ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the historical context for techno through an examination of Detroit's reputation as a centre of musical production, consumption, and entrepreneurship and how it was connected to Fordism and Motown and to the city's industrial heritage. Detroit has long been the centre for numerous entrepreneurial innovations in the transportation and music industries. The legacy of Motown and the Fordist era established the background the possibilities, opportunities, and challenges for techno, the next major musical innovation to come out of Detroit. The crisis in capitalism and auto manufacturing in Detroit provided the impetus for techno music, which was produced in response to the conditions in Detroit. Local radio station/programs receptive to new and/or local trends are commonly important in the formation of music "scenes". With Japanese electronics costing only $1,500-2,000, the financial barriers to entry into cottage-industry style techno music production were extremely low.
