“Where is your fixed point?” Dealing with ambiguous freelance musician careers

A life without a plan? Freelance musicians in pandemic limbo

“…The embodied social practices, that guides and regulates the members of the field, are based upon a sense of (one's) place. This sense for what is possible and necessary evolves, in the case of freelancers, around creating some kind of fixed spot (see also Nørholm Lundin, 2022 ). The case of freelance workers in pandemic crisis is a particularly relevant case for problematising general trends of flexible working arrangement in the labour market (for example Flisbäck, 2002 ).…”

“…The (degree of) access to places of work can be understood as moments of broader socio-spatial relationships, where place and space act as two sides of the same coin ( Holt, 2008 ; Bourdieu, 1995 ; Lund, 2019 ). Malin's thought about being thrown back in time and place, are pinpointing the conditions of freelance careers, which can't be taken for granted (see also Nørholm Lundin, 2022 ). These dynamics are even more complicated, because freelancers need to be visible, performing and networking, to be able to ‘stay in the loop’.…”

“…Freelancer Agnes describes normal working life as an “emotional rollercoaster”, where one is pending in and out of gigs, and in and out of a sense of belonging and recognition of skills. It seems like the freelancers have to create their sense of having a fixed spot in working life as a basic condition ( Scharff, 2016 ; Banks, 2019 , Nørholm Lundin, 2022 ). However, this sense of being in charge of careers is sensitive to assessment procedures, at gigs and auditions in particular.…”

“…With Bourdieu (1983) it seems as they are performing an emotional management to be able to ‘make a virtue out of necessity’. To practice at the instrument acts as a daily ritual to maintain careers as well as professional self's (to be compared with athletes' training) ( Nørholm Lundin, 2020 , Nørholm Lundin, 2022 ). 17 There are several quotes about individual practice, as a way to create a sense of control and direction during the pandemic.…”

Pandemide Enformel İlişkiler ve Güvencesiz Çalışma: Müzisyen Emeğinin Sahadaki İzleri

“…Yaratıcılığa ilişkin unsurlar emek açısından otonom ve özgür bir çalışma alanını gerektirmekteyken, sektörel olarak yaratıcı endüstrilerin sermaye birikim mekanizmasıyla kurmuş olduğu ilişki, piyasa ve kâr mekanizmasıyla şekillenmekte, bir anlamda bu alandaki otonom işleyişi kısıtlayarak yaratıcı olma halini sermaye birikiminin ihtiyaçlarıyla karşı karşıya getirebilmektedir (Barna ve Blaskó, 2021). Bununla birlikte yaratıcı emeğin çalışma koşullarının ise ekonomik ve sosyal belirsizlikleri içeren güvencesiz bir yapıda şekillendiğine de dikkat çekilmektedir (Lundin, 2022a). Ayrıca işitsel ve görsel sanatların kendi içinde farklılaşan kategorileri arasında emek açısından etiketleme, eşitsizlik ve ayrımcılıkla karşılaşılabileceğine dikkat çekilmektedir (Alacovska ve O'Brien, 2021).…”