WHAT IF HEWLETT AND PACKARD HAD STARTED A BAND INSTEAD? DENTON, TEXAS’ MUSIC SCENE AS ECONOMIC CLUSTER AND ITS BROADER IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CITY’S ECONOMY by MICHAEL SEMAN Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Urban and Public Affairs The University of Texas at Arlington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON May 2014 Copyright © by Michael Seman 2014 All Rights Reserved Acknowledgements This dissertation represents an immersive several year process wherein I was equally involved as a participant in the community I observed and the classroom where I made sense of my findings. I would like to thank those who had patience with my admittedly dynamic lifestyle during my doctoral studies and fostered my intellectual growth during the process. Carl Grodach understood my research agenda and challenged me to take what I observed in the field and learned in the classroom and frame it in a broader context shared by other arts disciplines inhabiting the urban landscape. Richard Florida also immediately understood my work and generously offered insight, support, and guidance concerning it and my career – facts made even more substantial as his work and career inspired me to enter a doctoral program. My committee members, Enid Arvidson and Rod Hissong demonstrated great patience during the completion of this project and were always ready to lend insight when asked. My completion of both this dissertation and my doctoral program is also due to people outside of the University of Texas at Arlington who offered their time and consideration in varying ways. Terry Clower served as an unofficial member of my committee often lending insight on my research tactics and methodology. Terry also offered much needed financial support and hands-on economic development research experience by including me in a dynamic range of projects at the University of North Texas Center for Economic Development and Research. Bernard Weinstein offered career guidance, financial support, and similar hands-on research experience through his iii work at Southern Methodist University. The work of Thomas L. Bell, Elizabeth Currid- Halkett, Charles Heying, Brian J. Hracs, and Richard Lloyd provided a direction forward for mine and all were very generous with their time regarding my questions before, during, and after this project. In a similar manner, Donald Lyons, Murray D. Rice, and Leo E. Zonn consistently provided helpful advice concerning my time as a doctoral candidate. Finally, the completion of this dissertation and my doctoral program would not have been possible without the support and generosity of the citizens of Denton – music scene participants or otherwise. I never met resistance to my inquiries, was never barred access to any situation, and have always had a place to live, eat, and sleep during my arguably marginal existence throughout the process. I hope that my work will in-turn help the City of Denton and similar cities with thriving music scenes to better understand one of their greatest economic and community development resources – the clusters of creative, entrepreneurial residents who are as fervent about music as the cities in which they live. April 1, 2014 iv Abstract WHAT IF HEWLETT AND PACKARD HAD STARTED A BAND INSTEAD? DENTON, TEXAS’ MUSIC SCENE AS ECONOMIC CLUSTER AND ITS BROADER IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CITY’S ECONOMY Michael Seman, PhD The University of Texas at Arlington, 2014 Supervising Professor: Carl Grodach A growing body of research examines the production processes, economic activity, and symbolic value of the arts in the urban economy. This research often broadly considers all arts disciplines together, masking structural and operational differences amongst them. Research detailing popular music and its relationship with the urban economy is minimal. Prior research tangentially acknowledges that local music scenes function as economic clusters, but little detailing of their dynamics as such exists. The bulk of attention is paid to how these clusters operate in the framework of the broader music industry and not how they develop or impact their surrounding urban economic landscapes. Denton, Texas is a city of just over 100,000 in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan region and home to an internationally recognized music scene. This dissertation examines Denton’s music scene through qualitative research and answers the question, does Denton’s music scene operate as an economic cluster? v Answering the overarching research question while analyzing the structural make-up of Denton’s music scene will offer other researchers a basis to define their claims of clustering when referencing the economic dynamics of music scenes, address the existing research gap that leaves unexplored the economic development value of music scenes, and add to the growing body of literature detailing the necessary conditions for a music scene to develop – all of which will help policymakers better address their local music scenes. In addition, this research will also further the discourse concerning appropriate methodologies to use in assessing cultural sector employment. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Abstract ................................................................................................................................v Chapter 1 Denton’s Dreaming .............................................................................................1 Chapter 2 A More Formal Introduction ...............................................................................6 Chapter 3 Music Scenes in the Urban Economy .................................................................9 3.1 Human Capital, Clustering, and the Arts ...........................................................9 3.2 Not Just a Cog in the Machine: Music Scene Dynamics .................................15 3.3 Connecting the Dots with Questions................................................................20 Chapter 4 Methodology, Understanding, and Analysis .....................................................23 4.1 Methodology ....................................................................................................23 4.2 A Quantitative Understanding .........................................................................24 4.3 A Qualitative Understanding ...........................................................................28 4.4 Analysis............................................................................................................33 Chapter 5 Keep Denton Beard – A Brief History of Denton’s Music Scene ....................35 5.1 Space Rock on Fry Street and the Fraternity of Noise in Hell’s Lobby ..........40 5.2 Rubber Gloves, Dan’s Silverleaf, and Shifting Landscapes ............................44 5.3 The Majestic Dwelling of DOOM Books the World, Chris Flemmons Starts a Festival, and Midlake Opens a Studio….............................................................49 Chapter 6 Sort of like Silicon Valley, but Different ..........................................................55 6.1 Productivity ......................................................................................................59 vii 6.1.1 “The university definitely hasn’t taken the scene and helped itself…” ......................................................................................................59 6.1.2 “…it seems like the better musicians go to the art school, not the music school.” ............................................................................................62 6.1.3 “There are probably some thrift stores in bigger cities that don’t even have pedals.” .....................................................................................64 6.1.4 “Are you in town? Are you out of town? Are you going out of town? Have you just come from out of town?” .........................................65 6.1.5 “Man, five of my favorite bands are playing… double stages!” ......70 6.1.6 “...it’s very obvious when something is not working or sucks… people know what’s up” ...............................................................75 Chapter 7 Living Rooms of Incubation + Garages of Innovation = A Community of Participation .......................................................................................................................83 7.1 Innovation and New Business Formation ........................................................83 7.1.1 “I don’t think a lot of people realized it was an actual house.” ........84 7.1.2 “And I had figured out really quick that people loved 80’s music…” ...................................................................................................93 7.1.3 “…you know how it is; the bands all have interchangeable parts…” ......................................................................................................95 7.1.4 “I thought it was a bad move and secretly thought he was crazy… turns out he was a visionary.” ....................................................................98 viii 7.1.5 “…Ah, you’re in that band? Man you should get on this job with me…” ...............................................................................................103 7.2 Amenity and Community Development Catalyst ..........................................106 7.2.1 “I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be around music..