ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the activist archivist as a community activity, one that relies on the collective efforts of a group of like-minded people who strive to make available the material objects of popular culture for consumption. Responding to the political and economic limitations of rights-holders who prevent the commercial release of the marginal cultural texts of popular music, activist archivists are making materials available for distribution through online communities of practice. The activist archivist uses differing digital tools to preserve artefacts of popular culture in a digital form. Despite working across a range of genres and formats, and offering contrasting approaches, the three archives such as Bodega Pop, Electric Jive and Tanzania Radio Archives share a common purpose in preserving and making accessible aspects of popular music history. The activist archivist is responding to the political and economic factors that often render the material objects of popular culture unavailable for consumption.
