ABSTRACT
The charm for Finnish micro-labels of being amateur is perhaps best illustrated by the etymological meaning of ‘lover’ as it is borrowed from Latin via French. Since roughly the 1980s, when recording technology became increasingly affordable and available, the production of popular music has often followed a different logic–one in which both artists and producers work on a do-it-yourself (DIY) basis. While amateurs can be passionate artists or producers–and often one and the same in DIY cultures–who produce what they love, professionals are obliged to conduct thoroughly rationalized routine practices, free of any economic risk. According to Robert Strachan, the extrapolation of art and commerce is closely connected to questions of amateurism and professionalism in micro-label communities. The dominant considerations of success or quality that manifest in the dualism of professional, mainstream quality and unpopular, amateurish or ‘artsy fartsy’ ‘junk’ is precisely what the micro-labels are seeking to refute, instead preferring to define their own qualifications or territories.
