Why the ‘DIY’ Music Scene Isn’t DIY Anymore

Let’s be honest: A lot of what passes for “DIY” these days isn’t actually do-it-yourself. It’s do-it-with-help, or do-it-with-access, or worse — do-it-for-the-aesthetic.

The Original DIY Was Built on Survival

Back then, DIY wasn’t a vibe — it was a necessity.

• No venues? Throw a basement show.

• No label? Press your own tapes.

• No press? Xerox a zine and hand it out at gigs.

• No gear? Borrow it, fix it, or go without.

It was gritty, inconvenient, and deeply community-driven. Nobody was looking to “blow up.” They were looking to exist, to build something, to carve out space where none was offered. Now? You can rent that aesthetic on TikTok.

The Scene Got Polished

Go to a “DIY” showcase in a mid-sized city now and you might find:

• Branded backdrops

• Corporate sponsors

• Artists with management teams

• Professional photographers

• Carefully curated “underground” vibes pushed by PR firms

And to be clear — none of that is bad. Artists deserve resources. Creatives deserve to make money. But let’s stop calling it DIY if it’s not self-built. Because real DIY isn’t curated. It’s chaotic. And alive.

Access Isn’t Equal — and DIY Used to Level That

Part of what made DIY special was its accessibility.

You didn’t need a trust fund to play a basement show. You didn’t need gear sponsorships to host a jam night. You just needed people who cared, and a willingness to make it happen.

Now, some DIY spaces require the same level of clout, polish, and online presence as the industry itself.

If your scene needs you to already be “somebody” to get on a lineup, then it’s not a DIY scene — it’s a cool kids club in disguise.

Community or Content?

Here’s the real test:

Does your scene exist for the people in it, or for the content it creates?

If everything is optimized for optics — not experience —If every show is just a launchpad for social media recaps —If artists are networking instead of connecting —You don’t have a scene. You have a feed.

So What Do We Do With That?

You don’t have to ditch your scene. You just have to recommit to what made it matter:

• Be inclusive. Book the newcomers.

• Share gear. Share space. Share knowledge.

• Stop gatekeeping weirdness.

• Protect all-ages shows.

• Make room for failure.

• Prioritize presence over polish.

DIY isn’t dead — but it needs a reboot.

It Was Never About Optics

DIY wasn’t born in good lighting. It was born in garages, in backyards, in rooms with no A/C and too many extension cords. It wasn’t clean. It wasn’t cool. But it was ours. If we want to keep it real, we’ve got to stop performing independence and start practicing it again.