Punk As Product: Selling Punk Histories

Presentation at the Punk Scholars Network USA & Canada Conference, The Punk Rock Museum, Las Vegas, 2 March 2025.

This paper reflects on the ways that punk has been marketed and commercialised over the past fifty years through advertising, branding, journalism, graphic and product design. This has led in turn to a range of ‘punk’ products spanning music, fashion and lifestyle, print and television media, interior design and decoration, even toys and collectables. In particular, the paper focuses on nostalgia and the marketization of ‘punk history’ as we approach the fiftieth anniversary of punk’s ‘Year Zero’ moment, with major galleries, museums and institutions vying with publishers, record labels and live events promoters to capture the ‘punk pound’ (or ‘punk dollar’) while the market is still hot. Record labels are rushing to release glossy, deluxe box set editions of ‘classic’ albums, from the debut Talking Heads album Talking Heads: 77 to (I’m) Stranded by Australian punk pioneers The Saints. No doubt we will see new and/or repackaged ‘anniversary’ releases from The Ramones, The Clash, The Stranglers and many more. The official Sex Pistols store will be busy, now that their licensing has been taken on by Bravado, “the leading provider of consumer, lifestyle and brand management services around the world,” alongside The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.

There are as many punk histories as there are punk fans or participants. Recent developments in the academic historicization of punk have focussed on less well-known figures, scenes or cultural contexts in the pursuit of a wider, more inclusive narrative, though they in turn run the risk of over-emphasizing the impact of their subjects in the broader history of the subculture. At the same time, the distillation and simplification of the punk canon through a narrow selection of high-profile celebrities and key events still holds prominence in mainstream media. How can we strike a balance between these competing positions, or is punk scholarship simply another iteration of punk product aimed at a particular consumer demographic?