Living in an Artistic Labour Market: The Experiences of Gig Musicians in Calgary

Musicians who perform for pay are seen in every city in the world, but the work of musicians is rarely framed as a practice which warrants sociological attention. Instead, popular culture discourse systematically focuses on the work of musicians by talking about individual artists, their ingenuity and their inspirations. People may view musicians as professionals, but this profession is rarely understood as a practice which has many layers and nuances. This study provides such an understanding by asking musicians who play gigs for a living in Calgary about what they do to survive as artists. Through in-depth interviews with sixteen individuals and ethnographic analysis of the various activities that musicians do, this study reveals the diversity of orientations and ways in which musicians do musician work, and the profoundly important social context in which musicians are able to sustain themselves as cultural workers.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Graduate Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Wall, Laurent

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• McCoy, Liza

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Taylor, Gregory
• Patterson, Matt

• Anthropology--Cultural

Statement dc:rights

• University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/26776

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:11023/3235