s_k

I never really bothered comparing the two, but now you mention it... indeed .

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Salami

They aren't BAD, it's just that I can't really give them credit for creativity and artistic endeavour. Oddly enough, that's exactly what Radiohead are acclaimed for, and Coldplay seem to be intent on copying them!

Spetterist

I think british bands in general do well in the Netherlands...

Anyway, just wanted to say that I really enjoy listening to Coldplay... Must admit I am a fan (and not ashamed) But the reason I chose them for my paper is because they can easily be thought of as a 'brand' (because, perhaps, they are).

I fear that I might not get the results I was hoping for and I don't think I'll be able to do the research I was planning to do. But I did get some new ideas as to what I could talk about in my paper. And I think those ideas might even be better than the old one, I just hope my teacher agrees (it was her idea to do a questionnaire).

s_k

Haha, what were you hoping for then?

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Salami

Well, I suppose we might have helped you in finding out why some of us dislike Coldplay. Although, figure this one out if you can, I'd still go to a Coldplay concert if one was in town. Maybe I'm just weird?

Spetterist

I was hoping to be able to compare the fan's perceived brand personality of coldplay to the musiclovers perceived brandpersonality of coldplay. But it seems that non-fan musiclovers disagree with every sentence whereas fans agree with everything. So that IS a result but not something one could do much with...

And yes you have, in fact that is why i decided to write about something else. A couple of things actually.

First I think I might zoom in on the negative effect that being a 'brand' can have on people/bands which is something i didn't think of. and it could be interesting if this negative effect exists only for people because i cant think of anyone hating coca cola because its a brand!

Second I think I am going to look at the difference in opinion about coldplay in media and on fora like this where self-proclamed musicfreaks come together (and possibly other groups). For example, in popular media a lot of people who know stuff about music (I can't think of the proper word) are quite positive about Coldplay BUT here, a whole different image (or brandpersonality if you will) exists. So maybe there is already some literature about this or maybe not, anyway I'm going to look into this

And then I think you would still go to a Coldplay concert for the great experience. I don't know if I can explain this the right way but I've been to Coldplay concerts and I would go again just for the feeling of being united with so many people. Also the show is spectacular and fun to watch. Anyway, that why I would go if I weren't a fan! But maybe you would just go to make fun of them (which I think would be stupid because Coldplay tickets are quite expensive so that would be one big waste of money).

Salami

I'm still not quite sure what you mean by this "brand" concept. Are you referring to the idea that the band itself is marketed as an individual label, for example, people only liking "Paradise" because they know it's a Coldplay song?

Anyway, the reason I'd always go to a Coldplay concert is because of the aesthetic. I don't think that they ever really put on a great show, especially as Chris Martin always seems to sweat profusely . However, I can sometimes enjoy their innocent nonsensical nature combined with their occasionally original ideas: I quite love "Strawberry Swing" for that very reason.

Spetterist

I mean brand literaly. My paper is about brands and how people can be brands as well (and about the differences between normal brands and people as brands). And sure, brands (lets take coca-cola) have a certain brand loyalty so if Coldplay is a brand they could have brand loyalty as well. But thats not unlimited so theoretically, someone who dislikes Paradise wouldn't listen to it even though its a Coldplay song... Brands have a lot of aspects, brand value for example is popular in modern science. But I am focussing more on the psycological side of brands, like the brand-consumer relation which can mean a lot to consumers (some scientist compare brands to churches) However I know thats quite philosophical and probably not like real life. But i'm writing a theoretical paper so that doesn't matter. One book that I found really interesting on this subject is 'Die magische Gestalt- Die Marke im Zeitalter der Massenware' by Dr. Klaus Brandmeyer and Prof. Dr. Alexander Deichsel, if you are interested. Anyway this more philosohpical aproach to brands has let me to understand the idea of a band as a brand much better...

By the way, Chris Martin quite often forgets his lyrics or messes up a piono part :P And yeah I've seen him swet.... But I don't think its fair to judge them on that, since there can be so many reasons for sweating and I dont see how that is related to giving a good show. I have seen more artist swet a lot but that doesn't mean I enjoyed their shows any less...

Strawberry Swing is great Ik like 42 a lot too, that probably one of my favourites!

Salami

Well, I think if you are more interested in the psycological side, it may be worth taking a closer look at the way people relate specifically to these brands. I think we really shouldn't be too careless when we pass over the idea of loyalty; for example if Coca cola produced a drink that people thought was pretty disgusting, they wouldn't drink it for the sake of it being cola. However, they are more likely to drink cola than any other commercial soft drink because they are already associated with that brand. Now, people may be likewise more inclined to listen to Coldplay despite the fact that some of their recent songs are getting lamer and lamer, because they already feel associated to that band, and are more likely to listen to them than any others.
By the way, "42" is the very closest Coldplay ever get to rock. As much as I dislike Johnny Buckland, he definitely had a few good ideas there.

Spetterist

True. If someone doesn't like one song, they wouldn't stop listening to songs they do like. So the loyalty is very complex. In contrast with new receipies for coca cola, a new coldplay song does not stop people from listening from old songs. But if coca cola 'improves' their formula, that does rule out drinking the old coca cola.

So thats a significant difference. Thanks