Kate Daellenbach, Rachael Kusel and Michel Rod
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between musician’s social network sites (SNS), the tie that fans may develop via these sites, and music acquisition, via…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between musician’s social network sites (SNS), the tie that fans may develop via these sites, and music acquisition, via legal and illegal means.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach was taken, gathering 352 responses from young adults via an online survey.
Findings
Perceptions of interactivity and sincerity on musicians’ SNS are found to lead to stronger ties, enhancing the fan’s feeling of closeness to the musician, the fan’s inclination to spread positive word-of-mouth, and the time a fan spends on the site. Pathways are found between the fan activity, sense of closeness and time spent on the SNS. In terms of acquisition, the tie strength indicator of time spent on the SNS holds a positive relationship with purchase intent. While a sense of closeness holds a negative relationship to illegal downloading activity, the fan’s activity recommending the musician has a positive influence on illegal downloading.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of this study include a limited amount of information on the musician and extent of fandom, suggesting future research to tease out the effects of SNS on fans with varying levels of existing commitment to musicians.
Practical implications
Stronger ties between fans and musicians may be developed via interactive and sincere SNS. Activities which encourage the fan to give recommendations and spread positive word-of-mouth are especially influential in driving purchase intent.
Originality/value
These results provide theoretical and practical implications in relation to how SNS may influence the online fan-celebrity “tie” and music acquisition – three elements which have not to date been examined.
Details
Keywords
Trans students at New College of Florida provide overwhelmingly positive assessments of their campus culture as related to issues of gender identity, a stark contrast to existing…
Abstract
Trans students at New College of Florida provide overwhelmingly positive assessments of their campus culture as related to issues of gender identity, a stark contrast to existing literature on gender-nonconforming collegians. This chapter examines the interactional processes that create a context supportive of all genders – the ways students are expected to act toward one another and how they hold each other accountable to these norms. I draw on interviews with 24 students with diverse identities to argue: (1) there is a trans-inclusive understanding of gender that is dominant on campus, (2) the students have norms that reflect the inclusive understanding and provide direction for when and how gender should enter interactions, and (3) swift responses to breaches of interactional norms serve to support gender-nonconforming students and affirm the identity of the community as unwilling to tolerate transphobia. This analysis demonstrates an alternative cultural context, one in which community members are held not to conventional expectations associated with assumed sex category, but to an understanding of gender that does not take identity for granted. In so doing, it highlights how shifts in shared understanding can create more inclusive interactional practices. Additionally, the focus on the meaning underlying social processes suggests that shifts in how people think about gender could similarly lead to alteration of organizational structures that would help trans students thrive.