Headphone Culture in Public Spaces of Transfer : Linking Ubiquitous Private Listening to Warped Space

Summary, in English

How do nondescript spaces of transfer (Warped Space), as such, relate to the wide-spread headphone culture in those spaces? To address this question, the chapter presents a reading of Vidler (1999) on Warped space, Simmel (the Stranger) and Bull (2012) on Toxic Audiotopia. The chapter concludes that Warped spaces or spaces of transfer call for people not to connect, and it was also found that this is supported by the emphasis on looking rather than hearing, and the ‘othering' of all others that can be seen happening amongst travelers if analyzed as all Strangers. So because the space of transfer is not conducive to connecting with others – rather the opposite – and because travelers see each other in an object-like way in that space, it has been a particularly suitable space for headphone listening. For marketers, I suggest that marketing efforts can favorably be about creating appealing images and sounds reminiscent of other places that people long for, and also about creating art or ads for Warped space, that convey meaning and are imaginative and reassuring at the same time.

• Author: Clara Gustafsson
• Editor: Minna-Maarit Jaskari
• Department/s: Marketing; Centre for Retail Research at Lund University
• Publishing year: 2024-03
• Language: English
• Pages: 58-74
• Publication/Series: Building Strong Brand and Engaging Customers With Sound
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-0778-6
• Document type: Book chapter
• Publisher: IGI Global
• Topic: Business Administration
• Keywords: Space; Music; Sonic; Public space; Warped space; Headphones; Listening; Silence; Architecture; Simmel; Headphone culture; Private listening; Commuting
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISBN: 9798369307786; ISBN: 9798369307793