Precarity in the music sector of the city of Belo Horizonte:

characteristics and strategies

17th of January of 2011

Student number 33134272

Major MA Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship 2010/11

Pathway Drama

Course name Theories of the Cultural Industry: Work, Creativity and

Precariousness

Course code CU71015B

Question number 2

Question By interviewing a number of cultural workers, from a specific sector

of your choice, develop an account of how 'precarity' influences their

lives.

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Introduction or why I have choosen this subject?

In this essay, I will discuss the precarity of the music sector of the Brazilian city of Belo

Horizonte / Minas Gerais, through a research made of an Internet survey and five

qualitative interviews. Its main goal is to indicate some characteristics of the precarious

work in the field and, mainly, the strategies that artists use to prevail it. In order to do that I

will explore the concept precarity, from the French sociologists who introduced the

subject, the academic recent discussion and the social movements that exist nowadays. I

will argue about the features that come attached to precariouness, especially the altered

contours the term acquire in the cultural and creative industries. Following I will present a

brief history behind the city of Belo Horizonte and its relationship with the music industry,

being a central point for the production and discussion about the music and the market in

the country. Later, I will present the methods that were behind the research, the survey

analysis and finnaly I will deliberate personally about the subject throughout the biography

of the interviewed artists, their opinions and the strategies they use to try to triumph over

precarity.

Being an artist myself, I have choosen this subject because I see myself in the same

situation as many other artists, not only in Brazil. To do what we love the most it is

important to comprehend the market and to find alternatives to be able to keep doing it.

Sometimes the feelings about giving up are imperatives, as we have to deal with simple

questions like: do I have enough money to pay the rent next month? How many people

are in the audience today? Are you asking me to do the show without a cachet? As stated

by Abbing (2003), poverty in art is structural and there are still a mass o people wishing to

pursue a career in the field. If that is true, each one of them must come across his / her

perspective of how to deal with that and continue work in something meaningful. In this

essay one will find that the interviewees not only did not give up, as they are still trying,

day after day, to keep doing it.

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Precarity as a concept

The term precarity related to the field of work was coined in the 1980’s by French

sociologists such as Pierre Bourdieu (1998) and Robert Castel (2002)1, to explain the

changes related to the employment conditions, especially connected with neoliberal

actions that took place at the same time, in Europe. The word comes from the French

précarité and it is associated with instability, insecurity, temporary work, flexibility,

unsteadiness, overexploitation and lack of access to social protection and welfare. In a

post-fordist society these conditions can affect immigrants, students, chainworkers,

housewives, artists and creative professionals, but the scope of implicated workers is

getting wider everyday. As stated by Ulrich Beck (2000), the data about the German

market can represent a trend seen also in other Western countries:

In the 1960’s only a tenth of employees belonged to this precarious group; by 1970’s the figure had risen to a quarter, and in the late 1990’s it is a third. If changes continues at this speed - and there is so much to suggest that it will - in another ten years only a half of employees will hold a full time job for a long period of their lives, and the other half, will so to speak, work a la brésilienne. (Beck, 2000, p. 2)

To keep the German market as a comparison, recent data from the Institute for

Employment Research2 shows that ‘although the number of working people in Germany

increased slightly from 38.6 million in 1991 to 38.8 million in 2005, the number of regular

jobs is steadily diminishing... The number of workers liable to pay social insurance

contributions fell by 13 percent over the same period – from 30 million to 26 million3.’ What

Beck calls work ‘a la brésilienne’ or ‘brazilinization of the West’ can be summarised by 1)

the growth of the casual and provisional jobs and 2) the increase of the deregulation of

employment. For Beck, Brazil experiences the maximization of the consequences of

neoliberal actions, globalization and free-market rules, leading the country to high

                                                                                                               1 In the article “A Comparative Analysis of ‘Employment Precariousness’ in Europe”, Jean-Claude Barbier presents a clear picture of the development of the use of the term, especially in Europe. 2 Institute for Employment Research available at http://fdz.iab.de/en.aspx  

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unemployment and an endemic insecurity, what he calls a ‘risky society’. Not only

countries in development such as Brazil are affected by these new rules. As a global

trend, developed countries in North America and Europe can experience it as well. It is a

complete change in the living and working conditions that now set the rules of the capitalist

system.

