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TASA Thursday: The Sociology of Music in Action

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About this event

Join us at 12:30pm (AEDT) on 17th April 2025 for this month's TASA Thursday Session which will explore 'The Sociology of Music in Action.'

With in this session we celebrate and discuss emerging research projects from the Sociology of Music Thematic Group.

Event Details:

Date: Thursday 17th April 2025
Time: 12:30pm - 13:30pm (AEDT)
Format: Zoom Webinar
Cost: complimentary

Program:

‘Stadiumism’: Consequences for emerging, regional musicians of Wollongong, NSW'
Presented by Christine Bosworth, PhD Candidate, University of Wollongong.

Disruptions to the global music industry following the Covid-19 pandemic have affected the ways in which music is both produced and consumed within grassroots live music ecosystems, the effects of which are examined here through the experiences of musicians in the regional town of Wollongong, NSW. Emerging data from my current PhD research reveals the impacts of the pronounced shift of globalised music culture towards ‘stadiumism’, on all involved in the live music ecosystem of Wollongong, especially emerging, independent musicians. Impacts explored include musicians’ intensified reframing of their music practice, from a career orientation towards a hobbyist mindset, as a consequence of these global industry disruptions and consequent cost of living crisis; “You don’t make money from this - we have to work”. Emerging data also confirms that these consequences continue to disproportionally affect marginalised groups, highlighting the crucial need for cultural democratisation to provide increased access and support for more diverse cultural producers, to prevent further homogenisation and consolidation of music culture in the future.

Gendering DIY utopias – grassroots gender equality activism in Australian DIY scenes’
Presented by Hannah Fairlamb, PhD Candidate, The University of Melbourne

DIY music scenes are often defined as anti-establishment, anti-hierarchical and anti-capitalist – but what kind of utopia does this construct, and who does it benefit? This paper is a work in progress as part of my doctoral thesis, and probes definitions of DIY in terms of the ways these scenes construct visions of utopia, and how these utopias differ by gender. Findings from my research suggest that while many members of DIY music scenes value individualist characteristics such as autonomy, agency and freedom, at the same time values such as community, reciprocity and the sharing of resources are also held in high regard. Using data collected for my PhD research I examine the gendered worlds that are prefigured by DIY music scenes, to work through how diverging gendered DIY utopias triggered a wave of feminist activism in Australia between approximately 2015-2020.

Your Speakers

Christie Bosworth

Christie is a fourth-year sociology PhD candidate from the University of Wollongong. Her research explores the sociocultural value of grassroots live music, using the Wollongong live music community as a case study. The project investigates the potential for and importance of the democratisation and diversification of live music culture. Being personally embedded in the local independent music scene continues to ethnographically inform her research.

Hannah Fairlamb

Hannah Fairlamb is a final year PhD candidate looking into the relationship between grassroots music-focused gender equality interventions and DIY music scenes in Australia. Prior to her candidacy Hannah worked in social and gender policy in the South Australian public sector for almost ten years. In 2018 Hannah was part of the founding team that created the Adelaide (South Australia) chapter of feminist community music not-for-profit Girls Rock! and was a co-director for four years prior to moving to Melbourne. Coming out of 20 years' involvement in the independent music scene in Adelaide, as an audience member, musician and activist, Hannah's research interests focus on gender, feminism and activism in Australian music scenes.