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Entrepreneurial Recording Artists in Platform Capitalism

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Entrepreneurial Recording Artists in Platform Capitalism Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-21-2021 9:30 AM Heavy Metal Fundraisers: Entrepreneurial Recording Artists in Platform Capitalism Jason Netherton, The University of Western Ontario Supervisor: Stahl, Matt, The University of Western Ontario : Comor, Edward, The University of Western Ontario A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Media Studies © Jason Netherton 2021 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Music Practice Commons, Political Economy Commons, and the Work, Economy and Organizations Commons Recommended Citation Netherton, Jason, "Heavy Metal Fundraisers: Entrepreneurial Recording Artists in Platform Capitalism" (2021). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 7800. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7800 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract How do cultural producers square customary understandings of what it means to be authentic and autonomous creators in new contexts characterized by digital-era entrepreneurial pressures and online platform-mediated financial opportunities? This study examines how heavy metal recording artists experience these pressures; how some of them engage in platform-based crowdfunding, argue over its legitimacy, and rationalize varying degrees of acceptance and dependence. First, my analysis centers on a case study which follows the experiences of a progressive metal band as they navigate a new financial relation in conjunction first with the fundraising platform Pozible and then the patronage-based crowdfunding platform Patreon. Second, I undertake a political- economic analysis of the Patreon platform, interpreting it as a rent-seeking technology company situated in the broader context of platform capitalism. I suggest that Patreon perpetuates long-standing power disparities in the culture industries by concentrating the risks and duties of production, marketing and retailing more squarely upon its fundraisers. Third, I examine recording artists’ interpretations of the neo-patronage relation based on data culled from interviews with Patreon users. The results indicate that online crowdfunding remains an ideologically contested practice among cultural producers stamped with late twentieth-century masculinist “rock values.” The cultural weight of the older “recording contract”-based institutional model poses a problem for heavy metal recording artists who struggle to validate their participation in more entrepreneurial, platform-mediated work. Keywords Recording Artistry, Music Industries, Entrepreneurism, Autonomy, Platform Capitalism, Online Platforms, Heavy Metal, Patreon, Crowdfunding, Patronage, Authenticity ii Summary for Lay Audience This study examines how recording artists are engaging new promotional and financial opportunities in the world of online platforms. First, I present a case study which follows the experiences of a progressive metal band using the patronage-based crowdfunding platform Patreon. It traces how the success of their endeavor gave rise to conflict and tension over its legitimacy in light of persisting late 20th century “rock values.” Second, I undertake a political-economic analysis of Patreon as a platform company. I explain how the company makes money and how the work of Patreon fundraisers sustains their business model. Lastly, I examine and contrast these heavy metal fundraisers’ own interpretations of their work using data from interviews. The results indicate that online crowdfunding remains a contested practice among recording artists who still find value and legitimacy in the older “recording contract”-based institutional model. Consequently, they struggle to validate their participation in more entrepreneurial, platform-mediated work. iii Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................... ii Summary for Lay Audience ............................................................................................. iii Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. iv Chapter 1: An Evolving Economic Terrain ....................................................................... 1 1. Introduction................................................................................................................. 1 The Case of Ne Obliviscaris................................................................................... 1 Push and Pull Factors of Entrepreneurism.............................................................. 3 Entrepreneurism and Recording Artistry................................................................ 9 1.2 Research Questions................................................................................................ 13 1.3 Key Concepts......................................................................................................... 15 Institutional Autonomy......................................................................................... 15 Music Proto-Markets............................................................................................ 24 Metal Music Markets............................................................................................ 26 1.4 Methodology........................................................................................................... 29 The Case Study..................................................................................................... 33 Critical Political-Economic Analysis................................................................... 35 Discourse Analysis............................................................................................... 39 Qualitative Interviews.......................................................................................... 49 1.5 Description of Chapters.......................................................................................... 50 Chapter 2: “Our Dream Was On Loan”: Ne Obliviscaris and Patreon........................... 54 2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 54 iv 2.2 Rise to Notoriety...................................................................................................... 59 The Pozible “World Tour” Campaign................................................................... 63 The Patreon Initiative.............................................................................................71 2.3. “Welfare Metal”: A Backlash Emerges.................................................................. 80 Legitimacy, Dues-Paying and the Work Ethic...................................................... 81 Gendered Perceptions of Metal Recording Artistry.............................................. 89 Alternative Perspectives and Reconsiderations..................................................... 95 2.4 Arguments and Propositions in Response to the Backlash.....................................101 A More Transparent Model.................................................................................. 104 A More Democratic Model ................................................................................. 109 A More Ethical Model......................................................................................... 114 Patreon as “Fan Club Membership Initiative”..................................................... 118 2.5 Conclusion............................................................................................................. 121 Chapter 3: The Economics and Politics of the Patreon Platform.................................... 125 3.1 Introduction........................................................................................................... 125 3.2 Platform Capitalism.............................................................................................. 134 The Platform Business Model............................................................................. 134 Market-Making, Platform Scaling and Venture Capital..................................... 143 Platform Labor.................................................................................................... 148 The “Lean” Platform Company as Rentier......................................................... 154 3.3 The Patreon Platform............................................................................................ 159 Patreon and the Neo-Patronage Crowdfunding Model....................................... 159 Control and Autonomy....................................................................................... 169 v Terms of Use...................................................................................................... 176 Patreon University.............................................................................................. 182 The Axiom of Entrepreneurism.......................................................................... 189 3.4 Conclusion...........................................................................................................
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