This work featured the 13th Annual UNC-KCL Graduate Student Music Conference.
Examining Working Relationships in the Music Industry: Is Classical Music a Product or Service?
Business professionals and musicians often possess divergent perspectives regarding the music they produce. The principal distinction lies in the fact that business professionals tend to perceive music fundamentally as a commodity, with a primary focus on understanding and capitalising on the patterns of musical consumption among the public. Musicians, on the other hand, typically regard music as a form of service, emphasising the importance of establishing a connection between their artistic expression and the audience. Particularly pertinent in the context of the live music industry, music assumes the character of a service. The concert business has historically been predicated on the provision of an experiential service, where orchestras prioritise the auditory and emotional experience of their audience. Consequently, managers in this sphere are obliged to maintain a close rapport with their clientele, as any disconnection can prove to be financially detrimental.
Indeed, as posited by David Kusek and Gerd Leonhard in The Future of Music , the live music and recording industries have evolved along distinct trajectories. Notably, there is minimal direct interaction between the executives of recording companies and the consumers of their products. Instead, these industry leaders are preoccupied with strategies centred around mass marketing and top-down control. Does it signify a different working mode for classically trained musicians in these two distinct industries? In this paper, I aim to explore the musicians' perspective on music as either a product or a service, drawing upon experiences from both live performance and recording sessions. First, I will discuss the industrial factors influencing the concept of working relationships in these two contexts. Second, for practical application, I intend to present a case study to illustrate the working dynamics between the composer, conductor (myself), performers, and recording engineers during both live performances and recording sessions.
