An invaluable guide for those currently making their career in music. By listening to how musicians think and feel about their working lives, this book shows that if making music is therapeutic, making a career from it can be traumatic. It shows how careers based on passion have become more insecure and devalued, artistic merit and intimate self-disclosures are the focus of unremitting scrutiny, & personal relationships and social networks are bound up with calculative transactions. Going beyond self-help strategies, the authors challenge the industry to make transformative structural change.
Can Music Make You Sick? Measuring the Price of Musical Ambition– Sally Anne Gross & George Musgrave
Claim This Podcastby University of Westminster Press
6 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇬🇧
Podcast Overview
An invaluable guide for those currently making their career in music. By listening to how musicians think and feel about their working lives, this book shows that if making music is therapeutic, making a career from it can be traumatic. It shows how careers based on passion have become more insecure and devalued, artistic merit and intimate self-disclosures are the focus of unremitting scrutiny, & personal relationships and social networks are bound up with calculative transactions. Going beyond self-help strategies, the authors challenge the industry to make transformative structural change.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
5/18/2021
4 verified contact emails on file for Can Music Make You Sick? Measuring the Price of Musical Ambition– Sally Anne Gross & George Musgrave
Pitch yourself as a guest, propose sponsorships, or reach out directly to the host.
Recent Episodes
June 21, 2021
Chapter 6 - Conclusions - What Do You Believe In?
<p>Two main research questions at the heart of the study are revisited: how widespread are mental health conditions (anxiety and depression specifically) amongst music workers? How do musicians feel about the work they do and the impact it has on their emotional wellbeing? It is just suggested that the three ‘statuses’ which the book identifies correspond to ideas of economic (the status of work), cultural (the status of value) and social (the status of relationships) validation, that offer a framework for understanding and answering these questions. The chapter suggests that the working lives of musicians today are different to those of the past given the huge levels of competition and the injunction to participate and create ‘content’, embedded as they are in wider infrastructures of technology companies which care little for their art or musicians’ wellbeing. The chapter concludes by considering what options might exist to improve the situation, by exploring listening and the role of therapy, the role of public policy, and a discussion around the idea of a legal ‘duty of care’ in the music professions. Finally, there is an extended discussion of the implications of the author’s findings for the role of music education for the profession moving forward. The text concludes with a final question: what does this research tell us about the price of working in music for those who follow it as a career, and is the price of such musical ambition just too high?</p>
June 14, 2021
Chapter 5 - The Status of Relationships
<p>By exploring the convergence and distortions of private and public space brought about by social media, this chapter explains how these have served to amplify the impacts of having musical ambition. Such tensions resulting present specific challenges to all social relations, especially family and close personal relationships. Tensions between musicians and those closest to them – their friends, partners and family – further extend out into musical communities against a background of intensified competition and existing inequalities. Ultimately, it is proposed that economic relationships are personal and social relationships, and there is an impact this comes to have on musicians. The ‘fantasy of participation’ conflated with the myth of meritocracy that is so central to a musical ambition has a visibly polarising and insidious impact, especially on female musicians working in the UK music industries, which the final section explores. The chapter emphasises the psychic and affective dimension of ‘the status of relationships’ in order to better understand the particularly high levels of anxiety and depression reported by female respondents to the authors’ earlier survey.</p>
June 7, 2021
Chapter 4 - The Status of Value
<p>Having considered the destabilising questions of what musical work is, what it means, and the nature of ‘success’, this chapter examines the ways in which musicians seek answers to those questions. Navigating this landscape, musicians turn to other forms of reference. This the authors term: ‘The Status of Value’. This evaluation takes place in two key ways: firstly, online, and secondly in the reified and ill-defined music industries. Firstly, the chapter looks at how musicians’ relationship to technology – in the form of the online sharing and the consumption of their work – creates an environment of perpetual anxiety. This takes place as the emotional vulnerability inherent in receiving feedback for creative work intersects with an injunction to participate in an exhausting quest to maintain relevancy. Subsequently the authors examine how musicians engage with processes of value measurement offline, within the music industry itself. Ideas of luck, randomness and timing are understood as playing a key role in the careers of musicians, and these ‘unknowns’ produce high levels of emotional distress and anxiety. The chapter concludes by exploring one of the most profound anxiety-producing tensions in professional musicians’ lives, where the precarious and unpredictable workplace comes up against entrepreneurial ideals of control. The authors conclude that contemporary notions of artistic empowerment in the digital age are dangerous, as they reinforce an idea of individualised entrepreneurial control which is largely illusory.</p>
6 total episodes available
Deep-dive analytics for Can Music Make You Sick? Measuring the Price of Musical Ambition– Sally Anne Gross & George Musgrave
Frequently asked questions
Have a different question and can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
- What is Can Music Make You Sick? Measuring the Price of Musical Ambition– Sally Anne Gross & George Musgrave?
- How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
No, this podcast does not typically feature guests.
Legal Disclaimer
Pod Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected with any of the podcasts displayed on this platform. We operate independently as a podcast discovery and analytics service.
All podcast artwork, thumbnails, and content displayed on this page are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable copyright laws. This includes, but is not limited to, podcast cover art, episode artwork, show descriptions, episode titles, transcripts, audio snippets, and any other content originating from the podcast creators or their licensors.
We display this content under fair use principles and/or implied license for the purpose of podcast discovery, information, and commentary. We make no claim of ownership over any podcast content, artwork, or related materials shown on this platform. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
While we strive to ensure all content usage is properly authorized, if you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately or without proper authorization, please contact us immediately at hey@podengine.ai for prompt review and appropriate action, which may include content removal or proper attribution.
By accessing and using this platform, you acknowledge and agree to respect all applicable copyright laws and intellectual property rights of content owners. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or commercial use of the content displayed on this platform is strictly prohibited.