Study on the Effect of Musicians’ Deaths on Individuals

Abstract

This is an exploratory study on the effect of the death of musicians on individuals. Parasocial relationships were identified and uncovered in this study and their implications were discussed. There was an easily identifiable dependence on musicians by the respondents for purposes such as motivation, inspiration and personal well-being. This study highlights the effects of parasocial relationships and interactions with musicians on coping, the reason behind the formation of parasocial relationships with musicians and the effects of the termination of one such relationship. The sample consisted of ten university students who had mourned the death of their favourite musician. It was mostly selected through snowballing since interested participants would find it easier to spread the world of mouth with other like- minded individuals in their friend circle. The ten respondents were interviewed and their responses were systematically coded to extract dimensions and themes. With the emergence of said themes, it was concluded that the death of a musician produced profound changes in the respondents, with many of them owing their identity formation, self-confidence and emotional- regulation to the musician. In the aftermath of the study, therapeutic applications of coping techniques are discussed.