SURFING FOR PUNKS: THE INTERNET AND THE PUNK SUBCULTURE IN NEW JERSEY by AARON ROBERT FURGASON A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Communication, Information and Library Studies written under the direction of Professor Linda Steiner And approved by ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October, 2008 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION SURFING FOR PUNKS: THE INTERNET AND THE PUNK SUBCULTURE IN NEW JERSEY BY AARON ROBERT FURGASON Dissertation Director Professor Linda Steiner This study examines the influence of the Internet on the punk subculture in New Jersey. Previous research by academics on the effect of the Internet on popular music has centered on the impact of Napster and peer-to-peer networks on the distribution of recordings (Alexander, 2002; Ayres & Williams, 2004; Bishop, 2004; Daniel & Klimis, 1999; Fox, 2004; Mardesich, 1999; & Oberholzer & Strumpf, 2004). However, unexamined is the influence of the Internet on a specific music subculture, punk. This is important because the subculture is occupied mainly by youth engaged with both the Internet and punk music. The Internet's influence on the punk subculture is a particularly important area of study because the Internet alters how participants in the subculture (punk fans, bands and independent labels) communicate with one another, as well as changes the distribution of punk artifacts and information. ii Central to this study is the history of the major labels' dominance over the distribution and promotion of punk music, a domination examined via critical political economy theory. The Internet may offer a new outlet that removes the stranglehold of the major label system over punk. Focus group research with punk members and interviews with punk label personnel and band members suggest that the Internet has made it easier and faster for punk fans, bands, and labels to communicate with one another. However, most of the online communication between punk fans, bands and labels now takes place on social networking sites (MySpace.com), where the central method of communication is one-to- many, instead of one-to-one. Recently, major labels have increasingly made both distribution and promotional deals with MySpace.com (and other social networking sites). These deals offer major label content prominent placement on social networking sites at the expense of independent label recordings. Ultimately, tours by punk bands will continue to play an important role in the promotion and marketing of punk music, as well as offer subculture members the authentic punk experience. Initially, the independent labels utilized the Internet to promote recordings more than major labels, but recently, major labels have begun to embrace the Internet to promote new recordings. iii Dedication To my family iv Acknowledgements Thanking my family for their help and support is the greatest pleasure of all. Especially I wish to acknowledge the support of my wife Kelly who has the patience of a saint, and my daughters Emerson and Michaela, who were born in the process of researching and writing this document – thus giving me a joy hard to top. I wish to thank Professor Linda Steiner my dissertation director, Professors John Pavlik and Jack Bratich, members of my committee, and Professor Steve Jones of the University of Chicago at Illinois, outside member, for their support and direction. v Table of Contents Abstract ii Dedication iv Acknowledgements v List of Tables viii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Punk and the Punk Subculture 10 1.1. What is Punk? 10 1.2. Music of the 1970’s 13 1.3. Punk Music 15 1.4. The Ramones & Sex Pistols 18 1.5. Punk Commodities 21 Chapter 2: Political Economy Theory and Control of the Recording Industry 25 2.1. Political Economy Theory 25 2.2. Critical Political Economy Theory 26 2.3. Issues of Power 27 2.4. Economic Power 30 2.5. Control of the Recording Industry Through Distribution 34 2.6. Branch System 40 2.7. Joint Ventures 42 2.8. Punk Distribution 45 2.9. Joint Venture Deals and Independent Punk Labels 50 Chapter 3: Selling Out of Punk and the DIY Re-birth 53 3.1. Selling Out 54 3.2. Hardcore Punk 56 3.3. Hardcore Punk Scenes 58 3.4. DIY Movement 66 3.5. The Corruption of the DIY Underground 68 3.6. Punk Retail 74 Chapter 4: Promotion and Marketing of Punk Music 78 4.1. Radio as a Promotional Outlet 84 4.2. Punk and Commercial Radio 87 4.3. Punk and Non-commercial Radio 89 4.4. Fanzines 92 4.5. Videos 97 4.6. Touring 99 vi Chapter 5: The Impact of the Internet on Music 106 5.1. MP3 & Broadband Internet Connection 107 5.2. Copyrights 110 5.3. Security Digital Management Initiative 112 5.4. Peer-to-Peer Networks 114 5.5. Opponents of Napster and P2P Networks 117 5.6. Pros of