For this analysis I chose to practice selecting very specific data. This data pulled from Engima.io
shows contributions made by both individuals and companies to the 2008 federal election
campaigns in the United States. Specifically, these contributions were made in 2008 from
persons or entities that use the word “music” in their professional titles. Let’s see how music
professionals get involved with federal politics.
The data shows that music professionals vary considerably in their candidate choice, a characteristic that should be expected given the confidence they must show in their career, be
they a music teacher or record producer. Their contributions, as shown in the bar graph (Figure
1), consistently exceed $10,000 USD every month of the election year. However, Figure 1 also
shows their average contribution, which rounds out at about $1,000 USD per contributor,
individual or corporate entity. This is perhaps indicative of the financial gap between teachers and corporate executives.
Figures 2 and 3 (totals and averages, respectively) compare the sheer totals by month more accurately. The two months prior to election day in November make up for 37 percent of total monthly contributions, which is not really a surprise, since most people’s eyes start shifting to politics around that time anyway. What is interesting is that Figure 3 shows the largest average contributions occurred in June and July, roughly two months prior to the two presidential national conventions in August and September. The two convention months were rather low in average contributions, making up for 15 percent of the year’s averages.
