DIY ethic
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DIY stands for "do it yourself", as opposed to paying a professional to do it for you. DIY once just referred to hardware stores in Britain that supplied amateur repair people with tools. Today the term can indicate "doing" anything from healthcare to interior design, from publication to electronics. The DIY ethic is loosely tied to punk and various anticonsumerist movements, in as much as it amounts to a rejection of the idea that one must always purchase the things that one wants or needs from others. DIY questions the uniqueness of the expert's expertise, and promotes the ability of the ordinary person to learn to do more than he or she thought was possible.
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[edit] Independent record labels
An example of DIY is making and promoting music without major record label backing, and without any great level of perceived "selling out". A popular slogan of the DIY movement is "DIY not EMI," an explicit rejection of the major record company of that name.
Many DIY artists argue that a DIY-style career is not only an alternative to mainstream success; it is preferable. DIY artists share much more in common with and are thus more able to reach out to their audience than "arena rockers". A general feeling shared by most participants in DIY punk is that the practice blurs or eliminates distinctions between audience members and band members, thus fostering a sense of community.
There have been independently owned record labels nearly as long as there has been a music industry, but since the advent of punk in the 1970s, many bands have embraced the DIY ethic, promoting self-organized gigs in small halls and setting up small independent record labels and distribution networks such as Bloomington, Indiana's Plan-It-X Records, California's SST Records and Bomp Records, Dischord Records (a renowned D.C. DIY label), Flat Earth Records (based in Leeds, UK), Sudden Death Records (started by the Vancouver band D.O.A.), Slampt (influential and now defunct punk label from Newcastle, UK), and Profane Existence [1] (a fanzine, record label and anarchist collective based in Minneapolis, USA).
In England from the late 1970s to the early 1980s labels such as Falling A Records expanded the DIY idea into a movement that used the cassette tape medium as a cheaper and more easily accessible alternative to vinyl (although vinyl was still used by them at times), a trend referred to as the DIY cassette movement or cassette culture.
Such labels and collectives tend to have relatively small outputs and sales, although there are groups who have been able to achieve levels of mainstream success while maintaining a fiercely independent and uncompromising stance. Notable examples include the UK band Crass and US singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco. Dischord's Fugazi rarely charged more than $5-$10 admission to their live (all-ages) shows, and have kept their album prices at about $10, as with other bands on the label. Bassist/singer Mike Watt has practiced a DIY ethic for decades, describing his practice as "jamming econo," or, living frugally.
[edit] DIY on the Internet
Technological advances in the last ten years have made it more possible for artists to circumvent the establishment and create high-quality works themselves. Tools like Apple's iLife and the proliferation of high-speed Internet have given artists of all ages and abilities from across the globe the opportunity to make their own films, records, or other content and distribute it over the web. Such works were usually displayed on a private homepage, and gained popularity through word-of-mouth recommendations or being attached to chain letters (known as viral distribution). Sites like newgrounds and deviantART allow users to post their art and receive community critique. Next generation sites like Slip A Buck fuse together community art sites like deviant and the DIY punk ethic to provide a venue for do-it-yourselfers to exhibit their works and be compensated in the form of tips.
[edit] Broader ethic
The DIY punk ethic can also extend to how any group or individual applies DIY political stances to daily life—especially how they avoid contributing to institutions they see as exploitive. These efforts include converting cars to run on biodiesel or greasel, learning bicycle repair, sewing/repairing/modifying clothing, starting gardens, dumpster diving, etc. To a certain extent, DIY is simply a way of finding ad hoc solutions to problems that are otherwise usually solved with wealth or corporate support.
[edit] See also
- Anarcho-punk
- Bullshit Detector
- Bone (recording)
- Cassette culture
- Guerilla gig
- No Wave Cinema
- Remodernist Film
- DIY Culture
- Che Cafe
- 924 Gilman Street
- Basement show
This page was seeded with material from Wikipedia
