A Brief History of the DIY Music Biz

[chrisso]

Just a few bullet points mostly from my recollections of the time.
I'm aware some forum members (such as Bob O.) can talk about the indie scene from the 1950's to 70's.
So I'm just concentrating on what I saw and sometimes experienced as I started out in the business in the late 1970's

This is in response to the claim often made that innovative and uncommercial artists were stifled by the establishment and it's only been since the internet era that these type of artists have had a space to call their own.
IMO, that is wrong, and a misreading of the history of popular music.

[chrisso]

Indies
The punk rock era brought about a turning point for independent labels, the do-it-yourself ethos of the time seeing the emergence of a plethora of independent labels. In the US, independent labels such as Beserkley also found success with artists such as The Modern Lovers. Many of the UK labels ended up signing distribution deals with major labels to remain viable, but others retained their independence (e.g. Warp, Wax On, BlancoMusic) and the factor that came to define independent labels was distribution, which had to be independent of the majors for records to be included in the UK Indie Chart, which was first compiled in 1980. The term 'indie' and the chart itself was unrelated to a specific genre of music, and the chart featured a diverse range of music, from punk to reggae, to MOR and mainstream pop, including several hits from the likes of Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan on the PWL label. The late 1970s had seen the establishment of independent distribution companies such as Pinnacle and Spartan, giving independent labels an effective means of distribution without involving the majors. The situation improved further with the establishment of 'The Cartel', as association of companies such as Rough Trade Records, Backs Records, and Red Rhino, who helped to take releases from small labels and get them into the shops nationwide.

[chrisso]

The Saints
The Saints are an Australian rock band, which formed in Brisbane in 1974 as punk rockers. In 1975, contemporaneous with United States' Ramones, The Saints were employing the fast tempos, raucous vocals and "buzz saw" guitar that characterised early punk rock. With their debut single, "(I'm) Stranded", in September 1976, they became the first punk band outside the US to release a record, ahead of better-known acts including the Sex Pistols and The Clash.
Unable to obtain bookings, Bailey and Hay converted the Petrie Terrace house they shared into the 76 Club so they had a venue to play in.
In June 1976, The Saints recorded two tracks, "(I'm) Stranded" and "No Time" with Mark Moffatt producing. Unable to find any interested label, they formed Fatal Records and independently released their debut single in September. Their self-owned Eternal Promotions sent discs to radio stations and magazines both in Australia – with little local interest – and United Kingdom. In the UK, a small label, Power Exchange, issued the single. Sounds magazine's reviewer, Jonh Ingham, declared it, "Single of this and every week". EMI head office in London contacted the Sydney branch and directed that they be signed to a three-album contract.

The Ramones
The Ramones played before an audience for the first time on March 30, 1974, at Performance Studios. Around this time, a new music scene was emerging in New York centered around two clubs in downtown Manhattan—Max's Kansas City and, more famously, CBGB. The Ramones made their CBGB debut on August 16.
The band swiftly became regulars at the club, playing there seventy-four times by the end of the year. After garnering considerable attention for their performances—which averaged about seventeen minutes from beginning to end—the group was signed to a recording contract in late 1975 by Seymour Stein of Sire Records.

Sire Records
In the later 1970s, Sire transformed itself into a successful independent record label and went on to sign artists from the burgeoning punk rock and new wave scenes, including the Ramones, the Dead Boys, The Undertones and Talking Heads. Sire switched distribution to Warner Bros. Records in 1977; in 1978, Warner would acquire Sire Records.

[chrisso]

The Damned
The Damned played their first gig at a free festival held in Croydon. The Damned played their second gig on 6 July 1976, supporting the Sex Pistols at the 100 Club.
They were the first of the London punk bands to release a single: "New Rose", on the independent label Stiff.

Stiff Records
Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff Records signed pub rock acts and marketed them as punk and New Wave, including Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric, Plummet Airlines, Elvis Costello and Ian Dury.
Label owners Robinson and Riviera used money from their Advancedale management company to finance the release of what is generally accepted as the UK's first punk single, "New Rose" by The Damned, in November 1976, which was a veritable hit.

[chrisso]

Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.
They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial success with singles that fused pop craftsmanship with rapid-fire punk energy.
In September 1976 the band travelled to London to perform at the two-day 100 Club Punk Festival, organised by Malcolm McLaren. Other performers included: the Sex Pistols, Subway Sect, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash, The Vibrators, The Damned and the French band Stinky Toys.
By the end of the year, Buzzcocks had recorded and released a four-track EP, Spiral Scratch, on their own New Hormones label, making them one of the first punk groups to establish an independent record label, trailing only The Saints' "(I'm) Stranded".

