Technological Development and Consumer (Dis)involvement in the SoundCloud Service

Helton Rafael Ferreira do  Nascimento; Flávia Zimmerle da Nóbrega Costa; Marconi Freitas da Costa

doi:10.5020/2318-0722.2025.31.e17305

Authors

Helton Rafael Ferreira do Nascimento Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9658-368X
Flávia Zimmerle da Nóbrega Costa Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9210-7889
Marconi Freitas da Costa Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9888-8359

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5020/2318-0722.2025.31.e17305

Keywords:

consumer involvement, SoundCloud, Consumer Culture Theory

Abstract

Drawing on the consumer culture theory (CCT) approach, this study sought to understand how consumers reveal their involvement with the SoundCloud platform through their use of the service. Despite the growth of the Brazilian streaming market, the platform has faced difficulties monetizing its range of offerings, a situation that has benefited its consumers. Given that the platform emphasizes direct interaction among users and between users and creators, and that involvement is shaped by cultural contexts and fostered by marketplace cultures, we propose linking involvement to the user experience, as materialized in the meanings attributed to everyday consumption. We conducted a qualitative, interpretive study involving 17 interviews with users and applied functional discourse analysis. The findings revealed three strands of meaning: limited interest in the service’s offerings; a nostalgic attachment connecting users to the service; and an appreciation of involvement with the user community. The value attributed to interactions among users contributed to a deeper understanding of the other two strands of meaning because consumption, as an inherently complex, cultural, and collective activity or phenomenon, enables participants to construct their sense of self within the social spaces they inhabit. Finally, we demonstrate how sociocultural, symbolic, and experiential aspects are essential to consumer relationships and, consequently, to the establishment of an emotional relationship with the brand.

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Translation

This article is a translation in English of the article: O Desenvolvimento Tecnológico e o (Des)envolvimento do Consumidor no Serviço SoundCloud

Author Biographies

Helton Rafael Ferreira do Nascimento, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Bachelor’s degree in Bilingual Executive Secretarial Studies from the School of Management Sciences of Garanhuns (2013) and a postgraduate specialization in Business and People Management from the same institution (2015). Master’s degree from the Graduate Program in Management, Innovation, and Consumption (PPGIC) at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Campus Agreste. Currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Library Science and a doctoral degree through the Graduate Program in Information Science (PPGCI) at UFPE.

Flávia Zimmerle da Nóbrega Costa, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Associate Professor at the Design and Communication Department of UFPE’s Agreste Academic Center. PhD in Business Administration from UFPE. Permanent faculty member of PPGIC at UFPE, Campus Agreste.

Marconi Freitas da Costa, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Professor at UFPE. PhD in Business Administration from the University of São Paulo. Coordinator of PPGIC. Permanent faculty member of UFPE’s Graduate Program in Business Administration (PROPAD). Coordinator of the Consumer Behavior Research Group, registered in the Directory of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Consumer Behavior Review (CBR), having led the journal’s indexing in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and EBSCO databases. Founding member of the Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative (SCORAI) in Brazil.

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