Jazz musicians: creating service experience in live performance

Abstract

Purpose

Although music has been indicated by nightclubs and pubs' patrons as the most important service offering, the service marketing literature provides very little guidance on how artists could increase their audience satisfaction with an experiential product such as live music. This paper aims to give a wider understanding of jazz musicians' experience of their role in the creation of live performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 12 biographical interviews with 16 professional jazz musicians were completed.

Findings

The respondents identified audience, agents and venue owners as important elements of their product; however, they were inclined to see their live performance rather as an experience created by the product itself.

Practical implications

As the quality of relationship between musicians and wider business is in need of significant improvement, this paper identified potential sources of misunderstanding in a saturated and highly competitive marketplace. Practical implications include the need for venue managers to consider the consequences of poor relations with artists, as a bad practice in that area may negatively affect their ability to sustain their customer base. With the improvements in communication and more understanding for employee's feelings, one might create better working conditions, improve work satisfaction and commitment.

Originality/value

There are few studies that address the relations between musicians and venue owners, and “since the music is realized in a social and professional context, practitioners may operate different constructions of what is involved from those of observers”. Therefore this paper offers insights into the experience of live music from musicians' point‐of‐view.

Citation

Kubacki, K. (2008), "Jazz musicians: creating service experience in live performance", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 303-313. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596110810873516