Alex Foti is the President of the Italian collective ChainWorkers4 that since 1999 merges

labour and media activism to fight for better conditions for precarious workers. The

movement is also responsible for the Mayday Parade5, the first European self-organized

manifestation against precarity that in 2010 completed its tenth edition reuniting 12 cities

across Europe. The group provides legal assistance, resources, reflection and functions as

a central point to share information and complaints. In an interview for the article Precarity

and n/european Identity his definition of precarity raises the importance of certainty as a

way to achieve social status:

Precarity is also, however, the condition of being unable to predict one's fate or having some degree of predictability on which to build social relations and feelings of affection. The diffusion of intermittent work and the attacks on the welfare state have resulted in a widespread increase of existential precarity across Europe - affecting increasing numbers of the population even in the wealthy countries like Holland. (Oudenampsen and Sullivan, 2004, p.45).

What workers should expect? According to Bourdieu:

… casualization, fear of redundancy, downsizing can, like unemployment, generate anxiety, demoralization or conformism (faults that the managerial literature identifies and deplores). In this world without inertia, without an immanent principle of continuity, those at the bottom are like the creatures in a Cartesian universe: they hang on the arbitrary decision of a power responsible for the ‘continued creation’ of their existence - as is shown and confirmed by the threat of plant closure, desinvestment and delocation”. (Bourdieu, 1998, p. 99)

                                                                                                               4 ChainWorkers available at http://www.chainworkers.org/ 5    MayDay Parade available at http://www.euromayday.org/  

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Precarity in the creative and cultural industries

Although precarity affects different types of workers, those who perform ‘immaterial labour’

(Lazarrato) are in front of the changes, functioning as a laboratory for the field of work.

‘The figure of the artist (or 'creative labourer') may well circulate, in some instances, as the

exemplary figure of the post-Fordist worker precarious, immaterial and so on…’.

(Mitroupolos, 2006, p.15) For them, precarity can be taken into its potential as people who

want freedom and independency meet the market and the Government, both that “want” to

be free of taking care of people. ‘The cultural sphere provides an ideal space for young

people to explore such individualized possibilities, just as it also offers the Government the

opportunities for a post-industrialized economy unfettered by the constraints and costs of

traditional employment.’ (McRobbie, 2007, p. 518)

In comparison with chain workers (workers in malls, shopping centres, hypermarkets…)

and immigrants, artists and creative people tend to be seen as less under attack, possibly

because they are inclined to transform the precarious conditions into good features, like

flexibility and no fixed schedule. They are also likely to be more specialized than other

workers.

BrainWorkers are creators, writers, artists, musicians, programmers; people who are hired not for their general labour but for specialised skills or their creativity. Though their time and creativity are stolen from them and sold back to us all as commodities (as software programs, movies, jingles, and advertising clips) they are more socially respected and able to command higher wages. In comparison to ChainWorkers, BrainWorkers have much greater control over their working conditions. The very nature of the work makes it impossible to Taylorise and there is more flexibility at work to use the time directly as they wish. (McKarthy, 2006, p. 57)

So in between the freelance job and the formal employment there is what some authors

call ‘flexicurity’, meaning flexible but secure, as a way of escaping precarity without leaving

behind the best part of it.

