Music says so much about us as individuals. Resources like PsychCentral tell us that certain types of music are correlated with specific personality traits. 

For example, people with personalities that are generally open to new experiences are more likely to enjoy classical music and jazz. People who lean toward extroversion are more likely to have a preference for relaxing acoustic music, like country and folk genres. The connections one can make between musical genres and personality types are seemingly endless.

So on the heels of the Grammys—and right before Kendrick Lamar’s surely superb Super Bowl performance—we decided to dig into musical data a little further.

We cross-analyzed Backstroke’s proprietary dataset of 12k+ ecommerce brands with data on various groups’ favorite musicians. While this exercise highlights correlation—rather than causation—it does show certainty behind one thing: Backstroke’s artificial intelligence is extremely data driven and accurate, as it can pin-point email preferences of a wide variety of people. This is due to its highly specialized ecommerce marketing data analysis capabilities.

So how accurate is AI? Did we uncover any correlations between favorite musicians and online shopping habits? As our Head of Creative, Tyler Hill, would say “Yes, to both.”

Marketing Data Analysis: What Your Favorite Musician Says About Your Email Preferences

Let’s look through a few genres and very prolific artists, shall we? 

Swiftie Email Preferences: Always Checking In & Motivated by FOMO

Data shows that Swifites—the official name of Taylor Swift’s fanbase, if you live under a rock—are in their FOMO era. (FOMO means the fear of missing out, for you under-the-rock dwellers.) In fact, we took a look at which subject lines are most likely to motivate them to engage with an email. 

Consumers who identified themselves as Taylor Swift fans said they are most likely to engage with an email if its subject lines that feature language telling them that they’re running out of time, such as: 

• Don't Miss Out: Last Chance for These Exclusive Deals
• Enough Waiting: Snag These Deals Before They Disappear!

Additionally, as a Millennial herself, Swift has a lot of Millennial fans. Though her fanbase does span a variety of ages and demographics, Millennial women make up the largest segment of her fans. This group is highly tuned into what’s happening in the digital world, checking their email multiple times a day and reporting to feel generally neutral about AI. 

Email Preferences Takeaway: If you’re emailing female Millennial consumers, you can do so pretty frequently, as they’re regularly shopping their inboxes for deals. And if you want to motivate them a little extra, add some “last chance” messaging to your copy. Backstroke’s AI email generator can do just that. 

Morgan Wallen Fans’ Email Preferences: iPhone-Using Gen Xers

Moving on from pop to country, let’s take a look at the email preferences of those who report themselves as Morgan Wallen fans. In our marketing data analysis of Wallen’s fanbase we discovered a few interesting takeaways:

• They tend to skew toward the Gen X age range.
• His fans overwhelmingly use iPhones, instead of Androids.
• And similar to Swifites, they tend to shop their inboxes multiple times a day.

You’ll notice the big generational divide in this fanbase, as Gen X makes up the largest segment in our surveyed group. Targeting specific age groups—even the oft forgotten Gen X—is simple and straightforward with the best AI marketing tools in your arsenal. As Backstroke is trained on real-time data from over 12k email programs, it can determine behaviors, trends, and creative preferences for generational marketing that specifically targets different age ranges, device types, and more. 

Email Preferences Takeaway: When using tools like our email AI generator or email subject line generator, marketers can enter audience preferences like age ranges and device types to tailor outputs to meet the expectations of their audiences. With iPhone users adopting iOS 18 and all the changes it's bringing to inboxes, data-backed creative direction is the most impactful and profitable way forward. 

Check out our guides to learn more: 

• The Email Marketer’s Guide to iOS 18 (Plus 4 Actionable Takeaways to Use Right Now!)
• 5 Charts On Email Marketing To Different Generations

Kendrick Lamar Fans’ Email Preferences: Going Against the Grain

Song of the Year winner. Super Bowl halftime headliner. Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. Kendrick Lamar is a once-in-a-generation creative and entertainer. Data tells us that his fans appreciate his wordsmithing and thoughtfulness too!

Kendrick’s fans report that, when looking at their inboxes for marketing deals and offers, they are most often shopping for apparel, pet items, beauty & cosmetics, and books. Perhaps most interestingly, they are a group that enjoys longer subject lines too! In a world where everyones’ attention spans are thought to be decreasing, consumers who report Kendrick Lamar as their favorite musician favor longer subject lines containing 6 words or more.  

Email Preferences Takeaway: In our report 5 Charts Exploring Email Marketing Trends for Q1 & Beyond!, we see that today’s audiences generally prefer short subject lines and email content. However, data uncovers that this isn’t the case for everyone! Backstroke can pin-point content characteristics like preferred subject line length, seasonal language, and more to appeal most to highly-specific audience segments. 

This is especially helpful if your subscribers like to buck the typical trends!

SZA Fans’ Email Preferences: Open-Minded and Joyful

Speaking of unique email preferences, it might just be that SZA’s fanbase has the most unique preferences of all! When examining our survey data, we found two big stand-out characteristics of SZA fans:

• They’re the fanbase that’s most open-minded toward AI-generated marketing content.
• Their best email subject lines & body content feature joy and exclusivity in their messaging.

“Independence” seems to be a theme amongst both SZA and her fanbase. She’s a prolific artist who started independent of a record label, slowly and steadily building a massive fanbase. We see that her fans aren’t afraid to be independent thinkers either. Out of all four groups here, they are most likely to report positive feelings toward AI email and marketing content. They are also motivated by messages featuring joy and exclusivity at their core.

Email Preferences Takeaway: So often, we hear negativity and fear associated with AI. However, there is so much positivity it will bring to the world, from improved healthcare, to increased environmental protection, to simply making your job easier. 

When it comes to SZA’s fanbase, along with like-minded email marketers, some people are looking forward to an AI-powered future with pure optimism! We see you and feel the same way!

With that in mind—and with a nod to 2025's Album of the Year winner—take a look at how to usher in your own AI marketing Renaissance.