Psychological studies on music satisfaction can be traced back to the emergence of psychology as a science (e.g., Meyer, 1903; Meyer & Thilly, 1901). However, research on factors influencing music satisfaction and purchasing behavior is quite scarce (Sluckin et al., 1983). This lack of research is surprising considering that music is an «activity that consumes so much time and resources and that is a key component of so many social situations that it warrants the attention of mainstream social and personality psychologists» (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003, p. 1236). Thus, it seems valuable for psychology researchers to pay attention to the factors that influence music satisfaction. Moreover, in a context of an economic crisis for the music industry (Tschmuck, 2012), understanding the factors that determine music satisfaction and purchasing behavior appears to be an important and decisive challenge.

Scholars have mainly investigated the influence of exposure to a specific music piece on satisfaction toward this piece through studies about the so called “mere exposure effect” (e.g., Schellenberg et al., 2008; Szpunar et al., 2004). The influence of exposure seems to be different according to individuals’ personality and is particularly influenced by openness (Hunter & Schellenberg, 2011). Regarding the psychological and economic implications of the study of music satisfaction, this paper aims to extend previous research on exposure to music and music satisfaction by investigating the moderating influence of creative potential on music satisfaction, and attributed market value. We will first review evidence on the influence of exposure on music satisfaction and then we will examine the extent to which creative potential, particularly cognitive and conative aspects, could influence music satisfaction and market value.