Dance in the store: on the use and production of music in Abercrombie & Fitch

摘要

This article aims to contribute to the understanding of the functions of music in stores and similar semi-public settings through a critical discourse analysis of the music in Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F). This is an important field of study, which can arguably only grow in significance. Semi-public commercial places are increasingly struggling to create a strong and appealing image or brand. A range of challenges facing the retail sector lay down the premises for such a struggle: a retail market ever more competitive, parity products en masse, increased sales via the Internet, time-pressured consumers and, currently, declining sales. For creating and preserving a strong brand, music can play a decisive role in combination with other supplementary aspects of store design such as scents, interior and décor. The article examines the following questions which are concerned with the aesthesis or perception of music rather than with its production or construction (itspoïesis): What are the defining structural and semiotic characteristics of the in-store music in A&F? In what way does the music combine with other semiotic resources on display in the store? How might the semiotic resources affect experiences and interactions among consumers and store assistants? Inspired by Norman Fairclough's model for critical discourse analysis and based on exploratory and open-ended observations in A&F stores in London and Copenhagen during 2011, the article begins with a text analysis and then proceeds to relevant dimensions of processing analysis and social analysis. In particular, three functions of the music in A&F are discussed: an ‘architectural function’, a ‘psychobiological function’ and a ‘knowledge activation function’.View full textDownload full textKeywordsin-store music, semiotics of music, musical discourse, critical discourse studies, conceptual blending theory, branding, multimodality, dance, Abercrombie & FitchRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2012.713208