The composition of precarity: ‘emerging’ composers’ experiences of opportunity culture in contemporary classical music

Smith, Neil; Thwaites, Rachel

doi:10.1111/1468-4446.12359

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(70 reference statements)

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“…In this view, creative industries do not care but instead outsource responsibility for failure, upskilling, branding and psychosomatic health to individual workers, causing self-blame, anxiety and burnout (Ross, 2009). They demand care-free ‘always-on’ workers: ‘Opportunities are not set up for those who care’ (Smith and Thwaites, 2019: 596). For example, primary care responsibilities such as childcare and elder care, which sit uneasily with self-enterprise, have been found to hinder career progression for female creative workers (Smith and Thwaites, 2019) and to ‘ideologically’ entrap them in ‘gender-appropriate’ uncreative ‘caring roles’ such as communication and admin jobs (Alacovska, 2015; Banks and Milestone, 2011).…”

Section: Care-less-ness In the Creative Industries: Self-centred Indmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Passion to Compassion: A Caring Inquiry into Creative Work as Socially Engaged Art

Alačovska

2020

Sociology

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This article considers the analytical potential of a concept of care that foregrounds human interdependencies, relational ties and the needs of others as the basis for action in analysing work, such as creative work, which is neither directly nor obviously associated with care provision. Work in the creative industries has recently become a central concern in sociology. Much of this scholarship reproduces or extends the idea of creative work as a paradigm of individualized work in contemporary societies that is characterized by high levels of worker autonomy, passion, self-expression and self-enterprise. This article challenges such theorizations by calling attention to the role of caring in creative work, understood both as an ontological phenomenon and as a relational practice of sustaining and repairing the world. Drawing on a qualitative study of socially engaged art in South-East Europe, I argue that creative work manifests itself as a labour of care and compassion.

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Section: Care-less-ness In the Creative Industries: Self-centred Indmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Passion to Compassion: A Caring Inquiry into Creative Work as Socially Engaged Art

Alačovska

2020

Sociology

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“…This situation translates into a new reality for the younger composers who, as Smith and Thwaites (2019) argue, “need to be involved in a number of work activities in order to make a living” (p. 592). For them, navigating the ecosystem is a matter of understanding the realities and finding meaning in whatever they do.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although artists’ or composers’ careers are often seen as purely personal, they are not “immune to wider ecosystemic changes” (Smith & Thwaites, 2019, p. 590), which ought to be recognized by higher music education. The portfolio and protean career literature suggest a number of ways to support early-career professionals’ success in today’s changing professional ecosystem (ranging from enhancing the ability for staying flexible when it comes to career choices to supporting international mobility), yet very few studies exist on how to navigate the “boundaryless world” and what ecosystemic changes require from professional studies in general, and in music in particular.…”

Section: Theoretical Frames and Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite these new career opportunities, it has been acknowledged that “emerging composers” attempting to build a career in the “neoliberal age” of contemporary classical music have difficulties both in becoming well established and making a living (e.g., Dowd & Kelly, 2011; Smith & Thwaites, 2019). Recent research highlights the barriers that female composers face (e.g., Hennekam & Bennett, 2017; Strong & Cannizzo, 2017), describing them as unprepared for their careers (Bennett et al, 2018), and suggesting an increased awareness of the practical aspects of forging careers (e.g., networking, online visibility), as well as economic and family support, to reduce the gender inequity in the industry (Hennekam et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Professional education toward protean careers in music? Bigenerational Finnish composers’ pathways and livelihoods in changing ecosystems

Westerlund

López-Íñiguez

2022

Research Studies in Music Education

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Contemporary professional landscapes in classical music fields are rapidly changing and younger generations of musicians are confronting their creative careers, more often than not in connection to self-employment and freelancing. This narrative inquiry investigates the pathways and livelihoods of composers in a changing professional ecosystem through interviews with 10 bigenerational composers in Finland. The analysis is presented in three “factional stories,” in which the empirical material is crafted into “fictional form” by an anonymous first-person narrator. The stories depict how the secure, traditional careers of the older generation are found to be bound to traditional orchestras and ensembles, whereas the protean careers of the younger generation of composers involve passionate pathfinding amid pluralizing ecosystems, within but also beyond traditional contexts and through various collaborations. The younger composers are expanding significantly, or consciously distancing themselves from, the traditional model and values of a contemporary composer. Competition is found to be increasing and professional education described as too short and insufficient in its concentration on technique—this does not provide new understandings and skills beyond traditional composing craft needed for navigating the profession and securing livelihoods. Although similarities are found in the pathways of both composers’ generations, such as strong career callings and experiences of luck, the “struggle” for a composer to find a place in society is more strongly experienced by the younger generation, for which the development of an ongoing “learner identity” is required to embrace—and not resist—such a challenge. As a whole, the study provides a new understanding of composers’ pathfinding through changing ecosystems and suggests that traditional and protean music careers co-exist—even within a single person—while they can also be clearly separated from each other. The study informs higher music education programs in Western countries.

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“…Although participants reported ceasing live music performances, music production and lyric writing 'went through the roof'. Due to the impossibility of carrying out rehearsals, some mention having focused on a more solitary and introspective component of musical composition (Smith & Thwaites, 2019), while others highlight the sharing of audio files through the Internet, from which they found alternative ways to speed up the processes of collective co-creation. For those working in bands, these musicians experimented with new ways of music-making, working more digitally and recording separate parts in isolation and releasing more music online.…”

Section: More and Different Music-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘It’s Turned Me from a Professional to a “Bedroom DJ” Once Again’: COVID-19 and New Forms of Inequality for Young Music-Makers

Howard

Bennett

Green

et al. 2021

YOUNG

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Given the unprecedented circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasingly uncertain socio-economic conditions, cultural practice remains a stable canvas upon which young people draw the most agency and exercise a sense of freedom. This article reports on an international research collaboration, drawing on the voices of 77 young musicians from three countries—Australia, England and Portugal—who were interviewed about their music-making practices during lockdown. Despite reporting loss of jobs and income and the social distancing restrictions placed upon the ability to make music, most young music-makers were positive about the value of having more time, to be both producers and consumers of music. At the same time, however, our data also highlight increasing forms of inequality among young music-makers. This article argues that despite short-term gains in relation to developing musical practice, the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on the music industry will affect the sector for years to come.

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The composition of precarity: ‘emerging’ composers’ experiences of opportunity culture in contemporary classical music

Cited by 10 publications

References 41 publications

From Passion to Compassion: A Caring Inquiry into Creative Work as Socially Engaged Art

From Passion to Compassion: A Caring Inquiry into Creative Work as Socially Engaged Art

Professional education toward protean careers in music? Bigenerational Finnish composers’ pathways and livelihoods in changing ecosystems

‘It’s Turned Me from a Professional to a “Bedroom DJ” Once Again’: COVID-19 and New Forms of Inequality for Young Music-Makers

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