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In fact, in one sense flexicurity means we do not want to go back to a 'job for life' - the system of the previous generation. We accept the flexibility inherent in the computer-based mode of production, but we want to disassociate from the precarity that is implicit in this forced (Faustian) bargain... I did not choose precarity for myself as a destiny. But I think that out of that condition, our generation - the post cold war generation - can fight for a socially progressive shift. (Oudenampsen and Sullivan, 2004, p.48)

Belo Horizonte as a central point for music in Brazil

To discuss the precarious life of music workers in Belo Horizonte, it is important to go a

little further about the historic connection that the city has with music production, and how

today the city sees a greater movement of production, especially authorship music. Belo

Horizonte is nationally known as a nest for great music and musicians, mainly because of

the Clube da Esquina6 movement in the 70’s and the Heavy Metal movement in the 80’s

who had Sepultura7 as the main icon. To point out other internationally well-known artists,

there is Milton Nascimento8 and Uakti9, who are just the famous tip of an incredible range

of creators, in different genres and generations.

It is also possible to produce a list of important festivals, events and projects related with

music that annually happen in the city, like Eletronika - Festival de Novas Tendências

Musicais10; Savasi Festival11; BH Indie Music12; Conexão Vivo13; Vozes do Morro14; and

Feira Música Brasil15. The national fair was held in Belo Horizonte at the end of 2010,

showing the importance of the city as a central point for music produced in the country. At

the time, the institutions that are part of the Conselho da Rede Música Brasil16 signed a

                                                                                                               6 Clube da Esquina available at http://www.museudapessoa.net/clube/ 7 Sepultura available at http://sepultura.uol.com.br/v7/ 8 Milton Nascimento available at http://www.miltonnascimento.com.br/ 9 Uakti available at http://www.uakti.com.br/ 10 Eletronika - Festival de Novas Tendências Musicais, meaning Eletronika - New Music Trends Festival, available at http://www.festivaleletronika.com.br/ 11 Savassi Festival available at http://www.savassifestival.com.br/ 12 BH Indie Music, available at http://bhindiemusic.blogspot.com/ 13 Conexão Vivo available at http://conexaovivo.com.br/ 14 Vozes do Morro available at http://www.vozesdomorro.mg.gov.br 15 Feira Música Brasil, meaning Brazil Music Fair, available at http://www.feiramusicabrasil.com.br/ 16 Conselho da Rede Música Brasil, meaning Brasil’s Music Network Council

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document called ‘Carta de Belo Horizonte’17, where they stated the 10 most important

questions for a better public policy in the sector such as, the creation of a national agency

of music; establishment of a new regulamentary framework for labour and social security;

and the review of the copyright law. Belo Horizonte has a prolific and demanding scene

with a great diversity of artists.

As pointed by Makely Ka, one of our interviewees and President of COMUM - Cooperativa

da Música de Minas18, in his ‘Manifesto pela Música Autoral19’:

There is a phenomenon in the music produced in Minas nowadays. What holds our eyes firstly is something apparently obvious in the characterization of any scene: it is predominantly authorship music. Secondly, and not less amazing, is the amount. There is no record in the recent history of other age that more music has been produced than now. Not even during the golden age of Clube da Esquina, in the 70’s, nor in the heroic phase of rock of Minas in the 80’s.20 (Ka, 2009)

According with the report Cadeia Produtiva da Economia da Música em Belo Horizonte21,

produced by Fundação João Pinheiro and Sebrae/MG, in 2010 there were more than 1200

registered musicians in formal institutions of the city. Although the number of workers is

substantial, the amounts that still work as informal employees is extremely large.

According with a 2007 report of IPEA, Política cultural no Brasil, 2002-200622, more than

90% of music workers in the country do not have access to social benefits.

