Relational Boundaries

Abstract

When musicians and their audiences can be in touch all day every day, and platforms do little to set boundaries for those interactions or relationships, musicians must do the work of setting relational limits themselves. This chapter explores the pressure to be “authentic,” showing how authenticity in music has shifted from meeting genre conventions to the more intimate demand of being yourself. The result can be the loss of mystique, which some musicians appreciate and others fear, as well as increased encounters with needy fans who feel more intimate than they are. It closes with an analysis of the strategies for bounding relationships and conversations that musicians use to do the work of maintaining a sense of privacy.