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Master’s Thesis – The University of Chicago, Department of Music

In May of 2005, I completed my thesis for a Masters degree at the University of Chicago, entitled:  “When we’re finished with it, they can have it”: Jamband Tape-Trading Culture (pdf).

Description:
First and foremost, this was my attempt at online ethnography and ethnomusicology, so it was a cultural study of Internet fan communities and their interaction with the bands they loved. However, this study also focused on the way that fan communities affected band businesses and their historical trajectory.

Less than four years have passed since I was asked to present this paper in front of my graduating class at U. of C., yet so much has happened since 2005 in the world of Internet fan communities, jamband tape-trading, and the larger world of digital music.

While I focused this study topically on Grateful Dead, Phish and other so-called “jambands,” it was always about much more than just one musical scene, type of band or musical genre. In essence, I laid out the framework for what I have dubbed the “live band business model,” and in my opinion, this model has gradually emerged as the “new music business model” over the last 10 years. As album sales have struggled, business models have had to change, and artists have had to focus on touring — because, no matter what, the live concert experience can never truly be copied or downloaded. So without necessarily meaning to do so, the Grateful Dead, Phish, and many other similar artists have set a trend for other acts to follow, and independent-minded artists across the spectrum have slowly found ways reproduce it within their own scenes/niches.

As such, this study is in need of a formal addendum to update us on the last four years. As I am short on free time for formal research/study, I am inclined to create more of a gradual addendum to my thesis, by posting periodic thoughts/updates to my blogs.

If you have any questions or would like to share your own comments/research, I encourage you to contact me.

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Advised by:
Travis A. Jackson
Associate Professor of Music and the Humanities, University of Chicago