Sam Cooke was one of my favourites as a child and still is now.

Early Teens: Green Day's 'American Idiot' was the first album I was ever bought and it introduced me to the rock genre which I grew to love. I discovered it at a time when I was sick to death of the manufactured pop which was constantly played on the radio so it came as a relief and a breath of fresh air. Although I don't listen to them as much as I used to, Green Day are still a band I love.

Today: Lewis Watson is currently my favourite artist and 'Castle Street' is my favourite song from his new album 'The Morning'. I discovered Lewis Watson years ago uploading covers to youtube so have watched him grow and develop as an artist. He was one of my main introductions into the indie/folk/acoustic genre which is what I predominantly listen to now.