An Analysis of the Live Music Scene in Milan
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UNIVERSITA’ CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE MILANO Dottorato di ricerca in Culture della Comunicazione Ciclo XXIV S.S.D.: SPS/08 Sociologia dei Processi Culturali e Comunicativi Independent to What? An Analysis of The Live Music Scene in Milan Tesi di Dottorato di: Silvia Maria Tarassi Matricola: 3710771 Anno Accademico 2010/2011 1 UNIVERSITA’ CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE MILANO Dottorato di ricerca in Culture della Comunicazione Ciclo XXIV S.S.D.: SPS/08 Sociologia dei Processi Culturali e Comunicativi Independent to What? An Analysis of The Live Music Scene in Milan Coordinatore: Ch.mo Prof. Aldo Grasso Tesi di Dottorato di: Silvia Maria Tarassi Matricola: 3710771 Anno Accademico 2010/2011 2 Summary 1. Introduction ........................................................................ 6 1.1 Thesis Topic: Independent Live Music Scene ................................................................. 6 1.2 Research Interest .............................................................................................................. 9 1.3 Structure Of Thesis ......................................................................................................... 11 2. The Music Scene Perspective ............................................14 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Sub-Culture And Post Sub-Culture Studies ................................................................... 14 2.2 Affirmation Of The Music Scene Perspective ............................................................... 19 2.3 Local Music Scene ......................................................................................................... 20 2.4 Theorization Of The Music Scene Perspective: Music Scene Going Beyond Locality . 23 2.5 Music Scenes: Local, Trans-local and Virtual ............................................................... 25 2.6 Critics To Music Scene Perspective ............................................................................... 27 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 32 3. Art Worlds, Fields And Networks: New Ways Of Theorizing Music Scenes .......................................................36 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 36 3.1 Becker’s Art World ........................................................................................................ 38 3.2 Bourdieu’s Field of Cultural Production ........................................................................ 43 3.3 Adoptions of Art World and Field in the Analysis of Music Production ...................... 48 3.3.1 Finnegan’s Musical Worlds and Pathways ............................................................ 48 3.3.2 Kruse’s Notion of Scene and Field of Practice ....................................................... 49 3.3.3 Webb’s Milieu And Field ........................................................................................ 51 3.4 Intersections and Differences Of Art World And Fields ................................................ 54 3.5 Understanding Music Scene through Art World and Field ............................................ 57 3.6 Art Worlds, Fields And Networks .................................................................................. 60 3.7 Social Network Analysis and its Critics ......................................................................... 64 3.8 Looking at Networks as Mobile and Unequal ................................................................ 68 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 73 4. Independent To What? Investigating The Complexity Of The Notion Of Independent ...................................................75 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 75 4.1. The Complex Understanding Of Indie As A Genre-Based Category ........................... 76 3 4.2 The DIY Ethic And The Narratives Gravitating Around Independent Music ............... 79 4.3 Critics To The Social Discourses Gravitating In The Independent Music Culture ....... 83 4.4 Independent Music And Its Connection To Music Scenes ............................................ 85 4.5 Independent Modes Of Production And Interrelations To The Mainstream Music Industry ................................................................................................................................. 87 4.6 Theorizing Independent. Looking At The Interplays Between Independent Cultures, Modes Of Productions And Relations With The Music Industry ........................................ 92 4.7 Applying Bourdieu’s Theory To The Notion Of Independent ....................................... 97 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 101 5. An Analytical Model ....................................................... 103 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 103 5.1 An Attempt To Provide A Multi-Layered Model To Analyze Independent Music Scenes ................................................................................................................................. 103 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 112 6. Research Design And Methodology ................................ 113 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 113 6.1 Research questions ....................................................................................................... 114 6.2 Sample and Sampling ................................................................................................... 115 6.3 Methods ........................................................................................................................ 120 6.3.1 Interviews .............................................................................................................. 120 6.3.2 Ethnography: Participant Observation, Conversations and Document Analysis . 123 6.4 My Involvement ........................................................................................................... 127 6.5 Research Ethics ............................................................................................................ 131 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 133 7. The first layer of the model: The Circuits Of Independent Music Production ................................................................. 134 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 134 7.1 The Contradictory Understanding of Independence .................................................... 135 7.2 Looking at Music Scenes as Circuits of Cultural Production ...................................... 148 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 167 8. Second layer of the model: The Five Dimension of the Social Terrain ...................................................................... 169 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 169 4 8.1 Media Environment ...................................................................................................... 170 8.2 Economic Dimension ................................................................................................... 182 8.3 Regulations And Policies ............................................................................................. 192 8.4 Political Dimension ...................................................................................................... 206 8.5 Cultural and Social Context ......................................................................................... 216 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 220 9. Third Layer: mobility and space in independent music production ............................................................................ 221 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 221 9.1 Investigating The Mobile Networks Connections Of Independent Music In Milan .... 222 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 237 10. Conclusion ..................................................................... 238 10.1 Summary of the project .............................................................................................. 238 10.2 Weaknesses In Research ............................................................................................ 241 10.3 Suggestions For Future Research