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Norton, N. © Journal of Music, Health, and Wellbeing (Autumn 2020)
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Professional popular musicians’ experiences in the occupational musicking environment
© International Journal of Music, Health, and Wellbeing (Spring, 2024)
Journal Homepage: www.musichealthandwellbeing.co.uk
‘It’s business but the product is a human being’:
Professional popular musicians’ experiences of
objectification, under-representation and personal
incongruity in the occupational musicking environment.
Adam Ficek
Independent Researcher
Article Info.
Abstract
There is a growing interest in popular musicians and mental health. Previous
research has mainly focused on the adverse effects of the occupational
environment and the classical musician demographic. This study explored the
experiences of a diverse sample of popular musicians within the intersection of
their work and personal music environments and how this impacts mental health.
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was employed to investigate the
experiences of seven professional popular musicians. Three themes emerged in
the study: being viewed as an object, the hidden identity within the public
perception and compromise in the musicking environment. This research will
expand the scant corpus surrounding the popular musician and contribute to a
greater psychological understanding within this hidden demographic.
Date Submitted:
November 2023
Date Accepted:
February 2024
Date Published:
April 2024
1. Introduction
This article forms part of a wider study and was motivated by my first-hand experiences as a
professional popular musician, coupled with my concurrent role as a psychotherapist specialising in
individuals from this demographic. Research surrounding the popular musician still remain overlooked
and neglected in comparison with the classical demographic (Visser et al., 2021). Research shows that
popular musicians are at elevated risks of experiencing suicide, substance use, and psychological distress
(Berg et al., 2018; 2022; Loveday et al., 2022). This propensity to mental health difficulty was further
impacted through the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit challenges (Taylor et al., 2020).
To frame this research, I examined three commonly recurring themes in prior literature:
personality traits, music and mental health, and the work environment. To enhance contextual
understanding, I will provide definitions for these key terms. The term 'popular musician' encompasses
artists across diverse music genres beyond classical settings (Berg et al., 2018). The term 'professional'
has been a subject of debate (Geeves et al., 2016). However, this paper aligns with Sanders' perspective,
defining professional musicians as those who are 'economically sustained by their talent and recognized
Ficek, A. © International Journal of Music, Health, and Wellbeing (Spring 2024)
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Professional popular musicians’ experiences in the occupational musicking environment
as professionals by society' (1974: 16). Expanding on this notion, Visser et al. define professional
musicians as individuals who receive financial compensation for their work (2021).
Musicians' experiences are frequently examined in separate domains, such as their work
environment, music performance, listening habits, or substance use. Nevertheless, in practice, these
encounters are dynamic and intertwined, marked by a nuanced interaction of numerous factors. The term
"musicking" has been employed to encapsulate and conceptualise this extensive domain, encompassing a
wide range of professional and personal experiences. The musicologist Christopher Small introduced the
term "musicking" in 1998 to articulate the active engagement with music describing it as 'participation,
in any form, in a musical performance, whether through performing, listening, rehearsing, or practicing'
(1998: 9).
2. Popular musicians’ personal characteristics
Previous psychological studies on classical musicians have hypothesised connections between
personality traits, creativity and psychological difficulties. These suppositions depict musicians, along
with other individuals in the creative arts, as possessing a genetic inclination toward mental health issues
due to their inherent creativity (Berg et al., 2022; Marchant-Haycox & Wilson, 1992).
The limited body of research within the popular musician demographic may be due to the wide
diversity of musical genres encompassed within this demographic or the relatively recent emergence of
popular music history. Research findings indicate that both popular and classical musicians tend to display
emotional instability, extroverted, arrogant, and neurotic characteristics (Dyce & O’Connor, 1994;
Gillespie & Myers, 2000) compared to population norms. These musicians may also grapple with
emotional stability in terms of self-experience (Szabolcs et al., 2017; Wills & Cooper, 1987).
This instability of self-esteem aligns with previous research indicating a tendency towards
heightened vulnerability, self-doubt, and feelings of alienation (Dobson, 2011; Raeburn, 2007). Existing
research on this intricate subject matter hints at a potential link between the personality traits of popular
musicians and an elevated risk of mental health issues. Nonetheless, the full extent of this connection
remains largely unexplored (Cameron et al., 2015).
3. Music engagement
Current research tends to neglect the distinction in experiences among amateurs, professionals,
and non-musicians, when examining the influence of music listening or playing on mental health. While
previous studies have investigated connections between personality traits and mental health challenges,
there is a scarcity of evidence within the musician community that sheds light on how personal or
professional 'musicking,' affects these personality traits and subsequently, mental well-being, as
highlighted (Saarikallio et al., 2020).
