University of Alberta Targeting Utterances through the Liminal Mist: An Investigation into the Cultural Ractices and Worldview of the Westem Canadian SingedSongwriter A thesis submitted to the Facdty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial hilfillmeat of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Music Edmonton, Alberta Fall2001 National ti'brary Bibliothèque nationale 1*1 ofC=da du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services senrices bibliographiques The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/£ilm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains omership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Dedicated, of course. to Cady. Not because you will find this work so enthnlling. but because your patience and encouragement throughout this process has kept us both sane. ABSTRACT This thesis is an ethnographie investigation into the cultud pnctices and worldview of the Western Canadian Singer/Songwiter. Iaddress the question of how and why independent hadian SingerlSongwriters gear their compositional and promotional material to suit perceived institutional expectations of genre, national identity and aesthetic. One of the main roles that govemment plays in the life of the Singer/Songwriter in Cartada is through various music related regulations and cultunl initiatives. I deal with this constellation of issues thmugh a brief account of bmadcasting and media in the Canadian music industry and its relationship to the establishment of Canadian Content ~gulationsand other cultunl initiatives that purport to aid the emerging Canadian artist. As a method of understanding and compming the success of these aids 1 include various comments made by Singer/Songwriters on this topic. AC KNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Regula Qureshi, and the membea of rny cornmittee, Michael Frishkopf, David Whitson, and William Street. Thanks also to Adam Ems for blowing my mind with a lot of popular music theory. Thanks to di those who let me bug you for answen backstage at festivals and in dingy bars including Veda Hille, Stephen Fearing, Fred Eaglesrnith, Ford Pier, Tommy Banks. Susie Ungerlieder, Lyry LeBlanc and Holger Peterson. Your perspectives and ides are greatly appreciated. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chqter Page - Conceptual Fmwork 7 - Situating the Project Within the Litemture II - Related Studies Il - Methodology 2) THE WESTERN CANADIAN SiNGER/SONGWRITER - The Edmonton "Scene" 18 - The SingerISongwriter As "Genre" 23 - Genre And The Folk Festival 33 - At The House Concert 38 - Marketable Vs, "Non-Marketable" Genres 42 3) THE CANADIAN MILIEU 45 - An Account Of Broadcasting And Media In The Canadian Music industry And The Establishment Of Canadian Content Regulations (Cancon) 46 - Cancon: Response from industry And The SingerISongwriter 49 - Cancon: "Culturd Protectionism" - Big Business And Cultural Retaiiation - Distribution And Marketing 54 - The tnternet 56 - Economic Resources 4) THE LOGIC OF THE StNGER/SONGWRITERtSWORLD - Stniggling For Status - Music Publishing As A Resource - Targeting An Audience - Suiting The Expectations Of Media Culture - Choosing The hoper image - The importance Of Appearing independent - Authenticity - Promotion And The SingerlSongwnter - Cover Art and Promotional Design - Who Does the Work? 5) CONCLUS ION GLOSSARY B BLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX 1 APPENDK 2 Chapter l INTRODUCTION This thesis is an ethnographie investigation into the culturai practices and worldview of the Western Canadian SingerISongwriter. 1 address the question of how and why do independent Cwadian SingerISongwnters gear their compositional and promotional material to suit perceived institutional expectations of genre. national identity and aesthetic. One of the main roles that government plays in the life of the SingerISongwriter in Canada is through various music related regulations and cultural initiatives. These regulations and initiatives contribute to create a situation in Canada that is distinct from its Arnerican counterpart, thus revealing an interesthg constellation of issues regarding the pnctices and perceptions of the Canadian SingerISongwriter. 1 deal with this constellation of issues through a bnef account of broadcasting and media in the Canadian music industry and its rrlationship to the establishment of Canadian Content regulations and other cultunl initiatives that purport to aid the emerging Canadian artist. As a barorneter of the success of these aids 1 include various comments made by Singer/Songwriters and other industry professionds on this topic. Folk and v~ousother categories of music are presently in a state of 1Mnality where their borders are being re-defined and their membeahip is ambiguous. (Note: the use of bold type indicates the presence of a word in the glossary) This liminality allows Singer/Songwriter participants in the umbiella category cded Folk to borrow hmother related (and seemingly non-related) genres in order to broaden their ap@ to a larger and more diverse audience while rnaintaining their categoricd identity as "SingerlSongwri tes" (Negus 1996: 146). Therefore, this thesis is also a genre study as 1 attempt to investigate how Singer/Songwriters are able to base themselves within the genre of folk while freely crossing genre barriers and how this freedom benefits them. At present in Canada, the Singer/Songwriter category is not easily positioned as uniquely Folk or Pop, presenting a site of societal tension. This tension is created in part by a commercidized culture attempting to escape cornmodification through a nostalgic quest for an imagined "authentic community". That is, folk music is often promoted and perceived to be one of the 1st bastions of non-commerciaiized "authentic" music harkening back to a time when cultural practices were less commodified. Therefore, SingedSongwnters are sometirnes able to reach a target audience by displaying certain Ends of images on their promotional material and using certain bumords and phrases in interviews and on promotional "bios". The nostalgic quest for "authenticity" is played out by consumer spending habits but it is also displayed in the promotional and compositional activities of the musicians themselves as they strive toward a particular genre identification (Strinati 1995: 43). This issue of genre becornes more complex as boundaries between genres become more and more blurred, which is due in part to the fracturing of genres into a plethon of subcategories. The liminaiity of the modem SingedSongwriter allows hirn/her to travel back and forth between various genre categories while maintairing the ovemching ti tle "Singer/ Songwriter" with many of its vaious associative meanings still attached The SingedSongwriter does not produce a product that cm easily be pigeon-holed into a specific genre (as cm products by Heavy Metd hstsor Rap artists for example). That is, in the Singerfsongwriter's case, it seems that the ytist becomes the genre itself, nther han his product signulling the genre. The fact that they are doing what they do within the context that surrounds hem constitutes their Singer/Songwciter affiliation. The genre is defined by a category of performer nther than by specific musical attributes. In the case of the SingerISongwriter the genre is focussed on the person not the product. The geogmphicd area that I have chosen for my informant base is Western Canada (everything West of, and including Winnipeg), focussing mainiy on Edmonton and Alberta. 1 am limiting my study to Western Canadian SingerISongwriters and more particularly those who work within the Edmonton and surrounding area since that is where I live and do most of my work as a professional Singer/Songwriter. The Singer/Songwriters I am including in my study range fmm semi-professional musicians to fuUy professional musicians who make the majority of their living from performance. I have an interest in this informant base because 1 am a professional SingedSongwriter who has been performing in Canada for the past decade and I consider myself part of this community . Therefore, my study will take on the form of an emic investigation of the world in which I work as a musician, as opposed to a sustaîned theoretical argument (Seeger 1992: 104). This emic orientation will benefit rny research in a number of ways. First, it allows me to have access to important players within the "scene" thus reveding a "behind the scenes" look at the music business and ia participants. Many of the inte~ewswere done at festivais and concerts where rny perfonners pas gave me access to the "Green Room" where the musicians hang out between sets. Secondly, 1 speak the "language". which aiiows me to immediately understand important communicative cues that might othewise be shrouded in insider lingo. Finally. 1 am able to compare and contrast the information that 1 receive from infonnants with my own