ABSTRACT
This chapter explains that do-it-yourself (DIY) practices are increasingly being recognised as valuable heritage practices that provide an alternative to institutionalised, museum-based heritage. At a time when museums are under threat of closure due to lack of government and public funding, DIY heritage provides a low-cost alternative that not only promises the potential of a global audience but also allows for both a personalised and community experience. The ordinary people engaging with DIY practices have led to an inclusive definition of fan and fandom that no longer just denotes the more extreme activities that have come to characterise fan behaviour. Beatles fans have been one of many fan groups to take advantage of this new fandom discourse and as a result have become participants in a wider DIY heritage community. These fan creations can lead to a problematic and uncertain tension between complex copyright and intellectual property laws and fans' desires to be content creators.