The majority of psychological studies that investigate how 'musicking' affects emotions
primarily stem from music therapy or the general public. These restricted viewpoints, coupled with the
fact that musicians tend to express their emotions more effectively than non-musicians (Greasley et al.,
2013), contribute to the intricate nature of this phenomenon.
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Professional popular musicians’ experiences in the occupational musicking environment
While empirical investigations into the connections between music and its potential negative
impact on mental health are rare (Theorell & Kreutz, 2012), there is a wealth of evidence associating
positive emotional experiences with musical involvement (Juslin & Sloboda, 2011). According to Woody
and McPherson, music listening and music playing both 'share common underlying motivations' (2010:
403) and could be considered equivalent in some respects. Music listening in particular affects
psychological states through various elements, including emotional regulation (Van Goethem & Sloboda,
2011) and stress reduction (Baltazar & Saarikallio, 2016). Paradoxically, music listening can also trigger
detrimental coping mechanisms (Silverman, 2020), unhealthy nostalgic connection to past memories
(Hesmondhalgh, 2013), and counterproductive rumination (McFerran, 2019).
4. Playing music
In the realm of non-musicians and clinical populations, playing music has been demonstrated to
yield a wide range of advantages. These benefits encompass enhanced well-being (Mac Ritchie et al.,
2020), improved quality of life (Bonde & Theorell, 2018) a positive impact on moods (Valentine & Evans,
2011), and the promotion of self-esteem (Chang et al., 2018), as well as fostering meaning (Ascenso,
2016) and self-development (Perkins et al., 2020). Notwithstanding these findings, many scholars
emphasize the need for a more critical examination of research regarding the influence of the arts on
health (Grebosz-Haring et al., 2022; Mirza, 2006).
From the viewpoint of popular musicians, studies suggest that creativity and active involvement
present a unique avenue for emotional regulation (Raeburn, 1999) catharsis (Dyce & O'Connor, 1994) or
to develop self-esteem (Ficek, 2023). Nonetheless, existing studies in this area notably lack sufficient
evidence concerning how popular musicians utilise music for their own mental well-being (Saarikallio et
al., 2020).
5. The impact of the occupational environment
Early investigations into the experiences of British and American popular musicians have
highlighted elevated stress levels linked to job insecurity, income, work-related stress and anxiety,
relationship pressures, and the perception of being marginalised or undervalued (Raeburn, 1987; Wills &
Cooper, 1984). Recent research has echoed these stress-inducing factors, emphasising the adverse mental
health consequences of intense competition (Berg et al., 2022), extensive touring (Parker et al., 2021),
insufficient sleep (Kegelaers, 2022), and the influence of social media (Margiotta, 2012).
Touring in particular, has been identified as a major source of distress (Newman et al., 2022;
Zendel, 2021), driven by the necessity for extended durations to compensate for diminishing digital
revenue (McKinna, 2014). The detrimental effects of the professional environment (Detari et al., 2020)
further compel musicians to embrace a self-reliant approach to their boundary-less careers, which in turn
has additional ramifications for their mental well-being (Berg et al., 2022).
These identity difficulties emerge from the pressures associated with one's occupation and from
achieving commercial success (Raeburn, 2000), further compounded by the psychological challenge of
differentiating between music genre and lifestyle (Macdonald & Wilson, 2005) often mitigated through
alcohol consumption and substance use (Ptatscheck, 2020).
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Professional popular musicians’ experiences in the occupational musicking environment
6. Method
This research paper is grounded in a critical realist standpoint (Bhaskar, 1998), which suggests
the existence of an objective reality that we approach from our individual perceptions and socially
constructed understanding (Danermark et al., 2019). The study utilised Interpretative Phenomenological
Analysis (IPA) to explore the salient experiences of musicians from a personal perspective, whilst
exploring the convergence, divergence and shared experiences within the group (Smith et al., 2021).
7. The participants
After ethical approval being granted (Metanoia Institute in May 2022) the sample were recruited
from peer referral and consisted of seven popular musicians, adhering to the following criteria:
1: Self-defined popular musicians
2: Earning most of their income from music-based activities
3: Adult (over 18) and UK-based
4: They included performance within their musicking activities
5: Non-clinical population
6: Proficient in the English language
The demographic consisted of four females and three males of mixed age, genre, race and ethnicity, with
one musician self-defining with a limb difference.
