Synthesizers: an exploration into the iconicity of marketplace icons

ABSTRACT

As the preeminent musical invention of the twentieth century, the synthesizer has become a ubiquitous device that not only informs the soundscapes of our lives, but one that also shapes what we consider to be music. At the heart of this unquestioned, though often polarizing, marketplace icon is a paradox between the synthesizer’s limitless power of sound design that appeals to musicians and the limiting power of culture that circumscribes the instrument’s potential in order to make it appealing to mass consumers. To understand how the synthesizer became a marketplace icon, we examine it in relation to the synthetic nature of icons (i.e. the dialectical tension at the heart of icons), the web of iconicity (i.e. the cultural associations necessary to elevate a product to iconic status), and the process of cultural appropriation of disruptive innovations (i.e. the necessity to tame, but seemingly promote, the iconoclastic nature of marketplace icons).

KEYWORDS:

• Electronic music
• marketplace icon
• musical instruments
• synthesizers
• paradox
• popular culture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Clinton D. Lanier

Clinton D. Lanier, Jr. is Associate Professor of Marketing in the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas. His research interests focus primarily on experiential consumption, consumer creativity, and the consumption of popular culture. He has published research in Academy of Marketing Science Review, Consumption Markets & Culture, Journal of Marketing Management, Marketing Theory, The Routledge Companion to Digital Consumption, Brand Mascots, and Memorable Customer Experiences.

C. Scott Rader

C. Scott Rader is Associate Professor of Marketing at Western Carolina University. His research interests include the consumption of technology, experiential consumption, and cross-cultural consumer behavior. He has published research in Consumption Markets & Culture, Journal of Communication Management, Journal of Marketing Management, International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, and Marketing Theory.