The subfield of electronic dance music in Portugal: a comparative study of three independent micro-labels

Abstract

The so called electronic dance music could be described as an international subfield of music production comprising a network of agents which includes musicians (mostly DJs/producers), record labels, clubs and venues, record stores, booking agents and concerts programmers and specialized media (online and printed press and radio stations). Gathering information through interviews conducted with staff members and some analysis of websites and bandcamp pages I will compare three electronic dance music micro-labels in Portugal in relation to their aesthetic values and principles, distribution policies, and relationship to other music mediators such as cultural associations, venues and the media (press and radio).

Keywords
Electronic dance music; independent labels; (sub)field of music production; social capital