Peer-to-Peer Networks on Independent Music 119 5.7. Cons of Online Distribution for Independent Music 123 5.8. Major Labels Usage of Online Distribution 124 5.9. Online Distributors 129 Chapter 6: The Internet and Promotions 132 6.1. Word-of Mouth 135 6.2. Touring 138 6.3. Video 139 6.4. Interaction between Bands and Fans on the Internet 140 6.5. Online Promotion Aggregators & MySpace 142 6.6. Major Label Online Promotion 146 6.7. Potential Problems of the Internet as a Promotional Tool 149 6.8. Prior Research on the Internet and Popular Music 151 6.9. Research Questions 153 Chapter 7: Methodology 154 7.1. Content Analysis 155 7.2. Focus Groups 156 7.3. Interviews 160 7.4. Breakdown of Independent Punk Band and Labels 165 Chapter 8: Findings and Discussion 171 8.1. Question #1 174 8.2. Question #2 193 8.3. Question #3 195 8.4. Question #4 220 Chapter 9: Conclusion and Future Research 240 9.1. Future Research 273 9.2. Future Research 275 Appendix A: Focus Group and Interview Questions 284 Bibliography 289 Vita 316 vii List of Tables Table 8.1.1: Online Distributors for Independent Labels 173 Table 8.1.2: Emo First and Second Wave 190 Table 8.4.1: Punk Online Aggregator Sites Visited 225 Table 9.1.1: 360 Degree Deal 250 viii 1 Introduction: In April of 2004, 6500 kids converged on Asbury Park, New Jersey for the seventh annual Skate and Surf Festival. The sold-out festival featured three 18-hour days of mind- shattering punk rock music (I was there, so I know). Over 200 bands, such as ‘Brand New,' ‘The Starting Line,' ‘Eighteen Visions, ‘Fall Out Boy' and ‘Matchbook Romance' performed on five different stages. What was interesting about this show was that most of the bands performing at the festival were not signed to a major label, but instead were either signed to an independent label or the bands were completely independent (no label representation). Many of the bands that performed had only recorded a single seven-inch recording; many others had yet to record a single piece of music. What many of the bands had in common was that few if any, had received commercial radio airplay or MTV video exposure prior to the festival. Yet, the festival was sold out. How? I believe the answer was the Internet. Promoter of the festival Tony Pallagrosi, president of Concerts East, said, “The artists make it very accessible, with tickets relatively inexpensive, merchandise and CD relatively inexpensive, and it's all communicated through the Internet” (Quoted in Shields, 2004, p. AA4). If Pallagrosi was indeed correct, the Internet had become a new form of communication method for punk rock fans, bands, and labels. Before, the major methods of promotion within the punk subculture were mainly college radio, fanzines, and touring. The claim thus raised the question: how specifically do punk fans, bands and labels use the Internet? This dissertation attempts to understand the online relationships among these parties. 2 The subculture of punk has been examined by many academics since its inception in the mid-1970s. Some recent tomes include the examination of the punk subculture from economic perspectives (Thompson, 2004; see also Thompson, 2001), from sociological and historical platforms (LeBlanc, 1999; Marcus, 1993; Sabin, 1999; Wooden & Blazak, 2001), a postmodern examination (Davies, 1996), as well as from individual genre- specific subcultural perspectives (Henry, 1989; Moore, 1993; Weinzerl & Muggleton, 2003). Several punk studies have examined specific issues within different subgenres of the subculture. For example, Lewis (1988) examined the birth and sustainability of the Los Angeles hardcore punk scene via fanzines and films. Willis (1993) examined the musical factors that led to the Los Angeles hardcore punk scene. Irwin (1999) studied drug education and its potential impact on the ‘straight edge' punk subculture. In his study of four regional punk music scenes (Washington, D.C., Austin, Texas, Toronto and Mexico City), O'Connor (2002) found that regional musical scenes were important in their ability to sustain a punk subculture lifestyle. What has not been examined is the impact of the Internet on a specific music subculture, particularly the punk subculture. This dissertation examines how punk fans, bands, and labels use the Internet to communicate with one another. Chapter one defines the term punk and identifies key aspects of the punk subculture, with special attention to punk style and music. The middle section of the chapter features short biographies on four bands important to the development of the punk rock sound (Velvet Underground, the Stooges, MC-5, and New York Dolls). Following this discussion is an examination of popular music of the 1970's and its impact on the development of the 3 punk rock sound.