Att producera autenticitet : Känslor och värdeskapande i musikmarknadsföring

Sammanfattning

This study examines how value and meaning are created within music marketing, with a particular focus on how authenticity, emotions, and narratives are produced and negotiated in the development and communication of artists’ expressions. Taking an anthropological perspective, the study is based on a qualitative approach inspired by short-term ethnography and draws on two semi-structured interviews with creative industry actors, combined with netnographic observations of openly available content on social media platforms, primarily TikTok and Instagram. The findings show that music marketing is largely centred on the artist and the emotional core of the creative expression, and that marketing is understood not as a separate, post-production activity, but as a process that develops alongside music-making. Authenticity emerges not as a fixed or inherent quality, but as something relational and processual, shaped through collaborations between artists, creative actors, marketers, and audiences. Emotions play a central role in this process, functioning as a key resource in value creation, where recognition, emotional resonance, and perceived closeness contribute to both cultural and economic value. By applying theoretical perspectives on symbolic capital, the social life of things, and assemblages of worth, the study demonstrates how authenticity is formed within, rather than outside of, commercial logics, through the circulation of music and meaning across creative, economic, and public contexts.