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Music consumption : the impact of social networking, identity formation, and group influence

Previous researchers such as McGuire & Slater (2005) noted that people have an inherent need to share favourite music with other people, and also theorised that a democratisation of culture is taking place with consumers effectively standing by (or in some cases even replacing) traditional tastemakers by sharing music with one another through the Internet; thus shaping culture and in turn themselves. In addition, this theory supports the notion that once music consumers discover others online who have similar or interesting tastes, they may begin to interact with one another; therefore leading to the formation of communities around an artist or genre (or around a particular tastemaker such as a podcaster) which may also provide benefits to consumers in other areas of their social lives. The motivation of this thesis was to explore how these online social influences compared to the traditional offline social influences that can be inferred upon music consumption behaviours and habits. Methods of consumption can include listening to music alone or with others, obtaining music in different formats and on various platforms, and attending live events such as music shows or festivals. A study was conceptualised on behaviours relating to live music consumption, with a literature review being conducted on the exploration of the music industry and its digitisation, identity theory (both individual and collective), and social influence. The research methodology was separated into two phases; the first being a qualitative exploratory investigation consisting of a webnography data collection which was used to examine relevant trends in online forums, and the second an online survey. The online survey allowed for the quantitative testing of the theoretical frameworks identified by the literature review, as well as enabling the development of predictive models for live music consumption behaviours in both the online and offline social contexts.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:678391
Date January 2015
CreatorsWarr, Richard Lloyd
PublisherSwansea University
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Sourcehttps://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa43122

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