The study finds popular music lyrics have become gradually angrier, sadder and more fearful since the 1950s. Lior Shamir, a computer scientist at Lawrence Technical University in Southfield, Michigan, analyzed the lyrics of more than 6,000 songs using IBM's Watson artificial intelligence platform.

Is music getting more depressing?

However, there may be another reason it's getting to you – today's tunes are more depressing, researchers have found. A study has found that music from 2015 is about 20 per cent more unhappy than it was in 1985. ... The study follows previous research showing song lyrics dwell more now on social isolation and loneliness.

Why is modern music so negative?

Today's pop music is largely the same with a combination of keyboard, drum machine and computer software greatly diminishing the creativity and originality. Pitch has also decreased, with the number of chords and different melodies declining.