In defence of authenticity. An analysis of consumers’ responses to a crisis of authenticity

Scholars have deeply discussed how authenticity can be socially constructed or threatened. However, the reaction of individuals to the processes through which authenticity can evolve or devolve over time is an under-researched topic. This paper focuses on popular music and uses netnography and direct interviews to investigate consumers’ responses to a band’s crisis of authenticity. Findings provide evidences that defending authenticity can be one potentially important individuals’ reaction, when authenticity is undermined. Particularly, the discourse between people and individuals’ fantasy seem to play important roles in the process of defence.