100 Club Punk Festival
The 100 Club Punk Special (sometimes referred to as the 100 Club Punk Festival) was a two-day event held at the 100 Club—a typically jazz-oriented venue in Oxford Street, London, England—on 20 and 21 September 1976.
The gig showcased eight punk rock bands, most of which were unsigned. The bands in attendance were each associated with the evolving punk rock music scene and movement of the United Kingdom. The concert marked a watershed for the movement, as punk began to move from the underground and emerge into the mainstream music scene.

[chrisso]

Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City
They played their first gig as "Talking Heads" opening for the Ramones at CBGB on June 20, 1975.
Later in 1975, the trio recorded a series of demos for CBS, but the band was not signed to the label. They quickly drew a following and were signed to Sire Records in 1977.

[chrisso]

The Undertones
The Undertones formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1975. With the arrival of punk rock in late 1976, the artistic focus of the band changed. Artists such as the Adverts, Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks and, particularly, the Ramones became major influences on the Undertones.
In March 1978, the Undertones recorded a demo tape at Magee University in Derry and sent copies of the tape to various record companies in the hope of securing a record deal, but only received official letters of rejection. The band had also sent a copy of their recordings to influential BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, requesting he play the songs on his radio programme. Peel replied to the band, offering to pay for a recording session in Belfast. On 16 June 1978, the band recorded their debut four-song EP "Teenage Kicks" on a budget of only £200.[5] The EP was engineered by Davy Shannon at Wizard Sound Studios, Belfast - and was released on Belfast's Good Vibrations record label.
The title song became a hit with support from John Peel, who considered Teenage Kicks his all-time favourite song, an opinion he held until his death in 2004.
Seymour Stein, the president of Sire Records - in London on business - heard John Peel play Teenage Kicks on BBC Radio 1 and became interested in the band. Stein sent a London-based representative named Paul McNally to Derry to discuss a record deal with the band.

[chrisso]

The Specials
The Specials (sometimes called The Special AKA) are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude"

2 Tone Records
Jerry Dammers of the ska revival band The Specials started the record label in 1979. It spawned the 2 Tone music and cultural movement, which was popular among skinheads, rudies and some mod revivalists.

2 Tone Records signed The Selecter, Madness and The Beat, but they all left within two years. 2 Tone Records acts signed a contract that allowed them to leave the label after releasing just one single, which was unusual in the record industry. Madness and The Beat both took advantage of this clause; the former to sign to Stiff Records, and the latter to start their own label, Go Feet Records.

[chrisso]

Liverpool Scene
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward" (still a staple of 1980s alternative pop compilations) the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s, the group also launched the career of group frontman Julian Cope as well as that of keyboard player and co-manager David Balfe (later a record producer, A&R man and the founder of Food Records).
The band signed as label acts and management clients to the up-and-coming Liverpool indie label Zoo Records, run by former Dalek I Love You bass player David Balfe and future KLF man Bill Drummond. Another act on the label was Echo and the Bunnymen

Zoo Records
Zoo Records was a British independent record label formed by Bill Drummond and David Balfe in 1978. Zoo was launched in order to release the work of the perennially struggling Liverpool band, Big in Japan (the label's first release being the From Y To Z and Never Again EP). Zoo Records went on to release early work from The Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen.

Manchester Scene
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and (briefly) James and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.
Factory's genesis was in January 1978, when Wilson, a TV presenter on Granada Television, formed a partnership with Erasmus, an unemployed actor and band manager. The Factory name was first used for a club in May of that year, which featured local bands including The Durutti Column (managed at the time by Erasmus and Wilson), Cabaret Voltaire from Sheffield and Joy Division. Advertising for the club was designed by Peter Saville, and in September the trio decided to release an EP of music by acts who had played at the club (The Durutti Column, Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire and comedian John Dowie). Rob Gretton, manager of Joy Division, decided he did not want the band to sign to a London record label, preferring to do it all in Manchester.

Rough Trade
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London.
It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk and early post punk bands such as Buzzcocks and Desperate Bicycles, Travis began to manage acts and distribute bands such as Scritti Politti and began the label, which was informed by left-wing politics and structured as a co-operative. Soon after, Rough Trade also set up a distribution arm that serviced independent retail outlets across Britain, a network that became known as the Cartel.
Rough Trade began as a record shop, opened by Geoff Travis on Kensington Park Road, West London, in February 1976
Rough Trade produced its own record for the first time after French punk band Métal Urbain came into the shop asking for assistance in publicising their music. In 1978, the shop began organising a record distribution network, dubbed "The Cartel", in collaboration with other independent record stores in the UK. This network enabled small record labels such as Factory Records and 2 Tone Records to sell their releases nationally. It specialised primarily in European post-punk and other alternative rock of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

[initialsBB]

I'm embarrassed for saying the Ramones were on a major on that other thread. In my defense, Sire has been a major label for basically my whole life.