Table 1. The demographic of the seven participants
Participant
Age
Gender
Race/Ethnicity
David
65-75
Male
White British
Bruce
65-75
Male
Black British
Anya
35-45
Female
Black British
Claire
35-45
Female
White British
Fiona
35-45
Female
White British
Ed
25-35
Male
White British
Gloria
35-45
Female
White British
8. Analysis
The data was produced by transcribing semi-structured interviews conducted via a digital
platform. The analytical process involves idiographic explanatory note taking, identifying experiential
statements from the notes, clustering into groups, and the development of experiential themes into
Personal Experiential Themes (PETs) then Group Experiential Themes (GETs) (Smith & Nizza, 2021).
The higher-order Group Experiential Themes (GETs) were established based on the criterion that they
were evident in around 70% of the sample.
The rigour of this study and data collection were evidenced through the explicit trail linking the
transcribed extracts, the interpretations, analysis and formulation of GETs. This trustworthiness was
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Professional popular musicians’ experiences in the occupational musicking environment
enhanced through the ongoing reflexivity regarding my own bias surrounding personal experience, race,
sexual orientation, age, gender, immigration status, and myself as an inside-research (Berger, 2015).
9. Findings
This study explores how the participants are viewed by others and how this impacts their mental
health.
Three sub themes emerged from the analysis:
1) Being viewed as an object in the musicking environment
2) The hidden identity and the misunderstandings of public perception
3) The impact of compromise and self-censorship in the musicking environment
Being viewed as an object in the musicking environment
The first sub-theme explores the impact of objectification by other people within the musicians’
musicking environments and conveys how the participants have explicitly felt abused and used, with a
perceived lack of consideration for their human subjectivity.
Fiona’s extract below depicts how she was sexualised and verbally abused during a performance
early in her career:
I’ve walked on stage and somebody shouted “get your tits out for the lads” and I, you’re just
like, that was my first, my first gig! Luckily, my dad didn’t hear. There would have been trouble!
But, yeah, so stuff like that can be, but I think I felt more angry, like then, not angry, angry but,
with stuff like that, like it doesn’t make me feel sad. If somebody’s gonna say something like
that it will make me be, I want to make sure that no one else feels that and doesn’t feel sad about
or doesn’t feel like they can’t tell anyone. Because there’s a lot of unsaid stuff that goes on.
The experience of sexualised and verbal abuse shocked Fiona and prompted her to feel concern about the
potential impact on her protective father and his possible paternal response. Fiona further articulates how
the experience made her “feel angry” rather than “sad”, suggesting the resilient and confrontational
emotional state evoked by the incident. Fiona frames the encounter from the perspective of needing to
protect other women from feeling sadness or being silenced. Fiona’s concluding phrase, “there’s a lot of
unsaid stuff that goes on”, suggests a darker frustration surrounding her previous experiences in the music
industry. The phrase could also be interpreted as expressing Fiona’s feelings of a covert power dynamic
and repression of open dialogue within the music industry, contrasting with the public’s perception.
This dichotomy between the lens of public perception and experiential reality is also echoed in
Anya’s description of objectification, shown through her criticism of the pretence of inclusive practice:
Another thing that I don’t appreciate, that I’ve noticed, and has had quite an immense impact on
my mental health. Obviously, there’s more, there’s much awareness nowadays of like, black
people, and, you know, artists, nonbinary artist and all of that, but I find that a lot of times they
use it more as a tool to show that the band or the management or whatever are being inclusive.
But there’s no real belief behind those actions. I’ve been called for gigs, and I’ve been told
straight up in my face that the only reason why I was there is because I was black and I was a
woman and I was just, you know, good for that thing in that moment…. But that made me feel
very insecure. And it made me almost doubt that I could do something and every single time and
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Professional popular musicians’ experiences in the occupational musicking environment
then another gig came in. I was asking myself, okay, am I here because I'm good enough for
this? Or am I here because I'm a black woman and now it is a trend to have a black woman in a
band? You know, and a bassist because apparently, this is the perfect combo.
Anya illustrates how the empty gesture of inclusivity prompts personal feelings of insecurity, self-doubt
and vulnerability. From initially applauding the greater awareness of diversity, Anya then offers an
alternative insight into her frustrating personal experience of being objectified as a “black” person. Being
used as a “tool”, suggests how Anya views this to be an insincere, pseudo-tokenistic gesture of inclusivity.
