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While it could be argued that musicians have been long conditioned to the current Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) global environment, it appears the recent challenges are testing even the most resilient and adaptable, causing one to question future professional sustainability. The methodological practice of Strategic Foresight and the use of Hajkowicz's Global Megatrends as a guiding framework is chosen to answer the question 'what will musicians' livelihoods look like in 2050?'. Resultant scenarios of musicians' futures conclude that live performance will be highly valued and in demand, and largely enabled by private funding and repurposed resources. Music, and therefore musicians, will embrace diversity and innovation in physical and digital forms, broadcasting to a global public seeking a more human experience within a non-human environment. The interim decades may see an increasing inclusion of professional non-music careers within one's portfolio of work, further expanding generic definitions of 'musician'. However, are experts in the fields of Music Careers and Strategic Foresight eligible to cast opinion? Can Strategic Foresight practice be even remotely applicable in these current postnormal times? Regardless, higher music education is required to adapt, and continue to adapt, by including digital literacy and futures thinking training.

Over the past two decades the topic of graduate outcomes has increasingly informed the discourse on the changing nature of universities. For conservatoires and university music departments the global shift in audience demand away from western classical music and jazz styles (traditionally the cornerstone tertiary music programs) to contemporary commercial music (CCM) has added an extra dimension to the graduate outcomes discussion with respect to vocation preparation and musicians’ portfolio careers. Few studies have tracked the career paths of music graduates across time with none focused on jazz/contemporary singers. This report discusses the findings from a snapshot study of Jazz/Contemporary Voice graduates (2001 to 2012) of one Australian conservatoire. The purpose of this research was to better describe this population of graduates in terms of employment outcomes, the dynamics of their employment activities, employment-seeking strategies and the relevance of university coursework to their employability. Their responses have implications for tertiary music training programs.

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