Some early DIYers that are personally inspiring to me are Sun Ra, Harry Partch and John Fahey, who were all pioneers of DIY labels in the '50s.

Takoma Records - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
El Saturn Records - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Gate 5 Gallery

The Residents also preceded punk by a few years with their Ralph Records.

Also to me, true DIY means artists who self-release and sustain a career by doing that over a long period of time. Signing to an indie label, or self-releasing one 7" before signing to a major is not exactly the same thing IMO.

I still think that it's not quite accurate to say that punk started as a DIY thing and then the labels caught on later, since many punk bands got signed pretty quickly and a lot of the most famous DIY labels like Crass Records, SST, Industrial Records, Dischord, etc. got going a little bit later.

[chrisso]

Thanks man.

Yes, I was going to mention The Residents, as I had a couple of their albums.
I'd completely forgotten about Ralph, and had to spend a bit of time on the above anyway.
Yes, you are right, the majors swooped pretty quickly.
But my comments are based on my experiences of the time.
There were a few years when the punks openly despised the mainstream industry, and during those years the industry despised punks.
During those years the punks were not really recording, mostly playing live shows, going to see each other and galvanizing the sound and the scene.
Once the first couple of punk records came out and were very popular, the major labels put aside their ignorance (of the scene) and cashed in.
My main point remains.....
As an anti-music establishment movement, punks got off their asses, wrote their own fanzines, promoted their own gigs and recorded their own records.
As someone who was there (although not a punk), and as exampled in the text above...
This had a significant empowering affect, leading to many ordinary people forming bands, starting indie labels and bypassing the mainstream industry in pursuit of their 'art'.

[unitymusic]

Cool thread chrisso, thanks. I think Lookout! Records deserves a mention as another example of building a scene from the ground up and delivering some iconic records.

[chrisso]

Thanks.
I don't know Lookout.
??

There's a similar story to be told about Rap/Hip-Hop and House music.
Both of which were more about small independent labels than self releasing, but still the majors were asleep at the wheel.
I had hands on experience of UK rave culture which ended up combining with American House/Techno culture and morphed into the modern club scene (House, Techno, Drum & Bass, Dubstep, Chillout etc).
The scene was built on home recordings, self promoted 'warehouse parties' and illegal raves, which involved the public being messaged where the rave was going to be in a cat and mouse game against police.

I kind of ran out of gas after punk/new wave, but the self empowerment and DIY ethos that punk embodied has filtered through much innovative music since I feel.
I'd be happy for 2012 artists to innovate me out of the business, but not so happy for 2012 pirates to do so.

[unitymusic]

Lookout was a San Fransisco label started in the late 80's. Most notably they released the first EP from Rancid and the first two Green Day albums. They also released the Operation Ivy album, which is one of my all time favorite punk albums, and a slew of others. They just officially closed shop this month, sad.

[chrisso]

Originally Posted by unitymusic

Lookout was a San Fransisco label started in the late 80's.

Thanks.

Self funded recording, self releasing, and small independents were the tools by which new, alternative artists first made their mark I think.
Methods have obviously changed and become cheaper/easier since the internet, but this absolutely proves it was far from impossible before the net.

I just looked up Grunge:

A seminal release in the development of grunge was the Deep Six compilation, released by C/Z Records in 1986. The record featured multiple tracks by six bands: Green River, Soundgarden, Melvins, Malfunkshun, Skin Yard, and The U-Men. For many of them it was their first appearance on record.

[initialsBB]

Wow, I didn't know Lookout went under. That's surprising.

I feel like with a lot of these discussions there's probably an important truth that lies somewhere in the middle. A lot of people try to pretend like the major labels had a stranglehold on musical creativity and there was no way to DIY until the internet came along. Clearly that's ridiculous. But then some people seem to think that the internet isn't offering anything new beyond what you could already do yourself for decades. That doesn't feel quite right to me either.

But then the question is does the internet actually offer any new opportunities or make DIY any easier? And if so, in what way? I guess it's a matter of degrees. It's kind of like DAWs in a way. Some people would say that DAWs can't actually do anything that a skilled engineer couldn't already do with tape, including all of the editing, looping, even pitch correction.

