DIY Lives: Micro-Independent labels and long-term engagement in small-scale cultural production

Strachan, Robert ORCID: 0000-0002-0163-9039 (2014) DIY Lives: Micro-Independent labels and long-term engagement in small-scale cultural production. In: ‘ONE CENTURY OF RECORD LABELS: MAPPING PLACES, STORIES AND COMMUNITIES OF SOUND’, International Centre for Music Studies, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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Abstract

This paper draws upon ongoing ethnographic research in order to examine long-term involvement with DIY micro-independent record labels in the UK. Using participant observation and interview material with label owners, the paper examines how the discourses and practices of DIY culture are integrated into their subjectivities and working lives. It presents in-depth case studies of individuals who have been working in the area for a number of years to examine how the production and distribution of records is often one part of a range of activities that allow for sustainable engagement with small-scale production within the cultural industries. For such long-time participants, small-scale record production is not primarily focused around well-worn ideas surrounding art and commerce (Strachan 2007) or perceived as a gateway into the finances and distribution networks of the mainstream recording industry (Williams 2014). Instead, these participants value physical record releases as autonomous art objects. Thus, in the post-digital context of miniscule physical sales for many individuals running a label constitutes a form of situated art practice rather than a truly commercial enterprise. Further, running a micro-label is often part of a portfolio career in which label activities, whilst not necessarily making profit, serve as a marker of cultural capital which support, promote and validate other aspects of cultural work such as graphic design, festival organisation and other types of artistic practice.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	18 Nov 2014 10:27
Last Modified:	17 Dec 2022 01:05
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/2002159