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The London School of Economics and Political Science Audible The London School of Economics and Political Science Audible Audiences: Engaging with Music in Japan Rafal Zaborowski A thesis submitted to the Department of Media and Communications of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy London, May 2015 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 75,470 words. Statement of use of third party for editorial help I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Ms Dawn Rushen. 2 Abstract In this thesis I aim to uncover the nature, quality and implications of audience engagement with popular music in everyday life. Specifically, I look at two post-war generations in modern Japan and analyse their listening practices and interpretations of music encounters. To investigate this, a mixed-method approach is used based on focus group and individual interviews, questionnaires, participant observation and expert interviews with industry representatives – 100 study participants overall. Emerging patterns and themes are identified through qualitative thematic analysis. In two case studies – of idol groups and vocaloid music - I focus on how audiences, especially fans, and producers interact, with a close bond emerging over a process of cultural co-evolution of production and reception. Then, I position this map of engagements within the experiences of two Japanese cohorts, “the lost” and “the relaxed”. I argue that their generational experiences and localities guide the frames through which they interpret music. I argue that listening to music is a complex social practice whose significance has been undervalued in audience research. Audiences make music choices and engage with musical texts according to specific modes and routines which should be analysed together. Following the legacy of literary and television audience studies, I propose an account of music listening in terms of a spectrum of audience engagements linked to texts, contexts, performances and authorship. The concepts of proximity (cultural proximity and the proximity between performers and audiences) inform the analysis of the circuit of culture, offering new insight into modes of engagement and production processes. Japan, home of the Walkman and karaoke, emerges from the analysis as not only the land of technological innovations in music, but also as a culture with wider implications for media and audience research. 3 Table of Contents Declaration ......................................................................................................................... 2 Statement of use of third party for editorial help ................................................................. 2 Abstract .............................................................................................................................. 3 Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ 4 List of figures ...................................................................................................................... 9 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Where it begins ......................................................................................................... 11 1.2 Dancing about architecture? The overarching research question ............................ 14 1.3 Music in Japan – a visitor’s overview ........................................................................ 20 1.4 Research on Japanese music ..................................................................................... 26 1.5 The structure of this thesis ........................................................................................ 29 Chapter 2: Theoretical foundations .................................................................................... 33 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 33 2.2 An overview of the audience approach in the literature .......................................... 35 2.2.1 Audience research in the West: A brief introduction ............................................ 35 2.2.2 Media effects and uses and the gratifications approach ...................................... 37 2.2.3 Encoding/decoding, British cultural studies and the ethnographic approach ...... 40 2.2.4 Beyond resistance: the longstanding debates around ‘the active audience’ ........ 43 2.3 Circuit of culture ........................................................................................................ 45 2.4 Media practice ........................................................................................................... 46 2.5 Media audiences: Achievements and remaining questions ...................................... 48 2.6 Audience research and research on music: connections and disconnections .......... 50 2.7 De-Westernizing media, de-Westernizing audiences, de-Westernizing listening .... 57 2.8 Research questions and the conceptual framework of the thesis ............................ 59 4 Chapter 3: Methodology.................................................................................................... 66 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 66 3.2 Rationale .................................................................................................................... 67 3.2.1 Methodological considerations ............................................................................. 67 3.2.2 The site and participants ....................................................................................... 71 3.2.3 Operationalization of research questions ............................................................. 73 3.3 Research design ......................................................................................................... 75 3.3.1 Recruitment ........................................................................................................... 76 3.3.2 Focus group interviews .......................................................................................... 79 3.3.3 Individual interviews ............................................................................................. 84 3.3.4 Observations ......................................................................................................... 86 3.3.5 Expert interviews ................................................................................................... 87 3.4 Analytical strategy ..................................................................................................... 88 3.5 Ethical considerations and the role of the researcher .............................................. 90 3.5.1 Ethical dimensions and procedures ....................................................................... 90 3.5.2 Role of the researcher ........................................................................................... 92 3.6 Limitations and conclusion ........................................................................................ 94 Chapter 4: Social practices of listening .............................................................................. 96 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 96 4.2 Approaches to listening ............................................................................................. 98 4.3 The listeners ............................................................................................................ 104 4.3.1 Yoshimi ................................................................................................................ 104 4.3.2 Sayaka ................................................................................................................. 107 4.3.3 Shigeru ................................................................................................................. 110 4.3.4 Hikari ................................................................................................................... 111 4.3.5 Naoki ................................................................................................................... 114 4.4 Discussion ................................................................................................................ 116 Chapter 5: Idols and virtual idols ..................................................................................... 121 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................
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