Parasocial Engagement for Musicians and Artists: A Systemic Review of Theoretical Foundations with Applications

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionSocial media is playing a fundamental role in creating both disruption and opportunity in the music entertainment industry. For most artists, a growing emphasis is being made to fans and build fan communities through online engagement (Evans 2015). The question then arises: what are the foundational variables of online engagement? What elements are shown to be the most effective, or have the best possibilities to build communities of like-minded fans? This systemic review summarizes previous theoretical foundations and derives a broader application for online engagement based on prior research-rather than anecdotal online evidence. The traditional fan-artist relationship has undergone a drastic change though social media. The ability to engage from person-toperson has transformed the performer-audience relationship from a static unidirectional relationship to an iterative social online relationship. This transformational change challenges the strategies that previously fueled localized, regional, and national success of an artist through traditional promotion and marketing by record labels. These distinctive competen- cies of the record company, while still important, are now moving toward shorter life cycles based on online promotion and engagement through what is now called parasocial relationships (Christensen, Anthony, and Ross 2004; Hitt, Keats, and DeMarie 1998).Parasocial RelationshipsEarly parasocial behavior was defined as a one-way relationship that consumers of media develop with media personas over time (Horton and Wohl 1956). Parasocial interaction was further defined as imaginary social relationships (Perse 1989) that mirror face-to-face relationships (Rubin and Step 2000, Schramm and Wirth 2010). Essentially, this one-way communication between fans and media personalities replicate social interactions. The relationship is developed through message cues and content that becomes somewhat pseudo-intimate to audience members (Rubin and McHugh 1987, Rubin and Step 2000). This process involves identifying with social cues created by lyrics, onstage banter, or online messaging that cohesively connects the artist with the fan (Auter and Palmgreen 2000, Kassing and Sanderson 2009). Online users relate and identify to those with similar interests, values, and personality constructs as themselves- developing an affinity or identification with the celebrity persona and fan community where the fans believe they know the artist or each other in the community (Auter and Palmgreen 2000). Therefore, although communication might be perceived as passive (observational) or active (communicating/participating in the online community), the process is essentially two-sided and does resemble off-line social relationships.Types of UsersKozinets (1999) posited that online relationships were based on two non-independent factors: 1) the relationship a person has with a consumption activity (level of interest), and 2) the intensity of relationships with other members of the online community (friends or fans). Kozinets proposed a typology of four online community types: devotees, insiders, tourists, and minglers. Devotees are active members (fans) who have a strong interest in the online activity, but have few social ties to other members. Insiders have strong personal interest in an artist or activity and have strong social ties to the community members, and tourists lack strong ties with the activity, the artist, or online community. Finally, minglers have strong social ties with other members, but little interest in the activity/art- ist being discussed. This then defines devotees/insiders as artist-centered, minglers as group- or fan base-centered, and tourists as not engaged to the artist or group. While this classification serves as more of a labeling typology, it might be studied in the future for communication content that is idealized to serve each grouping.Social TheoryCole and Leets (1999) provided an early overview of Berger's (1986) three social development theories in order to provide a framework for online communities. …