The sound of luxury: A content analysis of hashtagged luxury brand posts and their music on social media, Lüksün sesi: Sosyal medyada hashtag kullanılan lüks marka paylaşımlarındaki müziklerin içerik analizi

Abstract

Luxury consumption functions as a means for individuals to project their status or ideal self. Consumers engage in conspicuous consumption by displaying luxury brands utilizing price tags and logos as symbols of social identity. Music a powerful determinant of emotions and consumer behavior plays a pivotal role in brand communication particularly for luxury brands seeking to establish exclusivity and a high-end identity. Given the critical role of music in luxury branding this study aims to analyze the types of music associated with the hashtags #luxurybrand and #luxurybrands on social media. Employing qualitative content analysis the research examines Instagram posts tagged with #luxurybrand and #luxurybrands categorizing music presence genre and lyrical content. The findings reveal that while 884 out of 2000 analyzed posts feature music the majority of luxury brand-related content does not incorporate musical elements. Jazz emerges as the most frequently associated genre followed by pop reinforcing the contemporary perception of jazz as a symbol of sophistication and high culture. Moreover instrumental music is favored over vocal music in luxury brand posts aligning with the industry’s emphasis on timelessness and exclusivity. These findings suggest a departure from traditional perspectives in music branding indicating that genre selection exerts a greater influence on luxury brand identity than lyrical content. Future research should further investigate consumer perceptions to enhance the understanding of music’s role in luxury brand communication. © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.