Description
Book SynopsisAt a time when the bulwarks of the music industry are collapsing, what does it mean to be a successful musician and artist? How might contemporary musicians sustain their artistic communities? Based on interviews with over seventy-five popular-music professionals in Nashville, Beyond the Beat looks at artist activists--those visionaries who create
Trade ReviewShortlisted for the 2016 ASAP Book Prize, Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present "This innovative sociological study of the Nashville music scene explores the business realities of an industry that has been radically changed by technology... His findings are encouraging because they reveal an environment in which many artists support one another in their quest for individualistic attainment."--Choice "Anyone who wishes to read a remarkably grounded analysis of how cultural work--in this case music--is changing, and about the roles of both artist entrepreneurs and trade union activists in pursuing a community-encompassing response, will find this book a wonderful read and an eye-opener for students in multiple fields: the sociology of occupations, the economics and sociology of the arts, arts management studies, industry studies, and labor relations. That Cornfield also offers a conceptual framework for thinking about structures and strategy is an extra plus."--Ann Markusen, ILR Review
Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments ix Chapter 1. Creating Community in an Individualistic Age 1 Chapter 2. Artist Activism: Building Occupational Communities in Risky Times 17 Chapter 3. Self-contained, Self-expression: The Transformative Generation of Enterprising Artists 34 Chapter 4. Identities in Play: The Contemporary Generation of Enterprising Artists 65 Chapter 5. Creating Social Spaces for Artists: Pathways to Becoming an Artistic Social Entrepreneur 93 Chapter 6. Artist Advocates: The Corporate and Entrepreneurial Generations of Arts Trade Union Activists 121 Chapter 7. Community, Agency, and Artistic Expression 150 Appendix. Interview Schedule 166 Notes 173 Bibliography 191 Index 203