She further conveys her feelings of anger at being paraded and objectified for the commercial benefit of
the music industry masquerading as inclusive.
These inner tensions and insecurities were more destructive for Anya after she was explicitly
told that she had been booked “because I was black and I was a woman and I was just, you know, good
for that thing in that moment”, which prompted further self-doubt and identity confusion. The extract
illustrates how Anya’s experience prompted rumination, self-doubt and insecurity against the virtue
signalling and objectification of being a tokenistic gesture. Anya sums this up by asking herself “am I
here because I'm good enough for this? Or am I here because I'm a black woman and now it is a trend to
have a black woman in a band?”, suggesting the conflict between accepting opportunities for who she is
subjectively, rather than how she can be used to exploit the commercial opportunity of an inclusive
“trend”.
Anya’s perspective resonates with Gloria’s experience:
There’s no mindful! There’s not a mindful approach currently, it’s business but the product is a
human being, and I think that’s how it was considered. I think it seems that, that is now a big
thing, and even, you get a small inkling of that as a small artist. It’s just about people, isn’t it?
That’s obviously not the case for everyone. Whichever side of the industry they’re on, and the
fact I say “side” doesn’t sound good as, as if we were at war, the artists and the business side.
Gloria articulates the conflict between the artistry of a “human being” and the objectification of a
“business”, where musicians are treated as products with little “consideration”. Gloria’s opening
statement, describing the lack of a “mindful” approach, conveys her view of the music industry as a
belligerent entity, oblivious to or ignorant of its objectifying ways of operating. She articulates how she
feels the music industry is a “business but the product is a human being”, contrasting with her own artistic
perspective of music being “about people”.
At the end of the extract, she further defines her polarised view of the music industry and artists
as being at “war”, with a reflective awareness of the negative connotations of this not “sounding good”.
The extract conveys Gloria’s feelings, as a “small artist”, getting an “inkling”, and growing awareness
of the conflicting viewpoints between these fighting factions.
This disdain for the music industry’s objectifying framework was also consonant with David’s
experience:
They're not interested in you as a human being, they're interested in what you can do for them
or their label. They don't care you know, “Right, you, sign up the contract, yeah, and what, you
broke your leg? Fuck you, you can perform on. What your dog just died? Fuck you, go and
perform all right? Oh right, fuck you”. Go and, you know, where’s? There's no compassion there.
It's just all fucking business you know? They're not your mates!
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Professional popular musicians’ experiences in the occupational musicking environment
David adds more personal depth to the war-like environment outlined by Gloria. He describes his
perception of the music industry as being polarised and objectifying, whilst using people as products
solely for commercial gain. He illustrates his position through the internal monologue of a fantasy
conversation between artist and industry. This internal conversation conveys David’s assumptions of how
the music business is despondent when reacting to adversity or the external struggles of musicians. This
monologue could be interpreted as being drawn from a personal incident or as a generic metaphor for a
personal emotional experience of objectification. David’s list of uncompassionate responses to adversity
in the monologue adds a realistic richness and possibly a personal dimension to the feelings of disdain he
expresses towards the malice of industry objectification. He explicitly questions this lack of compassion
as he conveys a personal anger, illustrated both by the statement: “It's just all fucking business” and “not
your mates”, resonating with Gloria’s description of warring factions.
The hidden identity and the misunderstandings of public perception
This sub-theme explores how the musicians make sense of how others perceive them. In the
extract below, David describes his need to be understood by the public:
You need people, you need the public to understand that. It might look like I’m just shouting
down a microphone. It might look like they’re just playing a guitar, but with that comes all the
stress because you do it one night, fantastic. You got to do it, you got to do it ten more times
now, and with that, you know, comes exhaustion. Erm, do I want to be doing it anymore?
David uses the example of how people perceive him as just “shouting” or “just playing a guitar”,
alongside the hidden frustration, exhaustion and the pressure of feeling a continual need to optimally
replicate his performances. The extract conveys the public’s assumption of the ease and simplicity of
“just” playing music. The use of the word “just” conveys David’s assumptions of how people devalue
and misunderstand the energetic commitment needed to perform.
Additionally, David’s compulsion to continually push himself to his emotional limit provokes
exhaustion and leads him to question his motivation to continue “doing it anymore”. The extract conveys
David’s need for the “public” to understand how musicking can be demanding, as well as the personal
difficulty for musicians of managing their own and others’ expectations. David’s extract could be
interpreted as expressing his struggle for the demanding life of a musician to be acknowledged.
