The nested relationality of perceived legitimacy: Mapping taste hierarchies with granular digital traces

The article has a double purpose. On the one hand, it contributes to theories of cultural legitimacy and classification. Based on data about consumers’ music evaluations, it shows that taste hierarchies are configured as nested and relational classificatory systems. Nested, because rank systems of symbolic value are collectively recognized, reproduced, and negotiated by consumers not only at the level of genres, but also at lower, nested levels – e.g., sub-genre, artist, single artwork; relational, because the value attributed to music by consumers is ordinarily assessed and constructed through analogies and comparisons, and partly depends on the classifier's relative position in the social space. On the other hand, this paper makes a key methodological contribution: by analyzing large amounts of YouTube data through computational methods and in combination with survey data, it illustrates how the granularity of digital traces can advance sociological research on cultural categories, meaning structures and symbolic imaginaries.