Marketplace transformation of classical music tastes: Insights from the Bridgewater Hall concert place

The aim of this paper is to explore how a concert hall can shape and potentially transform consumers’ tastes and identity investments, within the field of classical music consumption. Both space and place and taste are... [ view full abstract ]

The aim of this paper is to explore how a concert hall can shape and potentially transform consumers’ tastes and identity investments, within the field of classical music consumption. Both space and place and taste are important theoretical constructs that have been studied extensively across social sciences. Nevertheless, there is little empirical research that brings together these two constructs, and explores how musical spaces tend to shape and influence consumers' tastes. The paper is based on an eight-month ethnography conducted at the Bridgewater Hall concert place in Manchester. Our emergent findings illustrate how attendees’ classical music tastes are influenced, shaped and potentially transformed from the meanings of the Bridgewater Hall concert place. These meanings include the historical antecedents of the concert hall, its aural architecture, the manner in which the concert space is designed and organised, and the presence of various orchestras within the hall that act as ‘local taste’ communities. Our study contributes to existing arts marketing and consumer culture research that focuses on consumers’ tastes and identity investments within various consumption fields, and also provides useful guidelines for the experiential design of contemporary artistic spaces.