Persisting with a music career despite the insecurity: When social and motivational resources really matter

Abstract

Drawing on conservation of resources theory and self-determination theory, coworker support and work motivation were investigated as resources that should buffer or mitigate the negative consequences of career insecurity for professional musicians. We surveyed 200 professional musicians. Analyses revealed that only those musicians with low career insecurity and better-quality motivation (i.e., either high autonomous or low controlled) were less prone to problem drinking. Importantly, the combination of high coworker support and high autonomous motivation was associated with less emotional exhaustion from career insecurity. These resources were not simply stress-buffers of career insecurity, but helped well-resourced musicians thrive on career insecurity. Additionally, it was found that career insecurity was associated with greater intentions to leave the profession for all musicians, except for those with high controlled motivation when they also had access to high coworker support. For these musicians, having access to supportive coworkers was important for persisting with their music career despite the insecurity.

Performers of the night: Examining the mental health of electronic music artists

“…Although stress demonstrated significant correlations with most other variables of interest, it did not show up as a significant predictor within the regression analyses (cf. Aalberg et al, 2019;Parker et al, 2019). However, it should be noted that occupational stress was considered as a single factor, based on the MOSS (King et al, 2019).…”

“…For example, research has pointed in the direction of the stressors and demands musicians typically experience as part of their occupation (Aalberg, Saksvik-Lehouillier, & Vaag, 2019). Musicianship is a highly volatile profession, with irregular working hours, job instability, limited long-term prospects, and financial insecurities (Parker, Jimmieson, & Amiot, 2019;Vaag, Giaever, & Bjerkeset, 2014). Furthermore, performing artists might experience hardships due to public expectations (i.e., fandom), long travels, social isolation, or limited time for social life (King, Berg, Koenig, Adair, & Tirado, 2019).…”

“…Furthermore, performing artists might experience hardships due to public expectations (i.e., fandom), long travels, social isolation, or limited time for social life (King, Berg, Koenig, Adair, & Tirado, 2019). Such stressors might all act as barriers for musicians' mental health (Aalberg et al, 2019;Parker et al, 2019;Vaag et al, 2014).…”

“…Research has consistently shown that social support can have an important buffering effect against the negative consequences of stress exposure, and, thus, improve mental health outcomes (Thoits, 2011). Indeed, social support has been associated with decreases in emotional exhaustion (Parker et al, 2019) and symptoms of depression (Aalberg et al, 2019) in musicians.…”

Factors influencing the career intentions of music performance students: An integrated model analysis

“…Consistent with SCCT’s proposition, self-efficacy, outcome expectation, and environmental variables are the key determinants of career intention. According to existing empirical studies, self-efficacy is a central cognitive factor in predicting career intention of whether students plan to pursue their education or stay in the music industry (Bennett & Chong, 2018; Parker et al, 2021). Moreover, self-efficacy was validated significantly to affect outcome expectations (Cardon & Kirk, 2015; Lent et al, 2010).…”