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Music fandom online: R.E.M. fans in pursuit of the ultimate first listen

Bennett, Lucy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2264-7596 2012. Music fandom online: R.E.M. fans in pursuit of the ultimate first listen. New Media & Society 14 (5) , pp. 748-763. 10.1177/1461444811422895

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Abstract

This article explores the processes that occur when music fans reject the up-to-date flow and download culture of the internet in favour of a more traditional first experience of listening to an album. Examining a sub-group within an online community for fans of rock band R.E.M., this article discusses how these fans assume non-normativity, due to their activities evading spoilers concerning the then forthcoming album. Driven by a nostalgic aim to recapture the experience of buying a new album without prior knowledge other than official information, this research shows how fans endeavour to resist technology and restore the experience of listening to and purchasing a new album as a singular event. The analysis shows how this pursuit of pleasure resulted in their cultural distinctiveness from the community and how it enabled them to create a form of inverted fan cultural capital, positioning them as a different, albeit temporary, interpretive community.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Journalism, Media and Culture
Subjects: M Music and Books on Music > M Music
Publisher: Sage
ISSN: 1461-4448
Last Modified: 21 Oct 2022 10:06
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/39015

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