Shine a Light: Surveying Locality, Independence, and Digitization in Ottawa’s Independent Rock Scene by Michael Robert Audette-Longo A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Cultural Mediations Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2016 Michael Audette-Longo ii Abstract This dissertation examines the articulation and reconfiguration of locality in Ottawa's independent (indie) rock scene. It argues that styles of producing and relating to indie music that have been traditionally embedded in local scenic activity and practices of “do it yourself” (DIY) have been translated into more ubiquitous, quotidian, and valuable metadata and labour that organizes and powers the operations of disparate digital media sites, including digital music services like Bandcamp, CBC Radio 3, and Wyrd Distro. This argument is developed through closer analyses of the following case studies: the entrepreneurial strategies and musical focuses of Ottawa-based independent record labels Kelp and Bruised Tongue Records; scene-bound media like zines, blogs, music video and campus/community radio; the re-articulation of local regions as metadata that organize the search and retrieval functionalities of the digital music streaming services CBC Radio 3 and Bandcamp (a particular iteration of local regions I dub the “indexi-local”); and the concurrent incorporation of DIY labour and reconfiguration of the business of independent music evident in the digital music retailers Bandcamp and Wyrd Distro. This project contends that in the midst of digitization, the media sites, entrepreneurial strategies, and subcultural practices traditionally folded into the production of independence in local indie music scenes persist. This not only nuances narratives of upheaval advanced about digital media technologies, but also challenges narratives of decline and compromise recurrently articulated to the field of independent music. Contra academic and popular discourse that valorizes independent music for its ability to circulate outside of the “mainstream” musical, media, and cultural industries, this dissertation contends that independent music is entangled within these industries. iii Moreover, the persistence of local music scenes across the sites examined in this dissertation signals the continued value, power, and allure of independent music’s activities, subcultural commodities, and grassroots media sites to both scene participants and digital music services alike. iv Acknowledgements I want to thank my advisor Paul Théberge, who has read this dissertation a countless number of times and always provided me with the time and support to explore the subject of indie music and digitization. To my committee members, I also want to thank you for your patience, time, and suggestions. Both William Echard and Ira Wagman pushed me to clarify what and how I was arguing. In particular, Ira has been a strong presence throughout my time as a student, beginning with my very first year of undergraduate studies. The innumerable times he has mentored me over the years, whether in terms of writing or career advice, means a great deal to me. I also want to thank previous teachers that facilitated and inspired me to get to this point, including: Paul Attallah, Dina Salha, and Boulou Ebanda de B’béri. To other students and candidates in ICSLAC I want to thank you for the great discussions had over the years, whether in the pub or seminar room. There are too many to thank in one acknowledgements, but I particularly want to thank Tom Everett and Stacy Ernst. I want to thank my sister Trish Audette-Longo who very closely and patiently read through a final draft of this dissertation. I cannot actually quantify how much you helped me. I want to thank my two children, Wesley and Emily, for the fun distractions provided as I wrote and researched this dissertation over the past few years. And last, but definitely not least, I want to thank Sarah Harvey. She has given me everything I could possibly ask for and more. v Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents .................................................................................................................v Table of Figures ................................................................................................................ viii CHAPTER 1. LOCATING INDIE MUSIC: LOCAL SCENES AND DIGITAL MUSIC SERVICES.......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Scenes and Metadata ................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Research Questions, Thesis, and Case Study............................................................ 3 1.3 Keywords .................................................................................................................. 8 1.4 Theoretical Context and Research Objectives ........................................................ 15 1.5 Methods and Chapter Outlines................................................................................ 19 1.6 Chapter Outlines, Stakes, and Research Contributions .......................................... 25 CHAPTER 2. REVIEWING INDIE MUSIC: THE PLACE OF SCENIC INSTITUTIONS ............................................................................................................... 32 2.1 Indie Record Labels: Cultural Articulations ........................................................... 33 2.2 Digital Disruptions .................................................................................................. 39 Distribution: Label Control, Challenged and Intensified.......................................... 40 Consumption: Empowerment and Co-Creation ........................................................ 43 2.3 Scenes...................................................................................................................... 49 Urban Scenes: Defining Infrastructure, Locating Music and People ....................... 49 Virtual Scenes: Producing Proximity Online............................................................ 57 2.4 Ottawa’s Indie Music Scene: Institutional Logics and the “Finely-grained” Case Study ............................................................................................................................. 59 CHAPTER 3. RE-EXAMINING THE INDEPENDENT LABEL .................................. 61 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 61 3.2 Outaouais Renaissance: Kelp Records.................................................................... 63 Lo-Fi Origins, Independent Structure, & Locality.................................................... 63 From Kelp Records to Kelp Management: Digital Stabilizations ............................ 70 Localist Aesthetic...................................................................................................... 73 3.3 “Feel the Noise:” Bruised Tongue’s Subcultural Modes of Production ................. 76 Punk Artisans: Tactility, Locality, and Control ........................................................ 76 Cassettes as Subcultural Artefacts ............................................................................ 81 vi Everything in between: Old and New Media............................................................ 85 3.4 The State of Independence ...................................................................................... 88 CHAPTER 4. SHINE A LIGHT: LOCATING AND NAVIGATING INDEPENDENT MUSIC IN OTTAWA ...................................................................................................... 90 4.1 Local Scenes & Way-finding Media....................................................................... 90 4.2 At Least there’s Commotion: Ottawa’s Music Venues .......................................... 92 Figure 1. Ottawa Venues - Small Talk ...................................................................... 93 4.3 Zines: Producing Narrative and Formal Proximity................................................. 96 4.4 Blogs: Resource/Document/Critique .................................................................... 106 4.5 Music Video: Representing the City ..................................................................... 112 Figure 2. Video Still from Bondar's "Night Dangers" ............................................ 115 4.6 “Talking Bullshit with Cool People:” City Slang Radio ...................................... 119 Figure 3. City Slang Zine (Photography by D.A. Reid).......................................... 124 4.7 Locating Scenes, Scene Locations ........................................................................ 127 CHAPTER 5. OUR MUSIC SERVICE COULD BE YOUR SCENE: SURVEYING THE “INDEXI-LOCAL”......................................................................................................... 131 5.1 Local Sound Maps ................................................................................................ 131 5.2 Defining the Indexi-local .....................................................................................