Another important characteristic of the country is the lack of a strong cultural policy. The

major mechanism to foster the cultural sector is the tax relief laws, and the majority of

                                                                                                               17 Carta de Belo Horizonte, meaning Belo Horizonte’s Letter 18 COMUM - Cooperativa da Música de Minas, meaning Minas’s Music Cooperative, available at http://www.bhmusic.com.br/comum/ 19 Manifesto pela Música Autoral, meaning Authorship Music Manifest, available at http://www.overmundo.com.br/overblog/manifesto-pela-musica-autoral 20 Free translation of the Portuguese version: “Há um fenômeno na música produzida em Minas atualmente. O que chama a atenção em primeiro lugar é algo aparentemente óbvio na caracterização de qualquer cena: é predominantemente autoral. Segundo, e não menos impressionante, é a quantidade. Não há registro na história recente de outra época em que se tenha produzido tanta música como agora. Nem durante o período áureo do Clube da Esquina nos anos 70 nem durante a fase heróica do rock mineiro nos anos 80.” 21 Cadeia Produtiva da Economia da Música em Belo Horizonte, meaning Economic Music Production Chain in Belo Horizonte, available at http://www.fjp.gov.br/index.php/servicos/82-servicos-cepp/1102-cadeia-produtiva-da-economia-da-musica-em-belo-horizonte 22 Política cultural no Brasil, 2002-2006, meaning Brazilian Cultural Policy, 2002-2006, Available at http://www.ipea.gov.br/portal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5565

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producers (artists and cultural companies) rely on that to create and survive. According

with the same report from Fundação João Pinheiro and Sebrae/MG:

The musical sector of Belo Horizonte, like other estates and cities of the country, have a cultural policy characterized by action fragmentation, lack of intersectoriality, discontinuity, scarcity of budgetary resources, centrality in the events policy and funding by the mechanisms of tax relief. This practice of cultural funding is the primary public policy to foster the productive chains, manly in the audiovisual and musical sectors, in the three levels of public administration - federal, state and municipal23 (Fundação João Pinheiro, 2010, p. 12)

The methods behind the research

To be able to explore the scope of precarity in the music sector of Belo Horizonte a survey

was created and made accessible for 20 days on the Internet (Google Docs). From 30

respondents (musicians, singers, DJs, composers, producers, students and managers),

five were chosen to a deeper and longer interview, about 40 minutes long (Skype)24. The

survey functioned as a route indicating which direction should be taken with the interviews.

It is important to clarify that this research does not have a quantitative objective, especially

if we look at the time limit and the amount of interviews. Rather than that, its main goal is

qualitative in order to identify patterns and strategies used by the artists to overcome the

insecure world that surrounds them. Another limitation of this research is that it was

essential to count on people’s sincerity about the precarious side of their lives, which is not

a pleasant or satisfying confession, and some times it could be interpreted by others as

how unsuccessful their careers were. One more constraint is that the Internet survey was

available to anybody, but only answers from Belo Horizonte’s workers were expected,

which one could not guarantee. To lessen this problem, at the beginning of the survey

there was a saying carefully explaining how respondents from other cities could influence

the research and that only workers of Belo Horizonte were expected to answer it. One

                                                                                                               23 Free translation of the Portuguese version “O setor… musical no município de Belo Horizonte, da mesma maneira que os demais estados e municípios do país, têm uma política cultural caracterizada pela fragmentação das ações, ausência de intersetorialidade, descontinuidade, escassez de recursos orçamentários, centralidade na política de eventos e financiamento pelos mecanismos de renúncia fiscal. A utilização dessa prática de financiamento ao setor cultural é a principal política de fomento às cadeias produtivas, principalmente dos setores audiovisual e musical, nos três níveis da administração pública – federal, estadual e municipal.” 24 Only one of the interviewees answered by e-mail,  

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more time, honesty had an important role. It is also important to clarify that all the

interviews were free translated by the author, from Portuguese to English.

The survey results examination

Even though the preliminary survey did not have a quantitative purpose, it helped to

outline some important characteristics that were discussed deeply in the round of

interviews:

1) The majority of respondents, 28%, was involved in 10 or less shows, concerts and/or

recordings in 2010; 25% participated in between 10 and 20 events; other 20% acted in

between 20 and 30 events; 7% between 30 and 40, and only 20% worked in more than 40

events in 2010. It means one or more show, concert and/or recordings every 9 days. It

appears that the respondents did not work enough in the field last year.

