Is anyone making rent off of independent music? If the artist's aren't, who is? More importantly, how are they doing it? Keeping in mind various types of privilege based on class, race, gender, and disability, we'll aim to discuss the ways in which independent artists and industry professionals have or have not made money, and why or why not. Where does money come from—licensing your single to Arby's for their new ad campaign? Touring non-stop for three months? Selling branded USB sticks? What are the structural problems that make financial security impossible for independent musicians? We will discuss the relationship between independent music and the looming presence of the marketing world, the troubled distinction between “independent” and “commercial,” and the ways in which artists have successfully turned creative success into cash.
