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Strategies Used by Colombian Independent Musicians to Reach Audiences

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Strategies Used by Colombian Independent Musicians to Reach Audiences University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2021-01-21 Strategies Used by Colombian Independent Musicians to Reach Audiences Martínez Moná, Mauricio Martínez Moná, M. (2021). Strategies Used by Colombian Independent Musicians to Reach Audiences (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/113015 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Strategies Used by Colombian Independent Musicians to Reach Audiences by Mauricio Martínez Moná A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN LANGUAGES, LITERATURES AND CULTURES CALGARY, ALBERTA JANUARY, 2021 © Mauricio Martínez Moná 2021 ii Abstract UNESCO (1982) has identified boosting cultural and creative industries such as film, music, publishing and video games as a sound strategy to diversify a region's economy and broaden its cultural capital. Countries like Colombia have created laws and policies to support cultural production; however, using culture and creative talent for business comes with its own set of challenges. Many of these problems are present on a stage defined as circulation (Hesmondhalgh, 2013), because this part of the value chain is where the main economic power lies and where new ventures typically innovate. I studied the strategies used by Colombian independent musicians and producers to circulate content. To achieve this, a series of interviews with musicians was conducted. Afterwards, the data was analyzed to describe how the approaches to circulation affect other stages in the value chain of the music business. The framework for this analysis consisted of the guidelines utilized for the development of cultural industries provided by UNESCO (UNESCO, 2009; UNESCO, 2013), Colombian policies and laws, and current theories on the matter. The results of this study can provide value for cultural policymakers, musicians, entrepreneurs and other researchers in the field. Keywords: Colombia, cultural industries, music business, circulation, music circulation iii Preface This thesis is original, unpublished, independent work by the author, M. Martínez Moná. The study reported in Chapters 1-5 was covered by Ethics Certificate number 20-0076, issued by the University of Calgary Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board for the project “Strategies used by Colombian independent musicians to reach international audiences” on March 9th, 2020. iv Acknowledgements I would like to first thank my supervisors Dr. Angela George and Dr. Gregory Taylor. Their kind words and encouragement steered me in the right direction while writing this text. COVID-19 restrictions forced us to work remotely, but through emails and Zoom calls I felt they were with me throughout the whole process. I also wish to thank everyone at the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures, including my colleagues. They were all there, listening to my ramblings about culture and industry. I must thank all the musicians that took part in this study. They trusted their words and feelings to me and I hope that, with this text, I am giving back ideas they can use to continue making and distributing great music. v Dedication To Fredy who loves to listen to “El camino de la vida” and Fabiola who sings “Pídeme la Luna” to me. vi Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Preface ............................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Dedication ............................................................................................................................ v Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Colombia ..................................................................................................................................... 4 History of Colombian Cultural Policies ................................................................................... 6 Current Colombian Cultural Policies ...................................................................................... 7 Criticism to Current Colombian Cultural Policies ................................................................. 9 Importance of the Study .......................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2: Literature Review .......................................................................................... 12 Definitions ................................................................................................................................. 17 Characteristics of Cultural Industries ................................................................................... 21 Tension Between Culture and Industry ................................................................................. 23 The Study .................................................................................................................................. 26 FocusinG on Distribution ......................................................................................................... 27 Music as the Canary in the Coalmine .................................................................................... 29 The Music Industry ................................................................................................................. 30 General Structure of the Industry ......................................................................................................... 31 Independence ........................................................................................................................................ 33 vii Colombian Music Industry ..................................................................................................... 35 From Folklore to “Fusion Musics” ....................................................................................................... 35 Copyright and Value Chain .................................................................................................................. 36 Gaps in the Literature ............................................................................................................. 38 Research Questions .................................................................................................................. 39 Chapter 3: Methodology .................................................................................................. 40 Qualitative Research ................................................................................................................ 40 Selecting Participants .............................................................................................................. 41 MakinG and MaintaininG Contacts ........................................................................................ 42 CollectinG Data ......................................................................................................................... 43 Instrument ............................................................................................................................................. 44 Ethics .................................................................................................................................................... 45 AnalyzinG Data ......................................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 4: Findings ......................................................................................................... 47 The Participants ....................................................................................................................... 47 Main Findings .................................................................................................................. 51 FindinG 1: Gatekeepers Are Not Vanquished ....................................................................... 51 FindinG 2: Own Circulation StrateGies .................................................................................. 57 Knowing the Audience ......................................................................................................................... 57 Strategy 1: Live Music ......................................................................................................................... 58 Strategy 2: Heavy Use of Social Media ............................................................................................... 61 Strategy 3: A Lot of Secondary Texts .................................................................................................. 62 Strategy 4: Networking and Using Other Musicians’
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