In each case I think there are people who were intimidated by vinyl pressing or tape machine maintenance for whom DAWs and digital distribution opened up a whole new world. But for the people who were already comfortable with the old process, the new stuff seems like no big deal. In some ways, even just that illusion of accessibility is what is so powerful. Even if it's not actually any easier, just that fact that people think they can do it gets them off their asses. That's was a large part of the punk spirit I think. Just the revelation of "oh wait, I guess we can do this ourselves."

[chrisso]

Originally Posted by initialsBB

But then some people seem to think that the internet isn't offering anything new beyond what you could already do yourself for decades.

I actually think that statement is wrong.
Here's the thing, in all the piracy, copyright, stifling of creativity discussions, it's always the people who are more inclined to support, or at least tolerate piracy, that claim many were locked out of the music industry before the internet.
I think this also shows a lack of historical context in their knowledge.
I don't know anyone who agrees with me that piracy is a negative, who also doesn't agree that the internet offers significant opportunities.
This thread is very simply to counter one thing that keeps being posted..... that before the internet if you didn't play the industry game you had no chance of being heard.
Actually the opposite is the reality....
Most of the creative breakthroughs of the late 70's, 80's and 90's started at the DIY, or at least independent level.
Mainstream major labels do not innovate, they react. Yes, we all pretty much know that. The internet has reduced costs and opened up a global market to hundreds of thousands of creators. We all pretty much know that too.
Unfortunately the downside is piracy.

[initialsBB]

Originally Posted by chrisso

I don't know anyone who agrees with me that piracy is a negative, who also doesn't agree that the internet offers significant opportunities.

Yeah, I guess it just seems like the subtext sometimes when people ask things like "where are the artists who have made it off the internet".

[chrisso]

I guess DIY resources only go so far.
We've discussed above how the self promoting innovative artists were often picked up by cashed up, established labels.
That route hasn't yet been established via the internet I suppose.
There's Beiber, who is more an innovative self promoter than innovative musician I think.
The club/dance scene is doing OK while remaining mostly on the web, apart from the clubs themselves.

[initialsBB]

It seems like you're saying that artists have to remain solely on the web to count as internet successes. But simultaneously they have to be picked up by an established label to be considered a success? There's a circular reasoning going on there where if a band gets signed to a label the label gets all of the credit, but if they stay small and DIY they're not considered a success. "The internet" can't possibly win by those measurements.

There are plenty of artists who wouldn't have been signed if it weren't for the internet. There are also tons of interesting independent artists who stay on a DIY level and have no interest in becoming a Bieber. Kind of like punk, you know? Bands like Black Flag or Minor Threat would never have been considered a success by the standards that some Gearslutz try to apply to new artists. I guarantee that if we were having this discussion 25 years ago some people would be saying "if DIY is a valid business model then how come none of the Dischord or SST bands have sold as many records as Van Halen?" That's the weird thing about bringing up punk in this discussion. Most of the true punk and hardcore DIYers were basically living in poverty, and some still are.

[chrisso]

OK, I guess I was just trying to work through your line...

Originally Posted by initialsBB

it just seems like the subtext sometimes when people ask things like "where are the artists who have made it off the internet".

[chrisso]

Originally Posted by initialsBB

That's the weird thing about bringing up punk in this discussion. Most of the true punk and hardcore DIYers were basically living in poverty, and some still are.

It's NOT a weird thing to bring up in the piracy context AT ALL.
I actually don't ever start it, but you can guarantee that in any piracy debate at least one, usually many posters will claim that before the internet you were locked out of the industry. In the recent SOPA debate the argument was made repeatedly that the music industry was trying to stifle creativity.

My point in starting this thread was not to engage in a value of the internet argument.
My point was to remind posters of the facts.
Before the internet...
many creative surges,
which led to whole new genres,
which then became extremely popular with the audience,
were possible through DIY club promotion and self financed or local indie recordings and distribution.
The proof is creativity wasn't stifled, innovative and seemingly difficult to monetize artists were not locked out.
Simple as that.

