08_047 (01) FM.qxd 2/4/08 3:31 PM Page i Punk Record Labels and the Struggle for Autonomy 08_047 (01) FM.qxd 2/4/08 3:31 PM Page ii Critical Media Studies Series Editor Andrew Calabrese, University of Colorado This series covers a broad range of critical research and theory about media in the modern world. It includes work about the changing structures of the media, focusing particularly on work about the political and economic forces and social relations which shape and are shaped by media institutions, struc- tural changes in policy formation and enforcement, technological transfor- mations in the means of communication, and the relationships of all these to public and private cultures worldwide. Historical research about the media and intellectual histories pertaining to media research and theory are partic- ularly welcome. Emphasizing the role of social and political theory for in- forming and shaping research about communications media, Critical Media Studies addresses the politics of media institutions at national, subnational, and transnational levels. The series is also interested in short, synthetic texts on key thinkers and concepts in critical media studies. Titles in the series Governing European Communications: From Unification to Coordination by Maria Michalis Knowledge Workers in the Information Society edited by Catherine McKercher and Vincent Mosco Punk Record Labels and the Struggle for Autonomy: The Emergence of DIY by Alan O’Connor 08_047 (01) FM.qxd 2/4/08 3:31 PM Page iii Punk Record Labels and the Struggle for Autonomy The Emergence of DIY Alan O’Connor LEXINGTON BOOKS A division of ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK 08_047 (01) FM.qxd 2/4/08 3:31 PM Page iv LEXINGTON BOOKS A division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 Lanham, MD 20706 Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom Copyright © 2008 by Lexington Books All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Insert CIP data Printed in the United States of America ϱ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. 08_047 (01) FM.qxd 2/4/08 3:31 PM Page v “I’m feeling rejected; I’m feeling left out.” —Gray Matter “I’m miles behind on the road to success.” —Floodgate 08_047 (01) FM.qxd 2/4/08 3:31 PM Page vi 08_047 (01) FM.qxd 2/4/08 3:31 PM Page vii l Contents Introduction ix Chapter 1 The Struggle for Autonomy 1 Chapter 2 Commercial and DIY Labels 15 Chapter 3 The Problem of Distribution 35 Chapter 4 Punk Labels and Social Class 47 Chapter 5 The Dynamics of Record Labels 67 Conclusion: What About the Music? 85 Appendix A: Interview with Lengua Armada 93 Appendix B: Record Labels Interviewed and Statistical Data 119 Bibliography 131 Index 137 About the Author 000 vii 08_047 (01) FM.qxd 2/4/08 3:31 PM Page viii 08_047 (01) FM.qxd 2/4/08 3:31 PM Page ix l Introduction This book is about punk record labels and the struggle to be autonomous. These record labels are mostly unknown outside the punk-rock scene. Some, like Dischord and Alternative Tentacles, have operated for more than twenty-five years. Others are just starting out. A few labels such as Profane Existence and Havoc Records are anarchist but most simply describe them- selves as independent. The variety of music runs from harsh grindcore to melodic pop punk. Different labels tend to specialize in a certain sound and the range of music inevitably reflects the tastes of the person doing the label. Many of these record labels are run by one or two people, but some have be- tween five and twenty employees. The people who do them come from dif- ferent backgrounds but most are middle-class kids. Many of these are dropouts from the middle class. All of this affects struggles for autonomy. To be autonomous means that you take your own decisions. The classic so- ciologist Max Weber says that in autonomous organizations “the order gov- erning the organization has been established by its own members on their own authority.”1 The opposite of this is when order has been imposed from outside the organization. It is quite difficult for a record label to be com- pletely autonomous. Many people have to register with the state that they are “doing business as” the name of their label. At some point the record la- bel will have to face the decision whether to incorporate and pay business taxes. When the label has employees there are regulations about payroll taxes and insurance. If a record label signs contracts with bands these are legal doc- uments which may result in lawsuits. As well as this, in the 1980s there were ix 08_047 (01) FM.qxd 2/4/08 3:31 PM Page x x l Introduction some famous cases where punk record labels and distributors were prosecuted for obscenity.2 But when we speak of the autonomy of punk record labels we usually mean in relation to major labels. In 1977 the major record labels controlled about 90 percent of the music industry in the United States. Today the four major labels account for 87.4 percent of physical and digital album sales.3 It is true that the punk explosions of the 1970s and the 1990s supported many independent record labels and expanded indie record distribution. But the majors were sometimes interested in signing punk bands too. They hoped that bands like Hüsker Dü and Green Day would be successful. In the United States a record goes gold when it sells 500,000 copies.4 But as the music industry diversified over the past twenty years, the major labels were sometimes interested in a band like Sonic Youth that might not have an in- stant hit but steady sales within a specialized market. As well as this, in the 1990s each major label bought or established their own indie distribution business. It is almost impossible today to get into large chain stores and big- box retailers without going through a distribution subsidiary of the major la- bels. This system also allows the majors to keep an eye on fast-breaking bands that they miAmong the bigger punk labels, Epitaph gets into the sys- tem through ADA. Fat Wreck and Victory Records go through RED. Dischord gets in because their distributor Southern Records has a deal with Fontana (and before that with Caroline). The Black Flag record label SST has had a difficult time over the years with its distributors. In November 2001 their distributor DNA went bankrupt and they are now with Koch, a large corporation that distributes video games, DVDs and CDs. Koch also signs bands that have been dropped by major labels and markets them to college radio. The other members of the Dead Kennedys won a lawsuit against Jello Biafra and Alternative Tentacles for not properly exploiting the band’s back catalog. Those records are now issued by Manifesto, which is distributed by Navarre, another large corporation like Koch and also not owned by a major label.5 Table 0.1. Major Record Labels in the United States Major Label Indie Distributor EMI Caroline Sony BMG RED Universal Music Group Fontana Warner Music Group ADA 08_047 (01) FM.qxd 2/4/08 3:31 PM Page xi Introduction l xi Kate: About 70 percent of Bouncing Souls titles on Epitaph sell in chain stores. 30 percent in independent stores. But I think that is an Epitaph trend. Of the Chunksaah titles maybe half and half. It’s hard to get in those stores. You have to do huge buy-ins. A lot of time you have to agree to some market- ing thing. That’s when I get kinda indignant. Who are you? You want me to pay you to carry my records? (Interview no. 28, with Chunksaah)6 The alternative to the music industry is to do it yourself. Each generation of punks discovers that it is not difficult to record songs and have them pressed. At this underground level today the recordings are mostly sold by the band at its shows, traded with other small labels and distributed to indie record stores. In this DIY scene records might sell between 1,000 and 3,000 copies. With recording costs for a 7” at $500 and for an album between $3,000 and $7,000 (many bands can do it cheaper) the break-even point comes as low as 2,000 copies sold. Getting to 10,000 is punk-rock gold, though this is increasingly difficult because there has been a general decline of sales of DIY punk records in the past five years.7 This book is based on interviews with sixty-one records labels, mainly in the United States but including four in Spain and four from Canada. They all consider themselves to be independent punk labels but the field is quite diverse. Some operate from a kid’s bedroom and others have an office or small warehouse. Record distributors are also part of the story because one of the biggest problems facing a record label is getting the music into stores.