Investigating the Queensland Mid-Career Popular Music Scene
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TOO OLD TO ROCK? INVESTIGATING THE QUEENSLAND MID-CAREER POPULAR MUSIC SCENE Chanel Lucas Bachelor of Arts Graduate Diploma in Writing, Editing, and Publishing Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy School of Creative Practice Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology 2019 1 Keywords Adult learning, andragogy, career development, mid-career, music, musician, professional development, research, training, work-life balance. i Abstract The average age of a working artist in Australia is 46 years. Recent data suggests that artists in Australia work through until their old age and have long careers in their creative work, with established artists practising for longer than before. Numerous studies on career development have investigated the capabilities of emerging artists and university graduates, but few have focused on the large group of established mid- career musicians in Australia. Additionally, there has been minimal discussion on how mid-career musicians conduct their professional practice or careers long-term, and what professional development is accessed or required by them in the middle stage of their career. This study will investigate the career support needs of independent mid- career musicians in Queensland and will provide a contextual review of the musical landscape and the state of independent mid-career musicians in Queensland from their perspective. The research process for this project utilised a standard social research method that included an online survey and interviews with professional, independent Queensland musicians from popular music genres. The participants are independent (no record label), professional, practising musicians from across Queensland. A ‘mid- career’ musician is defined as (1) one who has worked for 15 or more years in their profession and (2) was aged between 30-55 years. The project utilised online survey responses from 131 musicians and subsequent phone interviews with nine musicians from across Queensland. This thesis discusses the mid-career career development needs of musicians in Queensland through a literature review, collection of survey and interview data, and through analysis of the data in relation to the literature. It reviews the current literature ii related to adult learning and andragogy, career development for mid-career workers, collaboration and networking, and the nature of work in the creative sector. The thesis outlines the research design and investigative process of the project, and presents the survey and interview findings on mid-career musicians, including the needs associated with their careers. It also provides discussion, interpretation, and evaluation of the results, with reference to the literature. Finally, conclusions and limitations for the project are presented, and recommendations are made for future research or projects related to mid-career musicians and their career development needs. iii Table of Contents Keywords ................................................................................................................................... i Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... vii List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. viii Statement of Original Authorship ............................................................................................ ix Acknowledgements................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Researcher Background ...................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Recent research into career development for musicians..................................................... 6 1.4 Purpose of Research ......................................................................................................... 13 1.5 Significance, Scope, and Definitions ................................................................................ 14 1.6 Thesis Outline ................................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 2: Literature Review ................................................................................. 18 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 18 2.1 The Music Industry in Queensland ................................................................................... 20 2.2 Social Support ................................................................................................................... 23 2.3 Professional Network........................................................................................................ 26 2.4 Professional Attitude ........................................................................................................ 30 2.5 Theoretical framework for the project .............................................................................. 38 2.6 Summary and implications ............................................................................................... 48 Chapter 3: Research Design .................................................................................... 51 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 51 3.2 Methodology and research design .................................................................................... 51 3.3 Participants ....................................................................................................................... 55 3.4 Procedure and timeline ..................................................................................................... 61 3.5 Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 62 3.6 Ethics ................................................................................................................................ 63 Chapter 4: Results and Analysis ............................................................................. 65 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 65 4.2 Mid-career issues for musicians ....................................................................................... 66 4.3 Professional network and social support .......................................................................... 84 iv 4.4 Career development and learning ..................................................................................... 90 Chapter 5: Conclusions ......................................................................................... 101 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 101 5.2 Career support for mid-career musicians in Queensland ................................................ 102 5.3 Recommendations for Facilitators .................................................................................. 107 5.4 Limitations of the project................................................................................................ 108 5.5 Suggestions for further research ..................................................................................... 110 Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 113 Appendices .............................................................................................................. 131 Appendix A: Survey Questions ............................................................................................ 131 Appendix B: Interview Questions ........................................................................................ 134 Appendix C: Summary of open-ended answers on the survey ............................................. 135 v List of Figures FIGURE 2-1 DIMENSIONS OF HOLISTIC EDUCATION............................................................................................ 45 FIGURE 3-1 WHERE DO YOU LIVE? ................................................................................................................. 57 FIGURE 3-2 GENDER OF SURVEY PARTICIPANTS ................................................................................................ 58 FIGURE 3-3 HOW OLD ARE YOU? ................................................................................................................... 58 FIGURE 4-1 DO YOU THINK ANY OF THE FOLLOWING