[robertshaw]

Originally Posted by chrisso

This is in response to the claim often made that innovative and uncommercial artists were stifled by the establishment and it's only been since the internet era that these type of artists have had a space to call their own.
IMO, that is wrong, and a misreading of the history of popular music.

bands like Slayer and Metallica Anthrax and Mega Pantera redhots , Janes Addiction all made it huge on very very small indy labels labels. They all made more money and sold more than the bands you mention too. Punk and New wave was really a fad. Metal and alternative metal had taken the Punk influence and really opened the doors commercially. Thanks to bands like Metallica and SOD, punk was able to break the mainstream in the 90s. Not sure if that is a good thing really, but it made alot of people rich. And you still see bands like Greenday milking the whole thing , with the fake English accents 20 years after still. Also it opened the doors for other bands and styles that are really popular now. Metal was really the straw that broke the camels back. Indy labels were really starving because all the stuff they signed in the 70s and early 80s was really lame. Metal was the first legitimate genre to make full use of the Indy label and underground tape trading to make a names for all the respective bands. They used the indy label as a vehicle where other bands used it as a crutch. Metallica sold 2+ million records on and indy that was based out of the back room of a records tore in NJ, noone except SOD has done that since to that degree. SOD went on to sell 5 million on the same label. That was unheard of then. And it still is. Sure band who god signed to Majors would then later start selling their indy releases.... btu never before

Other genres followed like hiphop. NWA, Public enemy all broke the rules and sold millions on their own indy labels it's a beautiful thing. this whole internet music sob story is lame and does not apply to true musical artforms since they will break through no matter what. A band doesn't make it because they are not good enough and people Don't like them..... plain and simple. there is nothing holding anyone back except lack of talent and originality. If you are good you will make it.

no excuses

[chrisso]

Maybe where you live, but in UK/Europe punk/new wave was a major social phenomenon that lasted several years.
Maybe you are thinking of the later American punk (Black Flag, Henry Rollins).
The Sex Pistols and The Clash had both had major, major mainstream worldwide hits long before 'the 90's'.
Bands like The Police and Talking Heads came in on the coat tails, more than any Metal band.

[login]

Is the Electronic dance music scene special in the way it has labels its own distribution networks, a lot of dedicated clubs/festivals, and popularity in many places of the world?

Is it the biggest of the "underground scenes"? if not, what other genres have similar scenes

Also, do you think it's easier for EDM artist to make a living of gigs because they are a single person act must of the time and doesnt have to divide revenues like rock bands?

[chrisso]

Probably - to all the above, but i fail to see the relevance to the thread.

[Darc]

Originally Posted by robertshaw

bands like Slayer and Metallica Anthrax and Mega Pantera redhots , Janes Addiction all made it huge on very very small indy labels labels. They all made more money and sold more than the bands you mention too. Punk and New wave was really a fad. Metal and alternative metal had taken the Punk influence and really opened the doors commercially. Thanks to bands like Metallica and SOD, punk was able to break the mainstream in the 90s. Not sure if that is a good thing really, but it made alot of people rich. And you still see bands like Greenday milking the whole thing , with the fake English accents 20 years after still. Also it opened the doors for other bands and styles that are really popular now. Metal was really the straw that broke the camels back. Indy labels were really starving because all the stuff they signed in the 70s and early 80s was really lame. Metal was the first legitimate genre to make full use of the Indy label and underground tape trading to make a names for all the respective bands. They used the indy label as a vehicle where other bands used it as a crutch. Metallica sold 2+ million records on and indy that was based out of the back room of a records tore in NJ, noone except SOD has done that since to that degree. SOD went on to sell 5 million on the same label. That was unheard of then. And it still is. Sure band who god signed to Majors would then later start selling their indy releases.... btu never before

Other genres followed like hiphop. NWA, Public enemy all broke the rules and sold millions on their own indy labels it's a beautiful thing. this whole internet music sob story is lame and does not apply to true musical artforms since they will break through no matter what. A band doesn't make it because they are not good enough and people Don't like them..... plain and simple. there is nothing holding anyone back except lack of talent and originality. If you are good you will make it.

no excuses

my money´s on that one - exactly dude

Add: I was running my own label which was distr. through Rough Trade in the 90´s and even the modest selling releases had some considerable revenue and helped to release the next one. Today you can have 1M plays at Spotify and what did you earn ? 170 Dollars. These so called new business models are utter nonsense and heavily unbalanced.

[chrisso]

Originally Posted by robertshaw

Metal was the first legitimate genre to make full use of the Indy label and underground tape trading to make a names for all the respective bands. They used the indy label as a vehicle where other bands used it as a crutch.

I refer you to post #2.
It's not my opinion, it's a matter of historical record.
Punk and new wave really exploded the indie label idea into wider consciousness.
Maybe not in North East America, but most other places.
I was there, and most people of my generation suddenly realised you didn't need to struggle for the major deal to get a foot in the door.
I'm sure the metal musicians felt the same way too.