Shaping Music Consumption in China’s New Media Era: Use, Exchange, and Identity

Abstract

Two questions must be clarified before approaching the key issues of this chapter. The first question is: What is cultural consumption, or music consumption, to be more specific? McCracken (J Consum Res 13: 71–84, 1986) has noted that the essence of cultural consumption lies in the “cultural connotation in the choice, the use, and the semantic and symbolic meaning of any commodified production” (Guerzoni and Nuccio in J Cult Econ 38:145–171, 2014: 149). The cultural connotation in this process differentiates the consumption of culture from that of other commodities, though culture is also commodified in the process. Nonetheless, Adorno and Horkheimer refer to the commodification and consumption of cultural goods or services as cultural industry, criticizing the same stamp impressed on culture (Adorno and Horkheimer in Ann Am Acad Polit Soc Sci 619(1):223–237, 1944, 1972: 120). In terms of music, their accusation is mainly targeted at popular music. The accusation towards popular music might have made sense in previous decades when the production and consumption of popular music were very limited. However, the statement is not entirely true in contemporary society. Music, unlike other cultural products or services, should be experienced and assessed after consumption (Nelson in J Polit Econ 78(2):311–329, 1970). Of course, consumption is not confined to monetary spending; it also includes the time and energy spent to obtain products, services, or experiences. The emerging new media era has also brought greater variety to music production and consumption, turning “falling prey” into “active participants.” This argument points to the next question: What does new media have to do with music consumption?