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Moral economy, intermediaries and intensified competition in the labour market for function musicians

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  • Charles Umney

Abstract

This article examines the labour market for ‘function’ musicians in London. It shows how the market encompasses a chain of relationships between clients, intermediaries and musicians, considering how the idea of ‘moral economy’ – a subject of revived interest in employment sociology – fits empirical reality. It shows that function musicians have created a strong moral economy regulating the distribution of opportunities and resources within bands. However, other actors in the chain, particularly agents, are able to impose intensified labour competition on bands. This competition leads trust relationships to fray and social expectations about the distribution of resources to weaken. These tensions are embodied in the role of the fixer: a musician who uneasily straddles market and moral domains.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles Umney, 2017. "Moral economy, intermediaries and intensified competition in the labour market for function musicians," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(5), pages 834-850, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:31:y:2017:i:5:p:834-850
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017017692510
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sharon Bolton & Maeve Houlihan & Knut Laaser, 2012. "Contingent Work and Its Contradictions: Towards a Moral Economy Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(1), pages 121-132, November.
    2. Knut Laaser, 2016. "‘If you are having a go at me, I am going to have a go at you’: the changing nature of social relationships of bank work under performance management," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 30(6), pages 1000-1016, December.
    3. Booth, William James, 1994. "On the Idea of the Moral Economy," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 88(3), pages 653-667, September.
    4. John Vail & Robert G. Hollands, 2012. "Cultural Work And Transformative Arts," Journal of Cultural Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(3), pages 337-353, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wenceslas Lizé & Ian Greer & Charles Umney, 2022. "Artistic work intermediaries as industrial relations institutions: The case of musicians," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(2), pages 793-809, May.
    2. Janet Merkel, 2019. "‘Freelance isn’t free.’ Co-working as a critical urban practice to cope with informality in creative labour markets," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(3), pages 526-547, February.
    3. Ana Alacovska & Joëlle Bissonnette, 2021. "Care-ful Work: An Ethics of Care Approach to Contingent Labour in the Creative Industries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 135-151, February.
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    5. Emma Hughes & Tony Dobbins & Doris Merkl-Davies, 2022. "Moral economy, solidarity and labour process struggle in Irish public transport," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(1), pages 146-167, February.

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