DIY Didn’t Die. It Mutated.

When people talk about being a DIY artist today, it often sounds like a superpower.
You can release music globally from your bedroom.
You can reach fans directly.
You can build an audience without permission.
You can do everything yourself.
That part is true.
But it leaves out something important.
DIY used to mean freedom.
For many artists now, it feels more like pressure.

What DIY meant in the 2000s

When I was starting out in the late 90s and early 2000s, DIY was not a buzzword. It was simply the only option available.

If you wanted anything to happen, you had to make it happen yourself.

That meant:

• booking shows

• hiring vans

• designing flyers

• burning CDs

• putting on parties

• rehearsing relentlessly

• building scenes from the ground up

DIY was slow, physical, local, and social.
It also had limits. Distribution was hard. Reach was small. Everything took time and effort.
But there was something healthy about it.
You were not expected to be everywhere.
You were not compared to everyone.
And you were not told that success should happen quickly.

What DIY means now

Today’s version of DIY looks very different.

Artists are expected to:

• write and release constantly

• film and edit content

• manage multiple platforms

• analyse performance

• understand algorithms

• build an audience

• monetise early

• stay visible at all times

The tools are extraordinary.
The expectations are relentless.
DIY has quietly shifted from empowerment to obligation.
And when everything is possible, it becomes very hard to know what actually matters.

The illusion of control

Modern DIY culture often promises control.
You control your release schedule.
You control your marketing.
You control your audience.
In reality, much of what artists are told to focus on sits outside their control.
Algorithms change.
Platforms rise and fall.
Attention moves on.
This creates a strange tension.
Artists are given responsibility without stability.
Freedom without guidance.
Power without context.
It is no surprise that so many feel overwhelmed.

Doing everything is not the same as doing the right things

One of the biggest misconceptions in modern music culture is that independence means doing everything yourself.

It does not.

Doing everything yourself usually leads to:

• creative exhaustion

• shallow focus

• rushed decisions

• diluted identity

• burnout

DIY was never about doing more.
It was about doing what mattered.
That distinction has been lost.

From DIY to doing it together

The healthiest independent artists I see today are not lone wolves.
They build small ecosystems around themselves.
A few trusted collaborators.
A handful of core tools.
A clear sense of what they are trying to build.
This is still DIY, but it is quieter and more intentional.
It is less about proving independence and more about protecting creativity.

The real opportunity of modern DIY

Despite the pressure, something genuinely powerful remains.

Artists now have the ability to:

• speak directly to fans

• build long-term relationships

• test ideas quickly

• create income without intermediaries

• design careers that fit their lives

But this only works when DIY is paired with clarity.

Clarity about:

• what success means

• what enough looks like

• what is worth your energy

• what you can safely ignore

Without that, the freedom becomes noise.

A more sustainable way to think about DIY

DIY is not about doing everything.

It is about choosing deliberately.

It is about:

• understanding the tools

• respecting your limits

• building slowly

• thinking long term

• letting creativity lead

Used well, DIY is still a gift.

Used poorly, it becomes a trap.

A final thought

DIY did not disappear. It evolved.
The challenge now is not access.
It is focus.
Artists do not need more tools.
They need better filters.

And the confidence to build something that makes sense for them, not something that looks good from the outside.

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These ideas tend to continue in my Field Notes newsletter, where I write from inside ongoing work and reflect on the patterns and decisions that shape sustainable artist growth.