Anya’s experience described below is congruent with David’s feelings about people not
understanding her personal choice of musicking:
It’s not really a choice. Like, I don’t, of course, it’s a choice, but at the same time, it’s not. I can’t
help myself by playing music. I can’t, I just, as it is almost a need, I just want to do it. I just want
to do it, and people struggle to understand. So yeah, the fact that it’s a need, the fact that oh, I
can't help myself by playing music. I can’t, I just, as it is almost a need.
Anya describes the difficulty of defining her music engagement by referring to an experience of feeling
misunderstood by a therapist. Anya’s reflection that music is both a “choice” and a “need” articulates this
complex and challenging task of defining her musicking and translating this to others. This is illustrated
in the last part of the transcript, where Anya defines her musicking as a “need”, with an underlying
suggestion of a complex ambiguity that is very difficult to explain, when she says: “I can’t, I just…it is
almost a need”.
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Professional popular musicians’ experiences in the occupational musicking environment
The extract further highlights Anya’s personal struggle with how “people” perceive her life
choice and the frustration this provokes. Anya also hints at not being able to stop musicking because it is
a form of compulsion, which could be interpreted as fusing her self-identity and her musicking persona.
Identifying solely as a musician therefore provides a safety and self-worth of validation.
Claire also illustrates her own struggles within the context of other people’s cultural
assumptions:
I sort of feel that what I do is kind of, like, I feel like I'm an artist, and it's like doing that and
performing original music is very different to like singing karaoke or being in covers, function
bands or whatever. And I kind of feel that when people are like, “oh sing us a song”, they're
thinking of that other world of karaoke and function bands, and I feel like what I'm doing is, it's
just something different. And I recognise it’s snobby but it's just like, it's a professional thing
and it's yes, it's something that needs to be expressed in the correct context.
Claire expresses her frustration at being perceived as a karaoke performer, conflicting with her own self-
perception and personal identity as an artist. Claire’s extract conveys her sense of grievance at being
patronised by how people request for her to “sing us a song”, where they assume that she is a commercial
entertainer. Here, Claire expresses her sensitivity about being dismissed and demeaned as just a
commercial performer and suggests that this dynamic involves an inherent power difference and makes
her feel vulnerable.
At the same time, Claire identifies as an “artist” and she reflects on these feelings of projected
superiority by apologetically stating how she “recognises it’s snobby” but continues with her need to
justify her “professional” context. Claire concludes the extract by restating the important need for the
“correct context” as an artist, further conveying the difference she feels compared to other performers. It
is possible that this feeling of difference is also exacerbated by Claire’s disability and by her
predominantly male performing environment.
Fiona’s experience resonates with Claire’s experience:
I think we all get that like, it’s just, we are all just little weirdos aren’t we like, when you do
music, just, kind of, people think you’re cool but you’re actually a total geek like.
Fiona describes the tension between others’ perceptions of musicians and their authentic selves. Through
her description of musicians as “little weirdos”, Fiona conveys her subjective evaluation of how she
perceives herself and other musicians as different to normal people. She expresses a jovial confidence
when referring to herself as a “total geek”, although she distances herself from this through her use of the
“you” pronoun. In the extract, Fiona provides an insight into how the public perception of a “cool”
musician is vastly different to how she feels about herself. Within this meaning making, Fiona’s extract
suggests that she experiences less personal conflict and tension with her hidden identity than David, Anya
or Claire. This security and confidence in her musicking identity is shown through her light-hearted
(laughing) embracing of this alternative but hidden identity.
The impact of compromise and self-censorship in the musicking environment
This sub-theme looks at the musicians’ experiences of compromise and the self-censoring of
their authentic selves to meet the needs of others. Below, Gloria describes her experience of compromise:
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Professional popular musicians’ experiences in the occupational musicking environment
We changed my logo, we changed a lot. I was all dark and moody before and suddenly, I was
like, shiny, and it just, I see what they were trying to do, and I let them just in case it worked. It
wasn’t how I wanted to look or sound…. Anyway, a lot of regret, but not regret, because it’s like
how you grow and all that blah, blah, blah.
The extract illustrates the regretful nature of Gloria’s decision and how “we changed a lot”, conveying
both the joint responsibility and the uncomfortable nature of the action. Gloria further conveys the
difficulty she experienced with the contrasting new image when she describes the dramatic transition
from the personally congruent “dark and moody” image to being suddenly “shiny”. Gloria also describes
how she could “see what they were trying to do”, and she let them, “just in case it worked”, which could
be interpreted as a disregard for her own personal ideas in order to optimally market herself or not upset
the record label.