2) 57% of interviewees considered that they have not worked enough in 2010; 43%

considered they have worked enough. The majority of respondents were not satisfied with

the amount of work performed in 2010.

3) 34% of respondents have informed that only 20% of their income is related to music

jobs; other 34% informed that their job in music contribute to between 21% and 80% of

their total income; only 32% have informed that 81% to 100% of their income comes from

music. Money wise, the majority of interviewees could not live only with their incomes in

the music sector. It could be understood as if they do not work enough (as stated above)

or that the amount of money paid was not sufficient.

4) For those who work only in the music sector, when asked what other tasks and skills

they perform within the industry, some examples are: ‘music production, project manager,

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music director and artistic director’; ‘bass guitar player, producer, publicist, graphic

designer, all at the same time; ‘musician, arranger, artistic producer, teacher and producer,

but here the producer also works as a publicist, layout designer etc’; ‘as a singer, teacher

in an BA music course, and in projects, the ones that I’m involved artistically, and also as a

producer/manager of others (festivals, score editions)’. It appears that for those who work

only in the music industry, it is necessary to perform more than one task to work sufficient

and to be paid enough to keep doing it.

5) For those who also work outside of the music sector, when asked what is the source of

their income, some examples are: ‘I’m physiotherapist’; ‘Because I’m a law student, it

comes from internships’; ‘festival production, music but also dance and theatre’; ‘law’;

‘work as a DJ, and also in a non governmental organization with educational and

communication projects, I work as a agent for an fine artist, as a consultant for theatre

groups. I also work as an artistic producer (operas, digital art theatre and dance, literature

and performance)’; ‘I’m a buyer in an industry’; ‘I’m a cultural producer and I act also in

theatre, dance and general art’. For those who work also outside the music sector, there

are at least three different strategies: work as a multi-skilled professional in cross-sector

jobs such as dance, theatre, audiovisual and so on; work in similar, but not artistic sectors

such as education, non-governmental and communication; and have a job in a totally

different industry.

6) When asked to relate themselves with 25 different statements about their work lives, the

three most selected, as the first being the most selected, were: ‘I do what I like’; ‘I have

pleasure in what I do; ‘I’m a multitask worker’. The three most selected statements are at

some point positive ones. Nowadays, a multitask worker, for example, it is a desired

professional by the market. Although we can see precarity, the answers bring back their

love and passion about what they do. The three least selected, as the first being the least

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selected were: ‘I live in a precarious world’; ‘I feel that my life is stable’; ‘I have problems to

sleep’. Whereas we “can see and feel” precarity in their lives, the respondents do not want

to relate themselves with the word itself and all the negativity it brings. At the same time,

they confess that their lives are not stable. It is a contradictory statement.

7) When asked if, at some point in their career, they thought about leaving the sector, 66%

answered yes and 34% responded no. Thinking about giving up is a constant, with 2/3 of

the respondents saying that already have thought about it.

8) When asked if they considered themselves happy in general with their professional

lives, 76% answered yes, 24% responded no. Even with all the problems, the majority

consider themselves happy.

The interviews or how do they do it?

In this part of this essay, I would like to point out some characteristics attached to the

precarious work in the music industry in Belo Horizonte by the testimonials of the

interviewees. Their thoughts reveal that some of them still struggle with precarity, others

already feel more comfortable dealing with it, and some seem to have scaped it,

especially adopting strategies such as career planning, financial organization and

entrepreneurial skills.

