Research Colloquium: Uses of the past in branding musical artists

Research Colloquium: Uses of the past in branding musical artists

Lecture Theatre 1, School of Music

The speaker is Daragh O’Reilly (University of Sheffield)

Chaired by Silviu Cobeanu

Abstract
There has been considerable interest over the past decade in the relationship between brands and their past. This has led to strands of literature in brand heritage, nostalgia and retro-branding. However, these strands mainly ignore the work on cultural memory and social remembering.

This colloquium presents work on two music-related inquiries which use this theoretical perspective to mine insights into how musical organisations build brands in the areas of popular music albums and music consumption communities. The talk explores how New Model Army, the Bradford-based band, curated an exhibition of its art and artefacts, and how the Classic Albums series of film documentaries constructed accounts of album recordings.

Dr Daragh OReilly

Daragh O’Reilly is a Senior Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Industries at Sheffield University Management School. He has written widely on the links between music, markets and culture, as well as on other aspects of the creative industries. His interest lies mainly in how branding theory can be applied to and developed from inquiries in the creative industries.