Through her admission that “it wasn’t how I wanted to look or sound”, Gloria also conveys the
sense of personal incongruence involved in changing her image and her feelings of contempt towards
both herself and her management. The last part of the extract exhibits Gloria’s sense of regret and the
philosophical, reflective distancing of her decisions.
She frames this reflective awareness through the benefits of experiencing adversity to develop
and “grow” as a person. Gloria’s experience of changing her identity for the benefit of others and
commercial success is also congruent with Ed’s experience. In the extract below, Ed articulates how he
was “pigeonholed” into a particular genre by music industry personnel, which felt incongruent with his
true self. I asked Ed the question:
AF: Do you remember a time, or is there any impactful times when musicking or the music
industry impacted your sense of identity?.
Ed responded by reflecting on how he was previously “too clean” and “methodical”, which conflicted
with his authentic desire to be more “rough around the edges”. He stated:
There was maybe a disconnect between the music I was releasing versus the artist I was listening
to at one point in my life. And then, I maybe, felt like, I was maybe pigeonholed into being more
like that, not, not in terms of releasing, but maybe in terms of people I was playing it to, in the
industry, but it was kind of labelled as more of a pop thing. And I felt like that was kind of maybe
disconnected from who I was, and the music I wanted to create or something like that. So maybe,
in a sense of self in terms of like, a style of music, maybe that?
Ed explains the feelings of disconnect between his artistic self, his listening preferences and the opinions
of the music industry personnel he was working with at the time. He describes their discourse and the
disconnect between his own ideals and the suggestions he was given by the people he was “playing it to,
in the industry”. When they labelled him “as more of a pop thing”, this prompted an inner conflict of
identity. This conflict was also amplified by the “disconnect” between the “artists he was listening to”
and the music he was “releasing”. This description gives an interesting insight into how Ed frames his
musicking activity as a potential cycle of listening, writing and releasing, which became disjointed
through the influence of external sources of validation.
Like Gloria, Ed’s extract also conveys his feeling of being uncomfortably compromised by being
“pigeonholed” and “labelled”, aggravated by his personal insecurity around his identity and lack of
experience in navigating commercial success. Ed’s prioritising of other people’s opinions over his own
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Professional popular musicians’ experiences in the occupational musicking environment
authentic sense of self shows a vulnerability and compliance similar to Gloria’s. As a result, the extract
could be interpreted as Ed silencing his authentic self, and the subsequent regret he feels and what he
learns from this.
Fiona’s description of self-censorship and compromise resonates with Gloria’s and Ed’s
experience, but she diverges from them through her musicking encounters outside of releasing music:
I had one incident in particular with like a security person. But it's a security team that do all the
gigs and it was, it was really difficult, like, erm, because I had to then see the person like at gigs
and stuff. And then I had to kind of just be like, I'm fine with this when I totally wasn't.
The extract illustrates Fiona’s suppression of her authentic emotional and behavioural response to what
she describes as a “difficult incident” and the resultant compromise of being “fine with this” when she
“totally wasn’t”. From her description of how the perpetrator was part of a “security team that do all the
gigs”, it could be interpreted that Fiona felt powerless owing to fear of reprisal if she spoke about her
experience. Having to “see the person” on a regular basis in her musicking environment also suggests
how she felt the need to hide these authentic, uncomfortable feelings for personal safety.
Fiona’s reluctance to talk openly about the incident also resonates with her experience in the
previous sub-theme of how “there is a lot of stuff that goes unsaid”, suggesting a further sinister, hidden
aspect of her musicking experiences. Overall, the extract could be interpreted as Fiona’s reluctance to
report a difficult incident due to her fear of potential rejection or the negative impact of retaliation within
a musicking environment where power is unequal. The way in which Fiona compromised her inner
feelings and behaviour is similar to Gloria and Ed, yet it conveys a more sinister, hostile fear, rather than
the other participants’ experiences of incongruent identities and regret.
David’s extract below illustrates a divergence from the collective theme of inauthenticity and
censorship through his own perspective of refusing to compromise his integrity for commercial gain:
You put me in a situation where, “right you've got to do seven albums in three years, and you've
got to go on tour, and then you've got to go to this party, and you've got to do this interview, and
you've got to do that der, der, der and” go and fuck yourself because, I ain’t, bollocks. I mean,
I'll be sued left, right and centre, good. You know, I've done that world. It's so false. You know,
I've seen people in front of my eyes change from being a really nice person to a complete and
utter, self-indulgent prat. You know, and how I've just talked about. “I don’t want to talk to you”,
you know, you know, they change you know, I've seen them click their fingers at bar staff, “Oi
you there!”.
