Abstract

Authenticity is a powerful concept within popular music culture. As Shuker (2002, 20) notes, authenticity carries considerable cultural weight, and Thornton (1995, 26) argues that it is perhaps the most valuable quality that can be ascribed to music. To be considered authentic, music must convey an impression of being ‘real’, ‘raw’, ‘honest’ or ‘original’. In the popular sphere, authenticity is rarely interrogated and, as a result, it maintains an enigmatic quality that increases its symbolic power.