Networks and Scenes: Understanding Online-and-Offline Music Worlds

This paper addresses the online and offline presence and activity of contemporary indie rock bands in Liverpool, as well as the music events in which they participate. It aims to provide conceptual tools for the understanding of music making activities and relationships in a partly local, partly online environment. It proposes a definition and analysis of the temporal and spatial structure of the online presence of bands and events, and introduces the online-and-offline music network as research concept. The concept of the network assists in identifying similarities and ties, as well as differences and boundaries among bands and other active participants. These similarities and differences, or ties and boundaries can be delineated along 3 main aspects: firstly, genre and style; secondly, band career and success; thirdly, individual approach, aims and strategies. The concept of network is employed to complement that of the ‘scene,’ and describe music making where boundaries and ties are less clearly definable and defined than it has generally been understood in the case of a scene.

Released: Replika 78, 93–120.