David describes his initial reluctance to meet industry demands and the legal issues that would follow if
he didn’t conform to them. Through his monologue about the music industry, David conveys his
rebellious response of “go and fuck yourself” when faced with the authoritarian instructions of a record
label. He articulates how this difficulty with conforming would result in heavy legal proceedings of being
“sued left, right and centre”. The confrontational nature of David’s non-conformist musicking is further
articulated through his comment of “good” when referring to the rebellious allure of legal conflict.
David follows his rebellious stance by describing other, previous “false” experiences of fame,
as well as saying that he has “done that world”, conveying that he has no desire to go back. He illustrates
his previous “false” experience by describing the negative change it evokes in people, when he witnessed
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“nice people” changing into “complete and utter, self-indulgent prats”. The extract conveys David’s
anger and disdain at this potential power difference and hierarchy that unsettle his core ethos of “sharing
and caring” and he also expresses his desire to “stop all that fucking rock and roll bullshit hero, separate
from you”, mentioned in other areas of the transcript.
David’s extract sums up his approach to equality and community and his consequent opposition
to power dynamics, fame, pretence and grandiose behaviour. This sub-theme explored how the
participants have made meaning out of their experiences of compromise, self-censorship, or authenticity,
as evidenced through Gloria’s and Ed’s encounter with industry pressure and their own inexperience,
Fiona’s fear of reprisal and David’s reluctance to compromise. The sub-themes above convey how the
participants navigate the external perceptions of others.
10. Discussion
The challenge of being personally congruent, understood or acknowledged by others as their
authentic or real selves was a dominant factor impacting the participants’ mental health experiences and
personal identity struggles. The study provides insight into the romantic notion and widespread public
opinion that musicians are ‘paid to do something they presumably enjoy’ (Steptoe, 1989: 6). These
personal identity experiences of the theme, update other studies on popular musicians, illustrating the
ignorance of the public and the low value in which society places the musicking professions, including
not viewing the pursuit of music as a ‘real job’ (Cooper & Wills, 1989).
The findings also highlight the musicians’ struggle with how other people perceive them in their
musicking environments, as well as the mental health impact of objectification, the identity that is hidden
(and misunderstood) from public perception, and the challenges of compromise and self-censorship. In
particular, the experience of being objectified prompts personal insecurities, sadness, anger, and self-
questioning from the musicians. From a commercial perspective, the musicians also felt a disparity
between how they viewed themselves as artists, and how record labels and industry personnel perceived
them as a commodity.
Other studies surrounding authenticity and authentic expression within the popular musician
demographic are scant, although some research has reported musicians feeling ‘unusual or different’ and
‘disconnected from real life’ (Dobson, 2011: 6). Some studies also suggest both the benefit and the
disadvantage of adopting an artistic character as a resource (Heyman et al., 2019). For example, Heyman
reports how popular singers experienced ‘a loss of identity’ through ‘the lack of authenticity and integrity’
(2019: 21) they felt engaging with their artistic character or alter ego. This concept is further explored in
Beech et al.’s research within the binary social influence framework of ‘who they want me to be’,
alongside the self-definition of ‘who I am, or want to be’ (2016: 511).
I further conceptualise this social influence (beech et al. 2016) and artistic character formulation
(Heyman et al., 2019) within an ‘artist – commodifier’ continuum (Fig.1) illustrating the shift from artistic
identity and output for its own sake through to the commercial use of oneself (or art) for commercial gain
and occupational branding.
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Professional popular musicians’ experiences in the occupational musicking environment
Figure 1. The dynamic process of ‘artist – commodifier’ continuum awareness
This framework incorporates a dynamic continuum between pure musicking and commercial gain and
can be used both intra-psychically (by the musicians themselves) or interpersonally (by those working
with musicians). The flexibility to navigate this dynamic process (or even hold a personal awareness)
could contribute to better mental health due to increased self-agency and choice in regard to the varying
degrees of pure musicking (authentic artist) or self-commodification (artistic character). Furthermore, this
conceptualisation has broader applications and implications within ‘fame’ environments and the
surrounding intersection of objective projection and subjective, personal understanding.
