SEPARATING THE MUSIC FROM THE ARTIST: IMMORAL ARTISTS AND MUSICAL RECEPTION

Abstract

This paper examines how audiences’ perceptions and evaluations of music are affected after an incident that undermines the moral legitimacy of admired artists. It investigates the extent to which music can be perceived separately from the artist, and the attitudes, actions, and strategies adopted in possible attempts to dissociate the two. The physical bond between the artist and the music—referred to as “authenticity as authentication”—in which the audience and the artist share a role, is analyzed in detail. The construction of authenticity toward the artist as author is explored within the framework of the continued relevance of authorial power in the contemporary postmodern world. Methodologically, this paper employs a qualitative approach, drawing on secondary sources and examining various historical and current examples. It argues that the author, whose metaphorical death was proclaimed by Barthes and Foucault, and even stardom as a particular manifestation of authorship, can still occupy a powerful position in texts and be part of their polysemy. Additionally, it is claimed that once an imaginary threshold of fascination is crossed, negative biographical information about the artist can make the “experience impact” inevitable, and attempts to separate the music from the artist may result in a loss of meaning and pleasure.

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