Online and Offline Rock Music Networks: a Case Study on Liverpool, 2007-2009
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Online and Offline Rock Music Networks: A case study on Liverpool, 2007-2009 Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy by Róza Emília Barna July 2011 Abstract This thesis explores the relationship between the online and offline presence and activity of contemporary indie rock bands in Liverpool. It addresses two main questions: firstly, how should the relationship of music, place, and social groups be described and understood in the age of the Internet; and secondly, what can research on local music making suggest about the relationship between online and offline worlds. These questions are addressed through ethnographic research conducted between 2007-2009. The research involved qualitative analysis of online content, discourse, and connections related to Liverpool indie bands and music events, as well as first-hand observation of offline events and interviews with musicians. On the basis of this, the thesis proposes two main arguments: Firstly, online presentation and interaction surrounding bands and events are closely connected to offline events, places, and personal relationships. Local music ‘scenes’ must therefore be understood as both online and offline, and their temporal and spatial (self-)positioning in online space can only be understood with reference to offline places and temporal dynamics. Secondly, the ‘network’ is a useful concept for describing and analysing the relationship of online and offline worlds. It is conceptualised in the thesis as the dynamic set of active, enacted, and negotiated connections among those participating in music making. This conceptualisation enables the description of the social world of participants in music making within a particular local environment, which at the same time branches out globally through the active collective online presence of these participants. The analysis of a band’s network structures enables the identification of both its individual characteristics and collective-oriented ties along such lines as genre and style, career stage and success, and aims and strategies. The network complements the notion of the ‘scene,’ which is defined by an expressed and represented coherence with regard to the aspects of genre aesthetics and ethics; locality; discursive participation and identification; and personal relationships. Moreover, the analysis shows that online technology has provided new means for music networks to function as cultural resource and form part of identities related to music making and place. 2 Table of contents Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………..………2 Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………...…………….7 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………...8 Chapter 1 Literature review and critical discussion………….……………………….16 1 Music, place, and genre ………………………...……………………………….17 ‘Scene’…………………………………………………….………………...……17 Music making and the city………………………………………………………..20 Local, translocal, and virtual……………………………………………………...24 Defining ‘indie’……………………………………………..…………………….27 2 Music, the Internet, and society ……………….………………………………..29 ‘Virtual communities’ and the online – offline dichotomy……………………….30 Online interaction………………………………………...……………………….33 Community as ‘me-centred’ network……………………………….……………39 Social networking sites………………………………...…………………………41 Conceptualising the Internet and society………………….……………...………42 - Subjectivity and the development of communication technology...………….42 - ‘Cyberspace’ and the Internet as ‘media’………………………..……….…..45 - Global flows and local contexts………………………………………………47 - Space, time, and the network society…………………………….…………...48 - Experience of time and space………………………………………………...51 Summary ……………………………………………………………………………...….52 Chapter 2 Researching the online and offline world of music making ……………....56 1 The ethnographic approach …………………………………………………….57 The process of data generation……………………………………………………60 - Observation and qualitative description………………….……..………...…..60 - Interviews……………...…………………………………………….…..……63 Methods of data analysis………………………………………………………….64 - Content and discourse analysis…………………….…………………………65 - Qualitative analysis…………………………………………………………...67 - Network mapping and analysis………..…………………………...…………68 3 2 Participant observation …………………………………………………………69 Insider knowledge……………………………………………………………...…70 Positioning oneself in the research setting…………………………………..……72 3 Ethical issues ………………………………..………………………….………...74 Discussion …………………………………………..…………………………………….76 Chapter 3 Indie rock in Liverpool: bands and the discursive, local, and virtual environment …………………………………………………..……………………………...78 1 Narratives of the city and sound …………………………………………….….79 The past as ‘a value for the present’…………………………...