The vanishing of the underground in electronic dance music. A qualitative research regarding the influence of the values of restricted production on the economic and artistic practices of artists in the underground scene of electronic dance music

In September 2017, an artist in electronic dance music called Jeremy Underground received critique for demanding high hotel requirements and large performing fees, while claiming an underground status. This often used term underground within the context of electronic dance music seems to coincide with the notion of restricted production from Bourdieu: where arts is produced for the sake of art, authentic, associated with the cultural elite and aiming for symbolic capital instead of monetary return. This autonomous realm opposes a heteronomous realm. However, this strict dichotomy of Bourdieu might be questioned in the music industry due to influence of globalization, digitalization and technological innovation of the past decades. Additionally, it has been observed in other cultural sectors that there is an increased importance on business models regardless of public funding, shifting the focus from creative practices to business practices motivated by an economic logic. Therefore this thesis researches this dichotomy in a cultural industry relying on the functioning of the market by answering the question: how do the values of restricted production in the underground scenes of electronic dance music influence the economic and artistic practices of artists? This qualitative research has gone in-depth regarding these concepts and their influence on the practices of artists with the use of semi-structured interviews. Nine respondents from Europe have been interviewed in May 2021 with a total duration of over 11 hours. From these interviews it has been found that some values of restricted production still remain important for artists in the underground scenes of electronic dance music and are part of the inherent motivation to produce cultural goods. However, the economic practices have become increasingly important in the music industry due to technological, innovative and social developments, making the economic logic an inevitable part of being an artist. The inevitability of the economic logic contradicts the notion of restricted production of Bourdieu and decreases the meaning and importance of the term underground within electronic dance music. This questions the dichotomy posed by Bourdieu and exposes the importance of the economic logic in the modern day music industry, therefore serving as an example of the effect of the market on cultural production.