from riot grrrl to Lilith Fair to Ani DiFranco, Olivia could no longer sustain itself as a record label. Philosophy Olivia Records promoted music that validated women's and lesbian's experiences, including lyrical and musical expressions of love, anger, fear, and humor. Lyrics by artists on Olivia Records frequently described personal or local problems rather than address global women's issues. Fans bonded to the musicians and to each other, thus forming women-centered musical communities. Early interviews with the founders of Olivia Records show an acute awareness of the radical political message embedded in the very creation of the label. In an August 1974 interview about the creation of Olivia Records, Ginny Berson, Meg Christian, Judy Dulgacz, Cyndi Gair and Helaine Harris described the label as a new national women's recording company. In this interview, Meg Christian described Olivia Records as a form of lobbying, and Judy Delgacz directly tied the label to the broader women's movement. Ginny Berson explained their vision for women to gain social power and capital by creating alternative economic institutions that would enable women to control their own economic situation. She identified the fastest way to eliminate oppressive/discriminating/harassing workplaces as by employing women, promoting women, and investing women's money in women. The economic philosophy and business operations that differentiated Olivia Records from mainstream records reflected the idealistic hopes of its founders, and the label's executives revelled in experimenting with unknown artists and inexperienced producers. As an independent label, Olivia Records cultivated a fan base through music festivals, coffee houses and bookstores, and mail order catalogs. Similar to women's music festivals, Olivia Records favored apprenticeship and mentoring as staple organizational practices. The founders of Olivia Records were not the only LGBTQ activists to criticize American capitalism or consumerism, and many subculture bars, bookstores, coffee shops, and presses were created to carve out physical and intellectual queer spaces in the American marketplace. The DIY aesthetic of Olivia Records mirrored broader trends that proliferated in the American lesbian arts and counter-marketplace during the 1970s and 80s, including the rejection of mass-production and big corporations in favor of crafts, folk art, and preindustrial production techniques. Similarly, lesbians were valuing alternative forms of commerce, including gifting and trading. Lesbians were reclaiming handmade objects and domestic products, and the rise of acoustic folk music was an offshoot of all of these trends. Impact Cris Williamson and Judy Dlugacz were awarded the 2018 Jack