……….…………79 Popular music heritage and the Capital of Culture……………..………………...82 2 The local context of music making ……………………………………………..88 Introducing the participants………………………………...…………………….89 Venues and music events………………………….………..…………………...100 Participation in local music making…………………………….……………….103 3 The virtual context of music making …………….……………………………104 The online spaces of Liverpool’s indie rock bands…………..………………….104 Participation online………………………………..……………..……………...108 Chapter 4 Online presence and (self-)presentation of indie rock ……………...……110 1 The online presence of Elle s’appelle ………………….………………………111 2 Self-(re-)presentation and branding online ……………..……………………116 3 Temporal (self-)positioning …………………………………………………....120 4 The online presence of ‘10 Bands 10 Minutes’ ………..……….……………..124 The expression of collective musical taste…………………………..…………..125 The online representation of music events…………………..…………….…….131 Visual imagery in online promotion…………………….……………………....132 Online visual imagery and genre aesthetics……………..………………………135 Discussion …………………………………………………..……………………...……137 Chapter 5 Online interaction and the indie rock music scene …………..……….….139 1 Band profile comments ………………...………………………………………141 Thematic content, approach, and modes of communication……………….……141 Blurred identities and the publicly private……………………..…..….………...144 Band careers and maintaining symbolic distance…………..…….…….……….146 4 2 Bands and blogging ……………………………...……………….….…………148 Maintaining band identity via blogs…………….……………………………….148 Communication among bands via blogs………….……………………….…….154 3 Music events and online discursive participation ……..………….………….156 Promotion and feedback…………………………………………………………156 - Fan versus critical modes of communication……...……………...…………157 - The dynamics of online discussion and the music scene……………………160 Communicative aspects of the Liverpool Music Week 2007 website……..……160 Discussion ……………………………….……………………………..…………….…166 Chapter 6 The online representation of place and locality in indie rock …………...169 1 The promotion of Liverpool Music Week ………………………….………...171 Place names and genre labels…………………………………….…………..….172 From the local to the (inter)national…………………………………………174 - Affirming significance through local references………….…………...…….176 - A narrative of spatial expansion……………………………………..………178 The visual representation of tradition and locality……………...……………….181 2 Bands and the online representation of local identity ………..…….………..183 a.P.A.t.T.’s definition of ‘Liverpool bands’………………………..……………186 Naming faces and places……………………………………...…………………186 Discussion ………………………………………….……………………………………191 Chapter 7 Networks and scenes: understanding online-and-offline worlds .....................................................................................................................................193 1 The spatial and temporal organisation of bands’ online activity ...................194 The temporal dynamics of online presence...........................................................195 - Online presence across platforms…………………………….……………..196 - The scene participants’ view of technology and change…..………….……..198 a.P.A.t.T. and the spatial structure of online presence………..………….……...200 2 Bridging online presence and offline activity: the music network ……….…202 Bands’ networks…………………………………...…………………...………..203 - Elle’s appelle’s friendship network….……………...……………….………204 - A comparative analysis of bands’ friendship networks……….…………….208 - The ‘core network’ and online stability………..…………………………....210 Network, genre, and style…………………………...…………………………..214 Network, band careers, and success………………….…………...……………..217 5 Network, individual approach, aims, and strategies…….………….…………...220 Network, organisation, and participation……………………….……………….224 - The on- and offline organisation of a local scene event……….……………224 - The network of participants………………………….……………….……..226 Discussion ……………………………………………………………..……..………….229 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………..232 The music scene as online-offline network………………….……………….….232 Time and the music scene……………………………………………………….237 Online communication and the music scene…………………………………….238 Directions for further research…………………...……………………………...240 References …………………………………………………….………………...…………..244 Appendices ……………………………………………………….……………...………….260 6 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I wish to thank all musicians in Liverpool who participated in my research in some form, especially those who assisted me by dedicating their time to interviews and other personal communication – namely, the members of the bands Elle s’appelle, Puzzle, Married to the Sea, a.P.A.t.T., 28 Costumes, Voo, and House that Jack Built. In addition to all the knowledge I gained from them, their openness, sincerity,