Samenvatting

QUOTE “In a movie, you have someone who can push the plot along verbally. But [with fashion], music and clothes are your whole plot”. [Rene Arsenault] ABSTRACT This study addresses the extent to which hip-hop music is capable of modifying a consumer’s perception of the luxury fashion brands mentioned in song lyrics. A sample of 181 respondents, aged 20 to 40 years old, were given a survey which measured whether the individuals perceived hip-hop music as authentic based on a felt emotional connection and whether those feelings were transferred over to the luxury fashion brands mentioned in the music. - The results indicate that frequency of listening is connected to perceived music authenticity. However, one’s judgement of musical authenticity was not a strong predictor of perceived luxury fashion brand authenticity. Furthermore, an interaction effect test was conducted to observe whether perceived hip-hop authenticity and frequency of listening could together affect the perceived authenticity of luxury fashion brands. The results demonstrate that these factors combined did not explain any additional variance in the perceived authenticity of luxury fashion brands. Implications for marketers are discussed. HYPOTHESES Hypothesis 1: Amongst the Millennial demographic, there will be a positive relationship between individuals who listen to hip-hop music more frequently and their perception of hip-hop as authentic music. - Hypothesis 2: Millennials who identify hip-hop music as authentic will also perceive the luxury fashion brands mentioned by name in hip-hop songs as authentic. - Hypothesis 3: Participants who perceived hip-hop music as authentic will increasingly perceive fashion brands as authentic due to a rise in listening frequency. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction. - The relationship between marketing and music. - The various facets of authenticity. - Authentic music and our emotions. - Conceptual Framework. - Methodology. – Results. - Hypothesis 1. - Hypothesis 2. - Hypothesis 3. - General discussion and relevance. - Limitations and further research. - Conclusion . - Bibliography. - Appendix A: Survey questions