Working at the Candy Factory: The Rewards, Costs, and Cycles of Enchantment of Record Industry Careers

• In Event: 333 - Regular Session. Sociology of Work II: Culture and Control

Abstract

Based on participant observation at two companies and data from 78 interviews, this paper focuses on the day-to-day work conditions of record industry personnel to provide a better understanding of worker subjectivity over time. I find that record industry work – particularly since the advent of digital technologies – involves a tenuous balance of nonmonetary rewards and vulnerability; worker commitment is simultaneously enhanced and challenged by these factors and thus undergoes “cycles of enchantment.” While nonmonetary rewards count as payment, disenchantment (or the inability to deal with a loss or routinization of passion) is identified as a key reason for quitting or getting let go and occurs for several possible reasons, notably: mundane work, precariousness, low pay; a changing relationship to music; and aging out. I conclude with thoughts on future research.

Author

• Alexandre Frenette, Arizona State University