My findings and personal conceptualisation develop existing studies by providing additional
insight into the various ways in which the musicians’ mental health is impacted by this implicit and often
unconscious process, together with their explicit articulated, deep need to be understood, which is often
overlooked in other research. The perceived difference of musicians has often been cited as caused by
this demographic adopting a grandiose perspective and positioning themselves as aloof and outside of
societal norms (Ptatscheck, 2020; Raeburn, 2000; Spelman, 2016). My results challenge these
assumptions and provide an alternative lens of how musicians struggle with the added tension of their
desire to be understood, acknowledged, and validated by the general public. This factor is also more
poignant due to the diversity and under-representation of the musicians involved with the study.
Drawing upon Lipsitz’s writings on popular culture (1990), Small points out the extent to which
audience members ‘concurrently share intimate and personal cultural moments’ (1998: 39) with these
strangers, yet remain unaware of the musicians’ individual meanings and their personal understandings
of musicking experiences. Small’s interpretation of this relationship is developed through his concepts of
‘desire and reality’, which involve the acceptance of a ‘counterfeit community’ from the audience’s
perspective where public perception is vastly different from the performers’ reality within musicking. He
elaborates on this idea by explaining that ‘only those taking part will know for sure what is their nature’
(1998: 49). It is this subjective (and hidden) knowledge that is articulated, enhanced and exposed within
this study. Through expressing their struggle with their hidden identity and how they are misrepresented
in public perception, the musicians also air the frustrations provoked by the public’s mistaken
assumptions about the motivations for their lifestyle, identity and career choice.
This tension of one’s identity being hidden also manifested in the struggle to articulate and
communicate their artistic pursuit as both a need and a choice. The impact of compromise and
inauthenticity expressed in the extracts also illustrated the environmental allure of bypassing personal
integrity for increased marketing potential, and the subsequent internal tension and conflict this generated.
For example, the impact of compromise and self-censorship sub-theme illustrated factors such as feeling
The ‘artist – commodifier’ continuum of awareness
Pure musicking Commodification of musicking
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Professional popular musicians’ experiences in the occupational musicking environment
regret about changing personal image and how this change was experienced as inauthentic, but
commercially necessary.
Internal turmoil was understood to be a necessary part of the commercial journey, but it prompted
regret, feelings of inauthenticity and a sense of being disconnected from oneself. This tension of negating
personal values, interpersonal and intrapsychic relationships in musicking was illustrated through
continued pressure to uphold morals of personal integrity, or even the fear of music industry reprisals.
Authenticity or being me (despite audience projection) was an important mental health factor
within this theme, with the musicians reporting the importance of being understood in context or their
need for support when they were struggling. Expanding into wider areas of developmental theory, the
theme also offers empirical evidence to support the musicians’ experience of authenticity, or what the
psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott would call the false self (Winnicot, 1996). Winnicott suggests how the
false self is initially a concept of compliance, where the mother’s insensitivity to her child’s needs
prompts the preliminary stages of the false self to develop (Tyler, 1998).
These developmental wounds continue to play out into adulthood as a result of inauthenticity
bending personal ideals and morals to meet the needs of others, resonant within the musicians’
experiences within this sub-theme. This position also correlates with Sartre’s philosophical concept of
bad faith (Sartre, 2006) or being what others want, rather than what is.
11. Conclusion
The findings illustrate an under-represented demographic of popular musicians and how they
experience objectification, invisibility and personal incongruity in the occupational environment.
Through these sub-themes, the findings offer a rare opportunity of insight into a hidden demographic both
occupationally and in terms of diversity. It is hoped that this growing area of exploration contributes to a
greater reflexivity and awareness of the proliferation of objectification of popular musicians for career
gain within academia, commercial gain within the music industry or financial gain within musicians’
mental health agencies.
12. Further research
While the study provides valuable insights into the meaning-making and the mental health
processes of seven musicians, it does exhibit certain limitations in terms of the sample's diversity. The
sample was representative for this research, adhering to the criteria of adult, performing, popular
musicians, all primarily deriving their income from music. Furthermore, it encompassed individuals of
varied ages, genders, races, ethnicities, and disability statuses based on availability at the time of
recruitment. In future research projects, it could be advantageous to enhance the sample's homogeneity
by narrowing the participant pool to create a more uniform group. This may involve the recruitment of
participants within a more specific age range, individuals with similar musical backgrounds, and,
whenever possible, those who share commonalities in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity.
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