ABSTRACT

In the context of cultural commodities, music has undergone some of the most striking changes in the digital era. To discuss the impact of music’s changing technologies on fans and fan cultures, we brought together three phenomenal music scholars, Nancy Baym, Daniel Cavicchi, and Norma Coates. Nancy Baym’s books on digital media cultures, Tune In, Log On, and Personal Connections in the Digital Age, are foundational texts for understanding online cultures, and her forthcoming book, Playing to The Crowd: Musicians, Audiences, and the Intimate Work of Connection, is much-anticipated. Daniel Cavicchi’s scholarship on music audiences, Listening and Longing: Music Lovers in the Age of Barnum and Tramps Like Us: Music and Meaning Among Springsteen Fans, offers thoughtful and nuanced accounts of historical and contemporary music fan cultures. Norma Coates has written extensively on music cultures and gender; her forthcoming book, Rocking the Wasteland: A Cultural History of Popular Music on American Network Television from Elvis to MTV, is a cultural and industrial history of popular music on network television from Elvis’ first appearance to the development of cable. Together, these scholars discuss how digital technologies have influenced (and continue to influence) music fandom. In their exchange, they explore a wealth of topics including definitions of “music” and “fan,” the changing relationships between musicians and fans, emotion and gender, and approaches for studying music fandom as it continues to evolve.