The New DIY

This thesis studied how Dutch pop musicians make use of intermediaries in the digital age. By means of conducting fifteen semi-structured in-depth interviews, several views and implications on careers in music in 2017 have emerged. This study adds up-to-date information to the ongoing debate between scholars whether digitization has caused disintermediation or reintermediation. Results show that the possibilities the online sphere has to offer, are frequently viewed as a new way to establish a career in music, as amounts of clicks, plays and views can feign popularity that might attract fans. However, live performances cannot falter, nor did respondents of this study know how to actually establish that online popularity they spoke off. Furthermore, the Dutch music industry is considered a secluded place, where traditional gatekeepers (i.e. radio-DJs and television producers) decide who gets the chance to stand on the national stage of traditional channels. Besides traditional gatekeepers, new gatekeepers have emerged with the rise of popular internet platforms like Spotify and Facebook. Digital playlist curators and algorithms call the shots in the online sphere. As a result of this complex partly digitized, partly still offline landscape, musicians still extensively use intermediaries during their careers. The DIY-career model is outdated, as no musician likes to do everything themselves, because they feel like they still need networks and skills of established industry professionals. On the other hand, artists like to stay independent and in control of their own career. Therefore, a new business model (The DIY Entrepreneur) has emerged, in which musicians ‘cherry pick’ whom they want to work with, how they want to work with them, and on what basis they want to work with them (i.e. based on Bourdieu’s alternative capital).