
Working in Music on the Semiperiphery
Local Cultural Production and Global Capitalism
Emilia Barna(Author)
Central European University Press
Published on 24. June 2025
Book
Hardback
236 pages
978-963-386-846-1 (ISBN)
Description
While music as labor feeds into the capitalist cultural industries, this book proves that in this sector informality greatly permeates and governs power relations and the allocations of resources. The significant level of informal involvement of the household in the creative and reproductive processes is also explored. It is particularly in the semiperipheral context that the relationship between home-based work and paid work is unbalanced: Emilia Barna's field data are from Hungary and range from 2018 to 2021. The same context also implies considerable involvement of the state and its subsidies, as well as the important role of gatekeepers' political capital.
This book embraces the widest possible range of workers in the music industry. It deals with all music genres from high-flying to commercial and observes various workers in the production chain beyond musicians. Niche segments of the sector, such as YouTube-based commercial hip hop, are given special treatment. Using a variety of empirical research methods, the study examines the trends as workers are pushed towards digital entrepreneurship and platform work, on the one hand, and live performance, on the other. The focus on domestic work and informality offers a feminist analysis of work in music. This approach sheds light on gendered divisions of labor and forms of (self-)exploitation that usually remain invisible. The book proposes a new model of cultural autonomy that takes account of the semiperipheral relationship of music industry workers and institutions to both the market and the state.
This book embraces the widest possible range of workers in the music industry. It deals with all music genres from high-flying to commercial and observes various workers in the production chain beyond musicians. Niche segments of the sector, such as YouTube-based commercial hip hop, are given special treatment. Using a variety of empirical research methods, the study examines the trends as workers are pushed towards digital entrepreneurship and platform work, on the one hand, and live performance, on the other. The focus on domestic work and informality offers a feminist analysis of work in music. This approach sheds light on gendered divisions of labor and forms of (self-)exploitation that usually remain invisible. The book proposes a new model of cultural autonomy that takes account of the semiperipheral relationship of music industry workers and institutions to both the market and the state.
Reviews / Votes
"Expanding our understanding of what counts in the production of popular culture, Emilia Barna performs a double reveal: beyond the usual suspects of the Global North; behind the most audible forms of musical labour. Here, professional musicians jostle alongside backstage industry employees, unpaid volunteers and domestic workers. Sensitised by its sophisticated hybrid of feminist social reproduction theory and world-systems analysis, Working in Music in the Semiperiphery locates the contemporary realities of Hungarian popular music within evolving state-market relations. A genuine revolution in how we make sense of making music."-- Toby Bennett, Senior Lecturer in Media, Culture and Organisation, University of Westminster
"So much more than a 'case study' of Hungary, Emilia Barna's book is an essential contribution to understanding musical labour in the digital era."
-- David Hesmondhalgh, Professor of Media, Music and Culture, University of Leeds
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Budapest
Hungary
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Academic
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
520 gr
ISBN-13
978-963-386-846-1 (9789633868461)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Emilia Barna, PhD is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology and Communication, Budapest University of Technology and Economics. She is a sociologist and popular music scholar, whose main research areas include the music industries and digitalization, popular music and gender, cultural labor, and popular music and politics.
Content
Illustrations and Tables, Acknowledgements, INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 - CREATIVE AUTONOMY, THE STATE, AND GLOBAL CAPITALISM CHAPTER 2 - CREATIVE AUTONOMY IN THE SYSTEM OF NATIONAL COOPERATION: PROFESSIONALIZATION, INCORPORATION, AND DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP CHAPTER 3 - THE PLATFORMIZATION OF MUSICAL LABOR AND ITS SOCIAL EMBEDDEDNESS: THE CASE OF HIP HOP CHAPTER 4 - GENDER RELATIONS AND THE ROLE OF THE HOUSEHOLD IN MUSICAL LABOR CHAPTER 5 - EMOTIONAL LABOR IN MUSIC PRODUCTION CHAPTER 6 - LABOR, CRISIS, AND SOLIDARITY, APPENDICES, BIBLIOGRAPHY, INDEX