What’s in a thang? Dancing to brand image with Miley Cyrus’ multimodal dance spectacle

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize how Miley Cyrus’ brand values are projected through the multimodal semiotic structure of the live performance of the song Do my thang (from the Bangerz album (2013)). Design/methodology/approach Sociosemiotic conceptual framework in conjunction with an interpretive videographic method of analysis, facilitated by the multimodal qualitative discourse analytic software ATLAS.ti. Findings Four major territories were identified as regards the spectacle’s latent axiology, namely, freeplay, polymorphous sexuality, neo-burlesque, and hyperdifferentiation. Practical implications Attending to structural couplings between signs and modes in the context of bespoke artists’ brand languages constitutes a priority for managing an artist as brand, and, concomitantly, for safeguarding relevance for a fandom. A multimodal reading grid is offered to this end. Originality/value From a branding point of view, this study constitutes the first one that theorizes the live show spectacle as the manifest discourse whereupon brand image and brand values are edified, with an emphasis on the dance mode, over and above the verbal/visual modes that dominate the advertising/branding literatures.

Staying in, rocking out: Online live music portal shows during the coronavirus pandemic

“…Korsgaard explains that, '[t]he advantage of Goodwin's categorization is that it focuses explicitly on the audiovisual relation instead of only relating to the music or the images' (2017: 32). I extend synaesthesia to portal shows, whereby the spectacle matches and mirrors the respective performance and stage layout (see also Rossolatos, 2017). For Code Orange, this is most notable through the intermedial stage screen video imagery extending into the screen interface as an overlay during the set.…”