How do authenticity dramas develop? An analysis of Afterhours fans’ responses to the band’s participation in the Sanremo music festival

Abstract

Building on Giesler’s ((2008) ‘Conflict and Compromise: Drama in Marketplace Evolution’, Journal of Consumer Research 34(6), 739–53) concept of marketplace drama, I introduce the idea of an authenticity drama. I view an authenticity drama as a sequential process through which, owing to an object’s authenticity being undermined as a result of external market forces acting upon the object, or due to internal changes in the object itself, opposing groups of subjects (e.g. consumers and producers) interact dialectically in order to negotiate and transform their contradictory views of authenticity and inauthenticity over time. Specifically, I focus on popular music and use netnography and in-depth interviews to investigate consumers’ reactions to an independent band’s decision to participate in a commercial, mainstream festival. The findings show that consumers play an important role in both the deconstruction and reconstruction of the band’s authenticity. However, I also provide evidence that brand (in this case, the band) narratives play a fundamental role in orienting this process. I also discuss the theoretical implications of the findings.