This book launches a proposal: to fill some empirical and theoretical gaps that presently exists in populism studies by looking at the potential nexus between populist phenomena and popular culture. It provides a detailed account of the multiple mechanisms linking the production of pop music (as a form of popular culture) to the rise and reproduction of populism. The authors use a case study of Italy to interrogate these mechanisms because of its long-lasting populist phenomena and the contextual importance of pop music. The book’s mixed-methods strategy assesses three different aspects of the potential relationship between pop music and populist politics: the cultural opportunity structure generated and reproduced by the production of music, the strategies political actors use to exploit music for political purposes, and, crucially, the ways fans and ordinary citizens understand the relationship between pop music and politics, and subsequent debates and identities. Moving from the case study, the book in its last chapter offers a more general understanding of the associations between pop music and populism.
Author(s): Manuela Caiani, Enrico Padoan
Series: Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 296
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
List of Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Populism, Popular Culture and (Pop) Music: An Introduction
1.1 Why Study Populism and (Popular) Culture
Macro-Level Perspectives: Popular Culture and Mass Culture, Cultural Populism
Populism and Popular Culture: The Role of the Actors (Meso-Level)
Populism and Pop Culture (and Music): How Audiences Connect Them (Micro Level)
1.2 Music and Politics
1.3 (Pop) Music and Populism: ‘Mind the Gap’
Subcultural Music and the Radical Right Organizations
Populisms and Emotions
1.4 Populism, Populisms: A Definition (and Its Boundaries)
1.5 Populism and (Pop) Music Between Opportunities and Resources: Research Design
1.6 Our Case: Italy
1.7 Data and Methods
1.8 The Content of the Volume
References
Chapter 2: Populism and (Pop) Music: Multiple Opportunity Structures in Italy
2.1 Music-Market Opportunity Structure in Italy
Consumption of Music
The Radio Market
Listening to Pop Music on TV: The Sanremo Festival
The Contemporary Pop Scene
2.2 Political Opportunities
2.3 Discursive-Cultural Opportunities
Diffusion of Anti-Immigrant Sentiment, Anti-Political Attitudes and Economic Grievances
The Changes of the Radical Right and Its Subcultural Music in Italy
2.4 Conclusions
References
Chapter 3: Pop Music and Populist Messages
3.1 A Surprising Populist Hype in Contemporary Italian Pop Music
Disengagement and Libertarianism
Anti-Populism in Italian Pop Music?
3.2 Musicological Group Analysis: ‘Playing Italianness in Italian Pop Music’
3.3 Conclusions
References
Chapter 4: The Use of (Pop) Music by Populist Parties
4.1 Music at the Lega Events: Building a ‘Partisan Culture’ Through Music
Building the Relation Between the People and the Leader
4.2 Music at the 5SM Events: A Different Process of Partisan Culture-Building
4.3 Conclusion: Different Populisms, Different Usages of Pop Music
References
Chapter 5: The Interactions Between Populist Actors and Popular Music in the Public Sphere
5.1 Average Italian Fan: Matteo Salvini and the Politicization of His Music Tastes
5.2 Salvini Versus Pop Artists: Flattering and Bullying
5.3 Pop Music Artists Versus Salvini: Reproducing the Populism/Anti-Populism Divide
5.4 Five Star Movement: Too Little Frivolous to Play Pop-Politics in a Credible Way
5.5 Between the Political Roles of Singers and Music Appropriation by Politicians: Voices from Experts
5.6 Conclusions
References
Chapter 6: Between Music and Politics: The Reception of (‘Populist’) Music by Fans and Citizens
6.1 ‘I Like Him Because He Got What He Wanted’: Authentic, Rebel, ‘Not Political’ (i.e. Not Ideological or Partisan)
6.2 Pop Artists and Politics in Fans’ Daily Lives
6.3 Music as a Collective Ritual
6.4 “Populists Seek the Vote of Those Listening to This Kind of Music”: Cementing the Anti-Populist–Populist Divide Through Pop Music
6.5 Music, Politics and Audiences: Conclusion
References
Chapter 7: Conclusion: Challenges and Opportunities of (Pop) Music for Populism
7.1 Music ‘as Action’: Speaking Out Versus Speaking As
7.2 Music as Action: ‘Organizing’
7.3 Between Music and Politics (in Italy): Towards an Explanation?
7.4 Populism and Pop Music: Scientific Added Value and Some Normative Reflections
Looking Ahead to Future Research: What Indications for Future Studies?
The Democratic Potential of Music (and Its Risks)
References
Appendix
Appendix Table 3.a (Chap. 3). Codebook Used for the Analysis of Italian Pop Songs (2009–2018)
Appendix Table 3.b (Chap. 3). List of Italian Pop Songs Included in the Analysis (2009–2018)
Appendix Table 3.c (Chap. 3). Musicological Group Analysis Sessions
Appendix Figs. 3 (a–d). (Chap. 3). (Populist) Images from Videoclips
Appendix Table 4.a (Chap. 4). Participant Observation in Party Events with Music: Outline
Appendix Table 4.b (Chap. 4). List of Party Events Included in the Analysis (Participant Observation)
Appendix Table 4.c (Chaps. 4–6). List of Interviews Quoted in the Analysis (with Party Representatives, Militants, Concertgoers and Experts)
Appendix Table 4.d (Chap. 4). Questionnaire for the Interviews with Party Representatives
Appendix Table 4.e (Chap. 4). Questionnaire for the Interviews with Experts (Musicologists, Academic Professors, Journalists)
Appendix Fig. 4.a (Chap. 4). League’s Festa di Pontida, 18 August 2019
Appendix List 5.a (Chap. 5). Full List of Weblinks Retrieved and Analysed Through Google Keyword Research (Time Frame 2010–2019)
Appendix Table 6.a (Chap. 6). Questionnaire for Interviews with Populist (and Anti-Populist) Activists
Appendix Table 6.b (Chap. 6). Questionnaire for Interviews with Concertgoers and Fans of Pop Singers
Appendix Table 6.c (Chap. 6). Focus Group Sessions
Appendix Table 6.d (Chap. 6). Focus Group Guide
Index
