Do-It-Yourself Music Archives: A Response and Alternative to Mainstream Exclusivity

ABSTRACT The preservation of popular music has traditionally faced numerous philosophical and practical obstacles, but do-it-yourself archives present an alternative method that warrants further attention. As grassroots cultural sites, they largely resemble community archives in their focus on community in all aspects of collection and preservation. DIY is a response to mainstream organizational and production structures that encourages self-sustainability and community engagement. Translated to archival practice, this ethos can provide the appropriate handling of music, something so prominent in human society but often missing from the formal cultural heritage sector. In this paper, I will further define DIY, specifically in relation to community archives. I will explain the importance of DIY music archives and describe several problems they face. In the end, I will maintain that further research and care be focused on DIY music archives to ensure that music and the communities built around music maintain their due places in our collective history.