SofiaUnplugged

On February the 23^rd, I attended the Taylor Swift concert and was a part of an audience of 81,000 people. An audience can be defined as any group of people who watch or listen any type of media ranging from music to concerts, social media content, television, movies etc. This week’s blog post will be focussing on the experience I had as an audience member at the Taylor Swift concert and how this relates to changing media experiences. 

I unexpectedly attended Taylor Swift’s opening night concert in Sydney, despite not initially planning on it as I am not a big Taylor Swift fan. My friend reached out to me last minute asking if I wanted to join her as she had a few spare tickets in a zone box. She mentioned that the ticket would be free of charge, and we would be in an exclusive area with our own bar fridge and food all included. I felt almost obligated to say yes to this once in a lifetime experience. I specifically remember everyone scrambling for tickets when they first became available which made me even more grateful for the offer I was lucky enough to experience. Despite not being a huge Taylor Swift fan, the night was one of the best nights of my life! Taylors live performance skills truly amazed me as an audience member and the whole atmosphere was electrifying. After experiencing one of the most incredible concerts I’ve ever been to, I began to consider exploring outside of my music comfort zone. The whole experience from finding an outfit to screaming ‘Love Story’ at the top of my lungs enlightened me to experience more live music as it captures a whole different encounter of the music itself and the exhilarating atmosphere that crowds create.    

(image taken by me) 

The evolution of how audiences consume media has changed drastically over the decades to cater for the growing population and needs of the modern world. Media streaming platforms such as Netflix and Spotify have become increasingly popular for their convenience. For example, watching television used to be a small screen in a dimly lit room, whereas now watching television has turned into distracted viewing with multiple people watching multiple screens. People now have access to a broad range of how they want to consume media and are also given the freedom to express their thoughts and opinions on this certain media. According to the “magic bullet theory”, the effects of media can have an instant impact on audiences therefore hitting them like a ‘bullet’. I experienced this at the Taylor Swift concert as I was inspired to see more live music and support local artists.  

For me, being apart of a live audience I believe is a powerful connection people hold as we all experience the same performance which we may encounter in different ways, making everyone’s experience extra unique and personalised to themselves. 

Reference:

Guggenheim, L n.d., UOW Library Online Resources Login, login.ezproxy.uow.edu.au.