Precarious Labor in COVID Times: The Case of Musicians

David Arditi

doi:10.32855/fcapital.202101.002

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic changed the way we think about work, the economy, and our everyday lives as governments shutdown all but the most essential public spaces. Workers who earn a living through precarious employment have faced unique barriers to securing wages. The impact of the pandemic shutdown was especially devastating on musicians' lives and many supporting workers in the entertainment industry. The structural insecurity of gig work became amplified as venues were forced to stop performances for a year or more. In this paper, I argue the current phase of capitalism that depends on precarious labor and unending consumption destroys workers’ means to meet their basic and social needs. While this affected workers through the economy, I explore the impact the COVID music closures had on musicians in particular. How did the closure of the live music industry amplify the precariousness of musicians’ working situations? First, I develop a trace the current mode of capitalism. Second, I discuss musicians as precarious workers by exploring the way record contracts establish inequity in the recording industry. Finally, I argue the COVID crisis for musicians was largely an effect of their precarious employment situation.

Highlights

While the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on employment opportunities throughout the world, workers who earn a living through precarious employment activities have faced unique barriers to securing wages
Capitalism is the endless accumulation of capital achieved by two means: 1) increased consumption and 2) exploitation of labor
Attali’s larger point contends we can learn a lot about the political economy of society if we look to music

Summary

Introduction

While the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on employment opportunities throughout the world, workers who earn a living through precarious employment activities have faced unique barriers to securing wages. The impact of the pandemic shutdown devastated the live music industry. When Billboard tries to estimate lost jobs by claiming “the shutdowns eliminated 75,000-100,000 full-time jobs in live music, and over 12 million positions were affected or eliminated in the events business as a whole” (Brooks 2020:101).. The problem is the main reported numbers include big music promoters like Live Nation, but not small businesses that book their own talent While their data are staggering, I do not think a data model exists that can truly estimate the impact on musicians because of the precarious nature of musician employment. While the pandemic shutdown crushed opportunity for most musicians, the top stars continued to use their celebrity status to continue generating income The contradiction between those with the ability to continue generating income by deploying their stardom and those unable to because of their obscurity builds inequity. I argue the COVID crisis for musicians was largely an effect of their precarious employment situation

Capitalism Now

Musician Precarity

Musicians During COVID

Findings

Conclusion