The social and ecological determinants of the production of original rock music in Austin, Texas

This research project examines the social and ecological determinants of the production of original, contemporary rock music in Austin, Texas. Recognized as a live music "capital" in the United States, the research specifically addresses those social elements that distinguish Austin from other cities of similar size. Using data from the U.S. Census and local musicians' registries, gaps in our knowledge of musicians in Austin and other cities will be filled. Local music magazines and oral histories are used to construct a social history of music and music venues in the urban setting throughout the twentieth century in Austin to identify ecological, spatial, cultural, and social determinants. Analyzing the musician numbers and the constructed image of musical venues will provide a template for examining musical production based on a sociological, ecological conceptual framework. Using music as a prime example, the results will expose a weakness in sociology concerning its examination of culture and will provide a methodology for analyzing music sociologically. The last point is important because of the lack of focus on social factors by ethnomusicologists who have done the majority of research on music production. The key to a sociological analysis is the incorporation of spatial, consumption, production, symbolic, demographic, economic, cultural, and theoretical variables left unexplored by other disciplines.;Analyzing music from a sociological perspective is a valuable endeavor for all those individuals who wish to better understand modern, music production. The value to the discipline is the re-introduction of music as a component of sociology's study of modern culture, and to focus on the city as the locus of most of this production. It would be prudent for sociology to be at the forefront of understanding cultural production in the urban environment, both for theoretical and practical application. This dissertation will illustrate music production in an urban setting and hopefully provide a model for understanding other cultural production/consumption processes.