Basic income for creative justice: Weathering inequity in the creative industries during COVID-19

Abstract

The idea of a basic income has produced both staunch advocates and detractors in economic policy debates. This article explores the potential for a basic income to produce more just outcomes for workers in cultural sectors by focusing on a case study of music industries in Melbourne, Australia. We draw on data from a 2020 study of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated public health response on the Melbourne music industries to explore how music industry workers experienced loss of income as individualised harms and uncertainties about their roles within the music industry. We argue that Mark Banks’ concept of ‘creative justice’ offers a means of evaluating the utility and limitations of a basic income for achieving more equitable outcomes in music industries.