CfP: Working in Music - Now and Then, Turku, 15.-17. April
Third Working in Music Conference: Working in Music - Now and Then
University of Turku, Finland, 15-17 April 2020
The Working in Music Network (WIM) is pleased to announce its third Working in Music Conference, to be hosted by the University of Turku, Finland, in April 2020. The Conference follows the staging of previous WIM conferences in Glasgow (2016) and Lausanne (2018) and the establishment of the Network (https://wim.hypotheses.org/). WIM was launched in Lausanne in 2018 and has been established by scholars interested in the historical and contemporary nature of working in music. It has adopted the following Statement of Purpose:
‘Working in Music is an international research network. Our purpose is to conduct and disseminate innovative research about all aspects of what it means to work in music. We aim to understand music as work through economic, sociocultural, political, legal and historical lenses, and to explore working conditions and experiences across genres and divisions of labour. Our approach is multidisciplinary and endeavours to forge connections between academic disciplines through shared interests in music and work. Our network developed from and is centred on a biennial conference in which scholars meet to exchange and debate issues and ideas. We are also committed to working with musicians, practitioners and music industries personnel’.
Following Ruth Finnegan, it is possible to say that one of the noticeable aspects of musical work, is that the work is often hidden. The hours that are taken to master an instrument are hidden from the public, the musicians who make recordings and perform live are often hidden behind the “stars”, the ways musicians find work and work with other musicians and music intermediaries are often hidden, and the vast majority of working musicians remain anonymous. Meanwhile those working behind the scenes in areas such as publishing, live music, artists’ management and recording largely remain similarly unknown as well as the ways they make music and musical careers happen. But music only happens because work is put in and it is this context that we issue this Call for Papers. We invite proposals for papers which address – either historically or in the contemporary context - one or more of the following themes:
Musicians’ working lives and practices
Employment practices and working conditions within the music industries
Musicians and other musical workers’ representative organisations
The effect of intermediaries – such as agents, managers, promoters, journalists etc – on musicians’ working conditions and careers
Collaborations between musicians and non-musicians in getting music made, played or publicised
Intellectual property, labour law and other axes of musical labour
Discrimination and inequality in musical labour and employment
Musical labour and employment in specific genres of music
Musical labour and changing technology (including musical labour in the digital age)
Online “platforms” as new intermediaries or systems of surveillance
Musicians’ working lives in orchestras, bands and other ensembles
Musicians’ collaborative networking practices which allow work it be done and increase its visibility
Musical labour and creativity
Music and the labour movement
Touring and working in music
Non-musicians working in music
Musicians as employers
Proposals
Paper proposals are invited on these topics - and on any other issue relevant to Working in Music. WIM is a deliberately broad-based network and so proposals will be welcomed from any perspective, using any methodology and addressing any kind of music at any historical juncture.
Please note that papers should last for 20 minutes and the conference organisers will require chairs to ensure that presenters keep to this limit.
Proposals should be in English, which will be the working language for the conference.
Please note that non-native English speakers whose proposals are accepted will be invited to post full versions of their papers on the conference website.
Submitting Proposals
Proposals should include the name and contact details (email) of the proposer, the title of the proposal and an abstract of no more than 150 words. We also invite proposals for panels. Please send proposals to wim2020@lists.utu.fi. The deadline for proposals is 30 September 2019.
We hope to inform applicants of decisions by 1 November 2019.
Keynote Speakers
We are delighted to announce the following keynote speakers:
Pete Jenner, Sincere Management. Pete has managed a number of major artists including: Pink Floyd, The Clash, The Pretenders and Ian Dury. He was also one of the organisers of the Stones in the Park free concert in London’s Hyde Park in 1969.
Izabela Wagner, University of Warsaw and Institute Convergence Migration (Paris). Izabela is author of Producing Excellence: The Making of Virtuosos (Rutgers University Press, 2015). She is also the author of several articles on the working conditions and careers of creative professionals.
Venue
The conference will be held on the main campus of the University of Turku. This location is within walking distance of a range of restaurants, bars, coffee shops and supermarkets. It is a 10 minute walk to the city centre and a 5 minute walk from Kuppittaa railway station for connections to Helsinki and elsewhere.