Ethnomusicology Review 24

Another Typical Day at the Office:

Working Life in the Portuguese
Independent Music Scene
Ana Oliveira

The analysis of music scenes in urban contexts has traditionally focused on music produc-
tion practices, without giving relevance to how these very practices are grounded in the
organizational and economic dynamics that characterize the cultural and creative economy.
However, several authors have advocated for a broader understanding of contemporary
forms of music production, towards the consideration of the professional and economic
dimension of musical activity (Tarassi 2018). These authors acknowledged the urgency
to look at music production as a professional activity, which requires a set of skills that
go beyond musical ability and which encompasses management and negotiation skills,
like any other professional career. It is therefore important to understand how music and
work in music are taken at the intersection between art, creativity, and economy; how
trajectories in music are constructed; what strategies are mobilized by musicians, and the
different actors that compose the musical field to ensure the sustainability and economic
viability of their trajectories; what are their working conditions and consequent impacts
on their daily lives, in a contemporary context.
Several authors have focused on the construction and structuring of musical careers,
paying special attention to the living conditions of musicians and the strategies they mobi-
lize to achieve economic sustainability. The work of Oliver (2010) shows the importance
of new technological tools in the search for self-sufficiency by musicians, particularly
in the context of the creative and management processes in which they are involved.
In regard to the Austrian context, Rosa Reitsamer and Rainer Prokop (Reitsamer 2011;
Reitsamer and Prokop 2018) analyzed the processes of construction and structuring of the
careers of techno and drum’n’bass DJs, as well as hip-hop musicians, showing how these
underground artists manage their careers in a flexible, self-responsible and DIY approach.
In the Francophone context, Marc Perrenoud and Pierre Bataille (2017) have developed
work on the French and Swiss music scenes, identifying different ways of being a musi-
cian, depending on the artists’ living conditions and their different sources of income.
This article focuses on the Portuguese context. It seeks to reveal the activities developed
by the different actors that compose the world (Becker 1982) of independent music and

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the strategies they mobilize to guarantee the sustainability and economic viability of
their careers, which are closely linked to their perceptions of music and work in music.
Recognizing the importance of the production of sociological knowledge based on the
representations of social actors and their processes of signification, my approach essentially
relies on qualitative methods, based on a set of seventy-one semi-structured interviews
with different actors in the independent music world (musicians, promoters, label owners,
producers, agents, music venues programmers/curators, critics/journalists, and broadcast-
ers) from two metropolitan areas: Lisbon and Porto. These interviews were conducted
between May 2016 and March 2018, and the sample was constructed from the theoretical
sampling approach and the snowball technique. The sample was constructed on the basis
of its relevance to the theoretical approach and categories adopted in the research. I started
from a set of privileged informants and key players in the Portuguese independent music
scene, previously identified, which facilitated the entry into the field and allowed the iden-
tification of other members of the music scene to interview. While conducting interviews
I adopted the life history approach (Bertaux 1997) to obtain as detailed a description as
possible regarding the interviewees’ life trajectories, the construction of their musical taste
and their connection to music, their forms of belonging to the music scene under study, and
their performance strategies in it. The interviews were fully transcribed, using f4transkript,
and submitted to a vertical and horizontal content analysis (Bardin 2011) using NVivo.

Creative work and music as a profession

The basic premise on which the understanding of music as a profession is based is the
refusal of dichotomous visions that oppose music to the business world and to commer-
cial logics, thereby detaching the exercise of creative activity from any presumption of
substantial rationality. Binary representations that oppose the idealism of the artist to
the materiality of work, the figure of the subversive and bohemian creative to that of
the bourgeois worker concerned with social norms, or even the “art for art’s sake” to the
world of business and commerce, are no longer relevant. Rather than considering them
as distant, we assume that art, creativity, and economy intersect in a complex space of
tensions, negotiations, and struggles (Negus 1995; Menger 2005; Hesmondhalgh 2019).
This research starts precisely from the understanding of artistic and creative activities,
and more specifically from the set of activities developed around music as a profession, as
work, as employment. Therefore, I rely on authors such as Angela McRobbie (2016), for
whom artists and creatives anticipate the future of work and the forms in which careers are
consolidated in a neoliberal context and under the aegis of the “economy of talent.” In this
regard, Menger stated that “not only are creative artistic activities not or are no longer the
opposite side of work, but they are increasingly taken to be the most advanced expression

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of new modes of production and new employment relationships engendered by recent

mutations in capitalism” (Menger 2005:44). For authors following this rationale, it is clear
that “artistic worlds have learned to live with the pressures of economic efficiency and the
criteria of profit, not to exonerate themselves from them, but to accommodate them to their
guiding principles” (Menger 2005:61).
The work carried out over the last few years clearly identifies the main characteristics
of the forms of work organization in artistic, cultural and creative professions: There
are frequent situations of self-employment, but also different forms of underemployment
(part-time non-voluntary work, intermittent work, fewer working hours). It is also common
to be involved in several projects simultaneously and to work for different employers.
Traditional linear careers give way to a succession of projects and experiences in a struc-
turing logic based on flexibility and discontinuity; the prospects for career development
tend to be quite uncertain and risky, with a strong inequality of income but also of reputa-
tion and recognition (Menger 1983; Menger 1999; McRobbie 2004; Menger 2005; Menger
2014; McRobbie 2016; Perrenoud and Bois 2017; Sinigaglia 2017; Everts, Hitters, and
Berkers 2021). Workers are expected to be increasingly multi-skilled and to adapt easily
and quickly to new projects and new tasks. In this context, investment in the acquisition
and consolidation of social capital (Bourdieu 1993; Bourdieu 1996) is crucial to ensure
the viability of these trajectories, which makes networking and gatekeeping processes
preponderant in accessing work opportunities and therefore in building and maintaining
artistic and creative careers.
Given the specificities of how artistic and creative work is organized, several strategies
are mobilized for the construction and maintenance of these careers. One of the main
strategies involves an exercise of splitting, reflected in the multiplication of professional
occupations, through the accumulation of different jobs in the same period, in a logic of
multi-activity. These professionals often divide their working time with tasks related to
the artistic and creative sphere, but which go beyond the act of creation or preparation of
the artistic/creative product itself (Hesmondhalgh and Baker 2011; Hracs 2015; Haynes
and Marshall 2018).
Moreover, without the predictability and monotony of routine work, these types of work
are characterized by great uncertainty. But if uncertainty is seen as one of the conditions of
originality, innovation, and personal satisfaction and fulfilment in relation to the creative
act, it also has a negative dimension, often creating states of anxiety. In addition, several
studies have shown that the autonomy, freedom, and flexibility associated with artistic and
creative work are counterbalanced with harsh working conditions and precarious daily
experiences: long working hours, sometimes unpaid or in exchange for a reduced salary;

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difficulty in balancing artistic and creative careers with family life, particularly felt by
women; nervousness, anxiety, frustration, and a loss of self-esteem generated by the insta-
bility of these careers; a continuum between work and leisure stemming from the need for
socialization and networking; and a tendency towards individualization, the privatization
of disappointment, and self-blame for failures (McRobbie 2002; Hesmondhalgh and Baker
2010; Hesmondhalgh and Baker 2011; Campbell 2013; McRobbie 2016; Tarassi 2018).
Considering these characteristics, some authors argue that, along with the transformation of
society towards an intensification of individualism, the artistic, cultural, and creative labor
market is also becoming increasingly individualized, following a neoliberal model, and
governed by the values of entrepreneurship. Expressions such as “cultural entrepreneurs”
(Scott 2012) or “subcultural entrepreneurs” (Haenfler 2018) have been used to refer to
musicians and other social actors in music scenes who manage their careers without being
dependent on intermediaries such as record labels, managers or agents. It is recognized that
these actors present characteristics associated with an entrepreneurial attitude (flexibility,
resilience, creativity in problem-solving, capacity to deal with risk and uncertainty) and that,
in their daily lives, they engage in activities considered as entrepreneurial – networking,
ensuring the funding of projects, organizing concerts and tours, promoting their work and
events to the audiences and different gatekeepers (e.g., journalists, critics, radio broad-
casters, and programmers). In fact, as Haynes and Marshall argue, this is rather expected,
especially in the field of popular music where musicians are usually self-employed (Haynes
and Marshall 2018). But these types of commercial and promotional activities are and
have always been part of a musician’s work. Therefore, they are not something that solely
results from the transformations that occurred in the music industry (although they may
be intensified by them), but rather are a continuation of already existing work patterns.
Referring to the work of William Weber on the status of musicians in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries and of Tia DeNora on Beethoven (and we add, of Norbert Elias on
Mozart), Haynes and Marshal argue that musicians are and always have been both cultural
and economic figures (Elias 1993; DeNora 1995; Weber 2004; Haynes and Marshall 2018).

The DIY approach in the analysis of music careers

Though the work activities of musicians have mainly been conceptualized through an
entrepreneurial perspective, another analytical approach is possible by focusing on the
concept of DIY. The Portuguese independent music scene in particular can be studied
through the DIY concept, allowing an understanding of musicians and other actors of the
music field as managers of their careers and protagonists of a logic of development of
multiple competencies. They assume simultaneously several and complementary roles –as
musicians, producers, editors, designers, promoters, and agents – generating intersections

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between diverse artistic and creative subsectors, and also challenging the boundaries
between the professional and the amateur (Hennion et al. 2000). This emphasis is based
on social theory’s revisiting one of the core values of the punk subculture – the DIY ethos
(McKay 1998; Dale, 2008; Dale 2010; Moran 2010; Olivier 2010; Hein 2012; Guerra
2013; Guerra 2018; Bennett and Guerra 2019). If at the beginning of the twentieth century,
the term DIY referred to the practices of creating, repairing, and/or modifying something
without recourse to an experienced craftsman/professional, its meaning gradually evolved
over the following decades to encompass a wide range of cultural and creative practices
(Bennett and Guerra 2019).
Within a music production mode symbolically and ideologically distinct from the commer-
cial circuits of the music industry, during the 1980s and 1990s the DIY ethos remained
strongly linked to the punk aesthetic but extended to other musical genres and other spheres
of alternative cultural production (Bennett 2018). Thus, Bennett and Guerra argue that
“while by no means eschewing anti-hegemonic concerns, this transformation of DIY into
what might reasonably be termed a global ‘alternative culture’ has also seen it evolve to
a level of professionalism that is aimed towards ensuring aesthetic and, where possible,
economic sustainability” (Bennett and Guerra 2019:7). The concept of a DIY career implies
understanding it as a form of professional trajectory, which stems from the need to manage
the “pathological effects” of post-­industrialization and, consequently, the risk and uncertainty
that characterize contemporary societies. In a context like the one we live in – the “risk
society” (Beck 1992) – not only are biographical trajectories more uncertain and unpredict-
able, but processes become increasingly individualized, and social actors are driven to create
their own trajectories. It is in this sense that we can understand DIY careers as a pattern of
promoting employability based on knowledge acquired through practice, contact with peers
and, often, participation in youth subcultures (Oliveira 2020).
For these reasons, DIY has become representative of a wider ethos of lifestyle politics,
with repercussions on people’s personal projects and professional choices, on a global
scale (Bennett and Guerra 2019). And in this scenario of redefining the meaning of DIY,
we are now witnessing the growth of levels of professionalization that characterize much
of the contemporary DIY cultural production sphere (Bennett 2018; Tarassi 2018).

Strategies for career development in the independent music scene

The changes that have taken place in recent decades in the global record industry and more
broadly in the world of music have been well documented in the Portuguese context by
the work of Paula Abreu and Paula Guerra (Abreu 2010; Guerra 2010). They have shown
how these changes have brought new opportunities and challenges to musicians and the
wide range of professionals that compose the music field. Specifically, these changes have

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implications for the ways these social actors carry out their activities and, consequently,
on how they ensure the sustainability of their careers. In this sense, my research has
confirmed that a music career involves the combination of several strategies and, there-
fore, of several sources of income (Oliveira 2019; Oliveira 2020). Figure 1 provides an
overview of this diversity.

Co-operative membership 6
Family support 10

Save 6
Solo/small project 8

Regular editions (singles, albums, video clips) 13

Continuous activity 17
Concert tour 20

Applying for funding 7

Copyright and royalties 18
Methodology and planning 23
Networking 23

Playing, composing and writing for others 27

Several musical projects 52
Teaching 20
Day job 63
Several roles in the musical field 76

Figure 1. Strategies for the development of music careers (percent). Source: The author.

A logic of multiplication
In line with the results of other research on the construction of music careers, the main
set of strategies mentioned by my interviewees follows a logic of multiplication, taking
different forms (yellow bars in Figure 1) (Guerra 2010; Reitsamer 2011; Guerra 2015;
Gavanas and Reitsamer 2016; Perrenoud, Marc and Bataille 2017; Reitsamer and Prokop
2018; Reitsamer 2011). First, through the performance of different roles in music, both in
terms of personal projects and in terms of working with other actors in the music field – a
strategy mentioned by seventy-six percent of our interviewees. This is the materializa-
tion of the DIY ethos, ensuring control over several stages of the process of making and
disseminating music, often as a combination of the will to do so and the need to do so due
to the scarcity of available resources (Strachan 2003; Strachan 2007; Dale 2008; Dale 2010;
Drijver and Hitters 2017). To the creative dimension of writing, composing, and playing,
these actors add many other roles – those of producer, editor, promoter, agent, DJ, designer,
and others. Having a career in music depends on much more than knowing how to sing or
play an instrument (Figure 2). It is necessary to know the field and its logics, but also to
ensure a range of more administrative and bureaucratic activities. We are here before what
Perrenoud and Leresche designate as one of the four types of invisible work that are part of

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Creative tasks:
Writing
Composing
Playing
Rehearsing
Designing artwork, personal
pages, videos, merchandise,
image/presentation
Social media content production

Management tasks:
Planning and strategy definition.
Technical tasks:
Acquisition and maintenance of Networking
instruments and sound equipment Applying for funding
Recording Agency
Producing and mastering Distribution (physical and online)
Making albums and other materials Stock management
(physical and digital support) Marketing and promotion (social
Video editing media and traditional channels -
Learning and constant knowledge radio, TV, print, blogs)
update Licensing, copyright, royalties, and
other legal issues

Figure 2. Different types of tasks performed by musicians in the independent scene. Source: Adapted
from Hracs, 2015, based on information gathered through the interviews.

musical activity – the perimusical work (Perrenoud and Leresche 2016).1 This includes all
the non-musical tasks that are materially necessary for the musician’s activity. It includes
all the work of organization and administration, ensuring tasks such as planning and budget
management; applying for funding; promotion of the artist/band and projects in different
communication channels and thinking both about the audiences and gatekeepers; booking
concerts; event organization; and other tasks. The authors also include maintenance work,
which has a logistical dimension, manifested for example in the transportation and instal-
lation of instruments and sound equipment during concerts.
In most cases, the skills required to perform these activities are acquired through prac-
tice and through contact with peers, both in person and online. The predominance of
intermittent employment within the scope of musical work encourages the polyvalence
of musicians. Technological evolutions, mainly at the level of record production, have
contributed to the greater independence of musicians in relation to social actors such as

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producers and labels. In recent decades there has been a confluence of technological,
economic, and socio-cultural factors that have facilitated musicians to take on tasks that
they used to delegate, such as production and editing.
The multiplication of roles played on the music scene contributes to the acquisition of
symbolic and cultural capital, reinforcing the position of these social actors in the subfield
of independent music (Bourdieu 1993; Bourdieu 1996). By diversifying their area of
activity, musicians conquer symbolic legitimacy within the networks in which they are
involved. Thus, there is a strong investment in terms of relational capital, in the sense that
playing different roles allows the creation and maintenance of more and more diversi-
fied relations.
A second form of multiplication, mentioned by sixty-three percent of interviewees,
involves combining music with another profession, which may or may not be related to
it or to the artistic and cultural environment. Within the framework of our research, of
the fifty-three interviewees working as musicians, only eight were exclusively dedicated
to music, while thirty-eight claimed to combine it with other activities, and the remain-
ing seven reported being students. Activities developed in parallel with the activity of a
musician included those of promotion, music publishing and music production, as well as
teaching in areas such as design and architecture, and work in sound technology. These
are activities relating to the artistic and cultural environment, which are recognized by
interviewees as advantageous. In the case of the eighteen non-musicians interviewed, only
two combined their activity in the musical field with another profession not related to the
artistic area (one of the interviewees worked at a housing company and the other was the
owner of a transport company). This suggests that for a musician, professional work in
other activities around music is easier than pursuits unrelated to music.
For some of the interviewees, this combination with other activities was a strategy they
turned to only during periods when music work was not enough to ensure their economic
sustainability. However, in most cases, this activity constituted a permanent job, and not
infrequently, the main job. In either situation, the flexibility of schedules is valued to
facilitate rehearsals, concerts, and tours. However, there are different perspectives regard-
ing this occupational division. For the majority (sixty-two percent of the interviewees
who have another profession besides music), this situation stems from the need to seek
a balance between financial pressures and the possibility of maintaining their creative
passions. Indeed, these musicians face the conflicts and tensions inherent in the search for
mental, temporal, and economic space to be creative while also meeting everyday needs,
which can create different opportunities for engagement with creativity and a career in
music (Threadgold 2018). On the contrary, the remaining interviewees, and especially

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those who denote a more emotional attitude towards music, clearly state that music is for
them a “territory of freedom” and, as such, they do not want to economically depend on it.

In my case, it’s impossible to live only from music. I live from the work I do outside
music, which is architecture. It was completely impossible to live only from music.
There are a lot of expenses and the money is not enough. With two jobs, it’s difficult.
So, it was completely impossible. And it wasn’t something I didn’t want. If I could
live only from music, I would live only from music, but I can’t.
Tiago, 31 years old, master’s degree, musician, and architect, Cascais.
I have been an architect since I finished my degree, and I am self-employed as an
architect. (. . .) In strategic terms, my option is to have music as a part-time. . . Music
is a part-time job to which I dedicate a lot of time, time that I feel is fairly rewarded
nowadays, but it is already structural for me this idea that I don’t want to depend on
music. Music for me is a territory of total freedom. I’m not going to give that up, so,
for me, music will always be this second professional home, although in fact, in terms
of my emotional involvement with it, it is often the first.
Baltazar, 40 years old, bachelor’s degree, musician, and architect, Barcelos.

Being a teacher, organizing workshops, or providing classes on a more informal and occa-
sional basis also seems to be a common activity, mentioned by fourteen interviewees
(twenty percent). Within the set of roles that can be played, being a teacher is especially
relevant, insofar as it consists of a division that does not imply a detachment from the area
of music and may even contribute towards the acquisition of different kinds of capital that
are essential for a good position in this particular subfield (Menger 1999; Menger 2006).
The involvement in several musical projects is a third way in which this logic of multi-
plication is translated, mentioned by fifty-two percent of our interviewees.2 In fact, this
strategy is seen in a very positive light. On the one hand, it allows the manifestation of
different identities, styles/genres, and artistic languages, in addition to also enabling musi-
cians to play different instruments. The plurality of musical projects is thus perceived as
a factor of enrichment and evolution in professional terms. On the other hand, on a more
rational and strategic level, considering the importance of live music, the multiplicity of
musical projects makes it possible to play several times in the same concert venues, with-
out repeating the project, thus broadening the sources of income. If the times and rhythms
of each project are well balanced, it can allow a continuous activity.
Still in this first set of strategies that implies multiplication, for twenty-seven percent of
our interviewees, one of the strategies is precisely to be a musician in different ways. In
other words, to be a creator and author, but also what is commonly called a session musi-
cian, i.e., to play with other artists, whether occasionally or consistently. Also included
here are musicians who write and compose for other artists, as well as those who compose

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soundtracks for cinema, theatre, dance shows, television, and advertising. This is a very
important strategy, especially in the case of those who live only from music.
However, considering the ambiguity within which musical careers are built, these different
forms of multiplication should perhaps be understood as a necessary and differentiating
element of independent music production practices. They also have less positive dimen-
sions, which have been taken into consideration by my interviewees (seventeen percent)
– notably, difficulties of time management and of defining priorities between the different
roles assumed in the music scene, between the creative dimension and the more admin-
istrative and managerial ones. These tensions emerge from the time, concentration, and
energy spent on creating, and on generating the necessary income. The long days of work
and the consequent fatigue (which is not productive in creative terms) that this implies
were also mentioned. In this way, once the risks in terms of the quality of creative work
are recognized, the different forms of multiplication portrayed here are seen by this set
of interviewees as accentuating the precarious nature of musicians’ work, simultaneously
calling professionalism – and the capacity for professionalization – into question:

It is not an aspect that I find particularly positive. It would be more interesting if it

didn’t have to be like this, but nowadays bands make their posters, their commu-
nication, they manage their social networks. All these are skills that go far beyond
the work as a musician. And this also takes time away from that work. And, if it is
already done in relatively precarious conditions, in most cases, it only makes them
more precarious. There is less time and less focus on the creative issue. But it is the
model that works best now. It is almost an obligation. Musicians must multiply, and
they must be able to answer a lot of questions and understand them.
Baltazar, 40 years old, bachelor’s degree, musician, and architect, Barcelos.

The music like any other profession

A second set of strategies exists. When interviewees consider music as any other profes-
sion, they express a rational perspective (dark blue bars in Figure 1).3 Calling to mind
the relational and collective dimension of music – understanding it as the result of the
combined work of different actors – another essential strategy for building and maintain-
ing a music career is networking (mentioned by twenty-three percent of interviewees),
(Becker 1982; Crossley, McAndrew and Widdop 2014; Crossley 2015; Crossley and
Bottero 2015; Guerra 2015; Mcandrew and Everett 2015). For musicians, it is often impor-
tant to be associated with groups of artists, especially when these groups include people
with complementary skills and roles such as production, editing, and management. These
“artistic communities” draw on the various types of capital (symbolic, cultural, social, and
economic) that their members possess, and at the same time, these actors see their position
and reputation in the music world strengthened as a result of belonging to these groups.

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At the same time, these interviewees recognize the importance of “knowing the right
people” – essentially, those who act as gatekeepers, who can generate work opportunities,
or can promote the musicians and their projects. This is what Perrenoud and Leresche
identify as one of the forms of musicians’ invisible work – the work of socialization
(Perrenoud and Leresche 2016).
Simultaneously, interviewees recognized the relevance of informal and face-to-face
relationships established while attending nightlife venues for musical fruition and social-
izing. They know that it is essential to go to each other’s concerts, to go out at night
and strengthen relationships with peers, especially when they have something new that
needs to be promoted, be it an album, a single, a music video, or a new project they are
involved in. Thus, the divisions between leisure and work, and between production and
consumption become blurred, which is a characteristic feature of small-scale cultural
production circuits. Insertion in networks and the acquisition of relational and social
capital, capable of creating a system of trust and mutual aid, but also of reputation, is
essential (Crossley 2008; Scott 2012; Crossley and Bottero 2015; Mcandrew and Everett
2015; Reitsamer and Prokop 2018; Tarassi 2018). These networks function as platforms
for acquiring skills and knowledge essential to the different roles that a music career
entails. At the same time, they can promote new job opportunities, as they tend to be
used as the main channel for recruiting new talent and finding new jobs.
The city in which musicians and other actors in the music field were based was not explic-
itly stated by interviewees as an important factor in the construction and management of
their careers. Rather, the informality that characterizes the relationships in the music world
and the emphasis that is given to personal contact, in moments of leisure and socializing,
mean that the city and the spaces for meeting and musical fruition of the independent
music circuit assume extreme relevance for the construction of these careers. More specifi-
cally, the concentration of gatekeepers in Lisbon makes it a crucial locale for musicians,
meaning musicians living in Porto or in other cities of the country may find networking
more difficult.
Another strategy mentioned by twenty-three percent of interviewees is the need to plan
one’s career by defining objectives, a schedule, and a work methodology. Here a rational
and methodical dimension of music takes on importance, as opposed to the romantic vision
of musicians as bohemians, and of music as the result of their inspiration and genius. For
the interviewees who report this strategy, music is a work that implies dedication, commit-
ment, and many hours of work around all the details of the music (lyrics, composition,
arrangements. . .). It implies a great deal of self-discipline, which involves setting sched-
ules and deadlines. It also implies thinking of the career as a process with distinct phases,

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identifying priorities and defining a strategy to achieve them. Though they acknowledge
all the creativity and pleasure associated with the moment of creation, they differentiate
it from the moment of execution, i.e., production and promotion, which implies planning
and well-defined strategies to transform the musical creation into economic returns. This
notion calls to mind the argument of Keith Negus, who questioned some of the assump-
tions about the rational nature of the market on the one hand, and the “mystical” nature
of creative inspiration on the other (Negus 1995). In his view, a binary approach based on
the opposition between creativity and commerce is not the most fruitful one. According
to the author, the production of popular music does not really involve a conflict between
commerce and creativity as a struggle over what is creative and what should be commer-
cial. This is precisely the logic that we find in the discourses of this group of interviewees.
The creative dimension, imminently pleasurable and where a more emotional connection
to music is evident, manifests itself above all at the moment of conception and creation.
In the following phases, a more rational dimension is added, relating to the strategies used
to make music a financially viable option. The combination of these two components, and
not their opposition, is essential to enable the sustainability of a music career.

Music is not born from acts of genius. It is born from acts of work, dedication, and
discipline. It is going through trial and error to see what works. (. . .) Discipline,
methodology, and effort are the most important things to be able to make a serious
and profitable business. This is a very important strategy to make a living from music.
You must see it as any other job.
Gabriel, 26 years old, bachelor’s degree, musician, and designer, Lisbon.

In this set of strategies, we also included the use of copyright and royalties, which was
identified as a relevant strategy and source of income for eighteen percent of the inter-
viewees. In fact, illustrating the strategic management dimension of careers, some of the
musicians we interviewed consider the income obtained through the copyright and royal-
ties as a kind of savings that they accumulate and resort to when concerts are less frequent.
Also it is pertinent to underline the applications for support and funding, be it occasional,
for a tour, the release of an album or the organization of events. The use of these types
of funding is a strategy mentioned by seven percent of the interviewees, allowing the
development of their artistic work in a context of greater stability. However, some diffi-
culties remain – namely, those related to the complexity of some application for funding
processes. Similarly to what Campbell emphasized in the Canadian case, there is the
problem of a lack of preparation for this kind of administrative work, which is increasingly
a reality in the daily lives of these musicians (Campbell 2013). An idea also present in
Hugo’s words:

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We were making an application. Most musicians can’t make an application like this.
Even the training that musicians have in schools and universities. . . Musicians are
not prepared for these kinds of realities that, sooner or later, everyone will have to
face. We were thinking that in the curricula of the courses, musicians should be more
prepared to adapt to this type of realities. Really, a musician’s life is not just about
playing. There is a lot of administrative work that must be done.
Hugo, 41 years old, PhD student, musician, sound technician, teacher, Porto.

A logic of continuity
Within a third set of strategies, grouped under a shared logic of continuity (red bars in
Figure 1), there are live performances and concert circuits. With the worldwide decline in
record sales, live music has become the main source of income for musicians (Wilkström
2009). Twenty percent of the interviewees mentioned that playing as often as possible is
an essential strategy. This implies availability to play in different venues and stages and for
different audiences. Sometimes it also implies playing in venues with few conditions. At
the same time, it presupposes the strengthening of ties with promoters and programmers
of concert venues who, due to the centrality of live music, are increasingly key players.4 In
fact, this can be seen as one of the main changes in the power relations in the music scene.

It’s trying to be always active, always doing something, always promoting, trying to
give many concerts. It’s trying to organise the whole scheme in the best way possible,
so that we can direct the funding we have to what is worthwhile. Music, nowadays,
gives us money through concerts, royalties and almost nothing else. Music is no longer
bought, what you get out of it is a minimal profit. The goal is to play all the time, to
do new things so that we can play more often.
Tânia, 31 years old, higher education, musician, dance teacher and actress, Porto.

Equally relevant is maintaining continuous activity, never stopping. In other words, one of
the strategies (mentioned by seventeen percent of interviewees) is to ensure the continuity
of the creative cycle by always being involved, whether through composing, recording,
producing, editing, or playing. In this way and considering the interconnection between
all these strategies, musicians manage to increase the possibility of performing concerts,
collecting royalties, and attracting the attention of both the audiences and the media,
boosting their visibility. At the same time, this logic of continuity requires a constant
investment, a capacity for adaptation and reinvention on the part of musicians and other
actors who have made music their professional career.

A logic of reduction
A fourth set of strategies mentioned by our interviewees highlights a logic of reduction
(green bars in Figure 1). This is the case of the reduction of the size of musical projects.
According to interviewees, it is common for a band with several elements to have more
Oliveira: Portuguese Independent Music Scene
36

difficulties in booking concerts outside the city where it is based. In logistical terms, the
higher costs of transportation and accommodation render the band more expensive and
therefore less attractive. At the same time, the larger the size of the band, the greater the
division of income. For these reasons, reducing the size of musical projects or even opting
for solo projects were strategies mentioned by eight percent of our interviewees. In a
complementary way, six percent mentioned the need to save, reduce costs associated with
musical activity, and adapting to available resources. It is often precisely for this reason
that the DIY ethos manifests itself. But the logic of saving extends to the other spheres
of life of our interviewees, who say that they “have a life without many luxuries.” They
have modest objectives – paying the bills through their work and ensuring the continuity
of their musical projects – and adapt their lifestyle to what they can effectively afford.
These discourses comment on processes of adjustment and reduction of expectations that
allow them to justify the continuation of their careers even when financial return is low
(Campbell 2013; Sinigaglia 2017).

At the time of the first album, I was with a very big band, I was playing with five
people. So, I was asking for two thousand euros per concert. To get into the indepen-
dent scene, two thousand is already a lot. So, I had to go back to being just guitar and
voice. I play with the computer. And I’m not going to put a structure on it again any
time soon, because it’s a huge risk.
Dalila, 27 years old, university attendance, musician and photographer, Porto.

Finally, we consider it relevant to mention one other strategy, mentioned by ten percent
of the interviewees (light blue bars in Figure 1): reliance on family support (parents and/
or partners). These support networks were identified as one of the ways of dealing with
the uncertainty, instability, and precariousness that characterize these DIY careers. The
ability of social actors from privileged backgrounds to use family economic resources
is fundamental in insulating them from much of the precariousness and uncertainty
associated with their career (Friedman, O’Brien, and Laurison 2016). It seems that two
essential aspects are involved here. The first is the idea defended by Threadgold that if
the precarious nature of these trajectories is undeniable, it is important to remember that
it is a precariousness chosen reflexively and not imposed (Threadgold 2018). The second
aspect refers to one of the factors facilitating this choice: the family socio-economic
background, i.e., the class origin of these social actors as an element encouraging their
involvement in DIY careers. Similarly to previous studies portraying the alternative
rock subfield and the punk scene in Portugal, our data shows that when compared to
the general Portuguese population, the majority of our interviewees already have an
advantage when it comes to economic, social and cultural capital (Guerra 2010; Guerra
2013; Abreu et al. 2017).5

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Conclusion
The main objective of this article was to understand the work activities developed by musi-
cians and other actors in the Portuguese independent music scene, as well as the strategies
applied to ensure the sustainability and viability of their careers. This research concludes
that a music career implies combining several strategies and, therefore, several sources
of income. The main set of strategies mentioned by our interviewees follows a logic of
multiplication, which can take different forms. First, we found that the performance of
different roles in the music field is a characteristic feature of independent music produc-
tion. Based on a DIY ethos and praxis, this multiplicity of roles, in addition to allowing for
less dependence on others, contributes to the acquisition of symbolic and cultural capital,
reinforcing the position of these social actors in the field of music production. This implies
that these actors engage in many activities alongside their creative work. They engage in
administrative, promotional, and management activities, revealing that the dichotomous
visions opposing art and commerce are not adequate for an analysis of their trajectories.
The combination of music with another profession, such as giving lessons/workshops,
being involved in several musical projects simultaneously, and playing, composing, and
writing for others are also common strategies.
Closely associated with an eminently rational conception of music and musical activity,
which understands music as any other profession, one of the crucial strategies involves
promoting networks and networking, as well as planning one’s career, defining objec-
tives, setting a schedule, and establishing work methodology. This also includes the use
of copyright and royalties, as well as applying for support and funding.
A third set of strategies immediately highlights the centrality of live music in the processes
of building and consolidating musical careers. Today, concerts and tours have not only
become the main source of income for musicians, but also reveal themselves to be an
essential activity for the creation and consolidation of networks and for building a reputa-
tion in the musical field. For this reason, one of the main strategies mobilized by these
interviewees is to perform as many live performances as possible. To make this possi-
ble, they try to be constantly active, editing new music regularly and getting involved
in several musical projects simultaneously. At the same time, a reduction in the size of
musical projects, manifested in smaller bands and the creation of solo projects, is also a
way of not only reducing the costs associated with musical activity and adapting it to the
resources available, but also a strategy to boost invitations for live performances.
Inevitably, the centrality that live music has gained has changed the power relations in
the music field. If in the past record labels played a key role, today musicians are less
dependent on these structures, partly thanks to digital technologies and the Internet. On

Oliveira: Portuguese Independent Music Scene

38

the other hand, today the promoters, agents, and programmers of concert venues are the
central figures of the musical field, insofar as the possibilities of live performance largely
depend on them.
In summary, based on these results, I formulate two main theoretical conclusions. First,
this analysis shows the importance of research that considers the diversity of workers’
experiences in the creative industries, and specifically in music. More specifically, it
reveals the relevance of analyses that combine a look at the activities developed on a
daily basis by these actors and consequently, the strategies they mobilize with their percep-
tions regarding music and musical activities. At this level, our research contributes to the
growing theoretical corpus that rejects binary views that oppose art and economics in
the analysis of work in music. Second, by offering a deep focus on the working lives of
musicians and other actors in the music world nowadays, our analysis contributes to the
consolidation of live music as an important area of study. This is especially important in
the current pandemic context, which poses new challenges to the functioning and sustain-
ability of this sphere of the music field, especially in a country like Portugal, where the
importance of the live music ecosystem is beginning to be brought into discussion.

Acknowledgements/Funding
This work was developed as part of the author’s doctoral thesis, Do It Together Again:
redes, fluxos e espaços na construção de carreiras na cena independente portuguesa [Do It
Together Again: networks, flows and spaces in the construction of careers in the Portuguese
independent scene], supported by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, within
the scope of the doctoral scholarship under reference SFRH/BD/101849/2014.

Notes
1
The other types of invisible work that the authors talk about are the work of socialization, which
will be discussed later; the work of routine, which concerns the incorporation, maintenance, and
improvement of instrumental technique; and the work of inspiration, which encompasses different
activities that supposedly stimulate creativity and instigate artistic creation, such as listening to music,
going to exhibitions, reading, dreaming, travelling, and others.
2
Considering only the 53 interviewees who perform the activity of musician, 29 are involved in
more than one musical project.
3
This pragmatic posture in the way of relating to music, understanding it as a full-time job and
side-lining conceptions of music as a hobby or as pure entertainment, as well as the more romanticized
perspectives of musical activity, is expressed by fifty-four percent of those interviewed. On the other
hand, seven percent admit having a very emotional relationship with music and therefore find it very
difficult to see it as a profession, assuming in some cases that they do not want to depend on it from
a financial point of view. There is also a third group of interviewees (twenty percent), mainly young
people, for whom music is above all a means of expression to transmit their message. They combine

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or imagine themselves soon combining music with other artistic languages, such as the fine arts or
writing. Given the ambiguity that characterises the forms of relationship with music, in the case of
the remaining interviewees (nineteen percent) it is not clearly perceptible how they see it, since they
denote intersections between a more pragmatic vision and a more emotional one.
4
About the centrality of these actors from the music world, in the context of the COVID-19
pandemic, it is interesting to mention their capacity for collective mobilization around the aware-
ness of the importance of live music, namely among political decision-makers. This resulted in the
constitution of Circuito — Associação Portuguesa de Salas de Programação e de Música (Portuguese
Association of Programming and Music Venues), which gathers more than 20 venues, in mainland
Portugal and on the islands, with independent and regular programming of concerts, DJ sets, and live
acts, by national and international artists. The association’s main objective is to give visibility to the
current independent circuit of popular music in Portugal, drawing attention to its cultural, economic,
and social relevance and to the multiple professionals — artists, technicians, small agencies, promoters,
and labels — that shape it. It, therefore, intends to include this circuit in the public and political debate
and claim an active role for the State in its preservation, at a time when its sustainability is being
threatened. To this end, it has already presented concrete proposals for support measures, defending
the need to understand this circuit as culture, insofar as the work of these venues is based on a logic
of cultural programming that, often, even integrates other artistic disciplines besides music.
5
Most of the interviewees (sixty-six percent) belong to the middle class, associated with liberal
professions in the artistic, intellectual, or scientific areas. Their advantage in terms of possession
of economic, social, and educational capital is already present in their families of origin. Fifty-two
percent of the interviewees’ mothers and fifty-eight percent of fathers have completed or attended
higher education; Fifty-one percent of the interviewees have parents with intellectual and scientific
professions; and twelve percent of interviewees’ parents are entrepreneurs, owners, or managers.

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