Why do we listen to sad songs? Interesting article!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOolmD6Ubtc

All the best,
Nonoise

Sorry, but I am not paying to read it.

Perhaps if you could cut and paste some excerpts from the article.

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Here's a little bit:

Mario Attie-Picker, a philosopher at Loyola University Chicago who helped lead the research, found the results compelling. After considering the data, he proposed a relatively simple idea: Maybe we listen to music not for an emotional reaction — many subjects reported that sad music, albeit artistic, was not particularly enjoyable — but for the sense of connection to others. Applied to the paradox of sad music: Our love of the music is not a direct appreciation of sadness, it’s an appreciation of connection. 

I was thinking it's because we can empathize with the artist.  Life is not always fun or happy and we recognize what the artist is feeling.  Also, we may not even notice the sadness, we just like the way the song sounds.

sad is good as long as not too much ,, human no sad means no empathy for other

Can't speak for anyone else but music and audio systems that fail to engage me on an emotional level hold little appeal. I can appreciate formal aspects of a piece of music and get excited about good sounding gear but those are secondary, left brain functions that require subject/object focus.  Relating to music via the left brain is not my preference. I want to be carried away emotionally, physically and spiritually. I find these are interrelated in a complex "matrix" in which each has the capacity to stimulate the others.  It could be examined within a spiritual context in terms of vibration and the capacity of vibration to influence consciousness. 

A sense of connection to the artist is only natural, if the performance is affecting the listener and a live performance can obviously intensify this aspect. But what is the dominant "felt sense" of connection, if not emotion? To present these as inherently separate strikes me as deeply inconsistent with reality.

Finally, it seems to me people do enjoy sad songs. I seek out music that either aligns with my current emotional state or music that will change it-- "mood enhancement" or "mood alteration". If I'm sad, sad music can often feel comforting. However, if I'm depressed, I may opt to lighten the mood rather than intensify it. 

And, two people may very well disagree regarding how sad a given piece of music may be. 

Well put Stu!