Ethnographic study reveals operational tensions between platform monetization and organic reach in DIY music communities, highlighting Instagram's compromised viability as cultural infrastructure.
Instagram is one of the most popular forms of social media in Australia, and the de-facto platform used by local music scenes. Do-it-yourself (DIY) musicians, fans and institutions have been entangled with social media for over two decades. Yet, based on 20 interviews with DIY participants in Melbourne, I argue that Instagram poses distinct, nascent challenges for those involved in local scenes. Utilising the writings of Susan Leigh Star alongside ethnographic fieldwork, Instagram is conceptualised as a form of infrastructure for Melbourne's DIY scene. Responses from the interviews are contrasted with the history of Instagram's development to explore when Instagram became infrastructural for local DIY music. I outline Instagram's succession of Facebook within this context, highlighting the preference of users for its more streamlined interface, native design for mobile phones and effective integration of short-form video and ephemeral content. Meta's earning calls are then analysed to demonstrate Instagram's limiting of DIY content on users’ feeds, and the inherent tensions between Instagram's profit motive, the experience of its users and its viability as infrastructure for local DIY scenes.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Max Melit (2026) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: