White lies: Deezer investigates musical mistruths

The survey was shared among 8 000 adults across Brazil, France, Germany and the US.

About 40% of the people who partook in the survey said the primary reason for pretending to like a particular style of music was to avoid hurting someone's feelings. The research found that 19% of music listeners lie about an artist or song they'd never heard or didn't like.

"Our music taste reflects who we are. It should not matter if our friends do not like the same songs or artists," Deezer's vice-president of content and production, Frederic Antelme, said after the survey's results were published this week. 

"We would love people to be more open and honest the next time your colleague or friend says they are not a fan of your favourite artist. You never know, you might even change their mind!"

The research also found that 10% of participants told musical mistruths in front of children or family members when the lyrics of a song are rude or explicit. Music can also set the tone for a budding new romance, with 21% of respondents pretending to know a song or artist to avoid embarrassment on a first date.

Another revelation is that 12% of participants claimed to dislike a song or an artist when they actually loved them, while 13% confessed to ending a conversation when asked about the music they were not familiar with. Fourteen percent said they lied in front of work colleagues to appear more sophisticated. So be careful next time you tell everyone at work that you like classical music. They might be onto you faster than you think.

The survey also reveals that 70% of people go on to listen to the track they had claimed to know. This makes it is safe to conclude that a musical white lie could lead to new discoveries.