One of the greatest "counter-culture" movements to transform the face of the this century is
D.I.Y. culture, which stands for Do-It-Yourself. D.I.Y. ethos underlies everything from self-publishing to home improvement. The thinking goes something like this:
Rather than rely on someone else to create what you want, why don't you create it yourself? Rather than expect the bureaucrats in Congress to fix things, why don't you get together a team and try to fix them yourself, since you probably have a better idea of what can be done? Rather than wait for a publisher to appreciate your awesome gardening book, why not publish it yourself? After all, your interests are often not the same.
The politician wants to get re-elected;
you want to make the world a better place. The publisher wants to publish a book that will bring back big money;
you want to share your gardening knowledge with a few people and make enough money to keep writing. The movie studio wants a blockbuster;
you want to make touching, indelible movies based on your values. The public school superintendent wants to please the board;
you want your child to gain a life-long love of learning and to fire his intellectual curiosity. And guess what?
You can.
Back to D.I.Y. for a minute. Interestingly enough, D.I.Y. was first mainstreamed as a philosophy of action by the
early anarchist punk groups, many of whom were involved in the Vietnam war protests and felt strongly about working with recording companies or corporations who did not reflect their values.
A little history from the folks at AllExperts wiki:
Many anarcho-punk bands, especially at the local level of unsigned groups, have taken on what is known as a "DIY" ethic: that is, Doing It Yourself; indeed, a popular Anarcho-punk slogan reads "DIY not EMI", a reference to a conscious rejection of the major record company of that name. Many anarcho-punk bands were showcased on the Bullshit Detector series of LPs released by Crass Records and Resistance Productions Records between 1980 and 1994. There is an argument that despite promoting an anti-capitalistCassette Culture scene. In this way an attempt was made to bypass the traditional recording and distribution routes, with material often being made available in exchange for "a blank tape plus self-addressed envelope". The anarcho-punk movement also had its own network of fanzines (sometimes called punk-zines) which disseminated news, ideas and artwork from the scene. Again, these were usually very much 'DIY' affairs, tending to be produced in runs of hundreds (at most) rather than thousands (although there were exceptions, such as ideology, these were commodities sold in the market place and thus were inherently contradictory. It is however difficult to see how such groups could otherwise make their music and ideas available, although some anarcho-punk performers were also a part of the Toxic Graffiti), printed on photocopiers or duplicator machines, and distributed by hand at punk gigs.
The punk groups were reacting to the extreme concentration of the recording industry-- before the 1990's, it was extremely difficult for non-mainstream musicians to produce, distribute, or sell an album. With the creative use of the internet and social networks adopted by the indie music movement in the early 1990's, D.I.Y. culture became a matter of course for music artists.
Producing an indie album is now cheaper and faster than getting a music contract from a major record company. Artists also have more freedom to experiment, collaborate, and push the creative envelope. Tons of really cool individuals and teams continue to create this musically-rich and exciting market landscape, including musical artists, bloggers, writers, web designers, corporations, and creative entrepreneurs, to name a few. On that note, a few of the stories that brighten my DIY days:
- Unsigned Music Magazine allows artists to celebrate their independent status while tapping into a network that helps connect them to indie musicians and mentors, the best way to an album.
- DIY Search Engine allows the indie-oriented to search DIY cultures for anything from clothing to cars.
- DIY Audio, billed as "projects for the fanatics by the fanatics".
- MySpace.com, which gives even the worst local bands a fan base. And MySpace has done wonders for distribution networks and publicity in the music industry.
- Pitchfork Media started as Ryan Scheiber's garage enterprise after high school graduation. It now stands as a sign-post on the indie music scene. Read the wiki version of this story-- it's amazing.
I could keep going, but I'm running out of time and I need to get back to making my wedding invitations. My man and I are doing it ourselves from twine and paper bags and stamps and metal rings. Because we can.
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peace through commerce
November 2006 
Peace Through Commerce
Access: Public