Those characteristics of the creative worker stated by McRobbie (2007), Abbing (2003),

Wittel (2009), and Leadbeater and Oakley (1999) are cleary represented in their

discourses. One can see that all of them are multi-skilled workers; some of them use their

transferable skills between sectors; they tend to work in multiple projects at once and

seem to be very tired by this routine; the line between their life and work is getting thinner;

there is no safe monthly income for the majority of them, although the ones who do

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financial planning tend to deal better with this situation. Some of them love their flexible

routine, although others still suffers from crazy deadlines. As a rule, all of them appear to

live by the statement ‘freedom as an elixir’ (Abbing): they cannot see themselves working

in another job, stuck in an office, with strict rules and a boss telling them what to do.

Flexibility, independence and autonomy are imperatives.

Our first interviewee is Elisa Paraíso25, a singer who abandoned an Architecture BA just to

dedicate herself 100% to music. Not an easy decision, but since then she got a BA in

Music (UEMG); recorded two CD’s (Da Maior Importância e O Nordeste de Lua); featured

locally and nationally in important TV shows of Globo, the mainstream most influential TV

network of the country; and also gave up about singing in pubs in her own city. She

thought the task was not in conformity with what she expected for her vocation. She

decided to open a music studio, which alongside with her singing career is where she gets

her income. She also acts as producer, manager and fundraiser of her own work. Although

the description is very real and accurate, Elisa still suffers from the precarity of the sector.

Looking from outside one could imagine that she is an established artist, who does not

have to deal with all the precariousness tasks and decisions attached to her profession. In

our interview, one can see that it is not the case. Elisa declares that her thoughts about

giving up sometimes still get to her head: ‘Instability, insecurity. The rush you get to come:

am I on track? Should I be doing that? Then you get sad and stuff, thinking that you’re

doing it wrong and feel like quitting. Makes you want to open a pie shop’. (Elisa Paraíso)

One major concern for Elisa is that, like others artists in the country, she still relies on the

Brazilian incentive tax relief laws to produce her projects. She regrets to became

dependant on those:

                                                                                                               25 Elisa Paraíso’s work is available at http://elisaparaiso.com.br/

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I characterize as unstable, because the vast majority of projects that I do are connected and depend on the culture incentive laws. So depends on the project to be approved, and after to be sponsored. So as this is not a guarantee every year, it is difficult to maintain regularity… Of course there are other things that happen beyond the projects, but the really big projects that are focused on my own career, I usually accomplish through the legal incentives. (Elisa Paraíso)

Our second interviewee, Makely Ka, has the same perspective of this subject:

From the perspective of the laws, if you make a plan you can deal with this annuity of the laws. Of course you have no guarantee that you will get approved and sponsored, but actually I think we should not depend on the laws. They are complementary, and they can serve a lot in some cases to make a product viable that otherwise you would have to sacrifice, sell a car, invest. …For me, obviously we should use it, is a constitutional right, but I think it should not be the only means of carrying out public policy. This is a discussion that we have with Government in a few years already, and for me we should look for other routes. (Makely Ka)

Makely Ka26 is a singer, composer and poet, who has three CD’s (A Outra Cidade,

Danaide e Autófago) and more than 60 songs recorded by other interpreters. Now he is

preparing a new project, to launch his next CD in a very new platform for mobile phones.

He travels a lot, nationally and now internationally, to sing and give workshops and

lectures about career management, cooperativism, and the independent music market. He

is also President of the already cited COMUM cooperative and has an intense actuation in

politics. He sees that as a strategy: by helping others to succeed and overcome precarity,

he is also keeping himself active and relevant. Maybe one cannot see precarity in

Makely’s discourse about his own career, but as President of a cooperative that

represents 200 musicians, he has to deal with precariousness in a regular basis, as his job

is to try to diminish that in their lives.

Without doubt, the conditions that we have are precarious. When it comes to music, we think a lot of work musician during night, which is precarious. A work in which the musician finds himself subject to conditions that are non humane. I do not play in pubs, has years I have not played in pubs, because it is a kind of relationship I'm not willing to submit myself, you know? (Makely Ka)

                                                                                                               26 Makely Ka’s work is available at http://makelyka.com.br/

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In addition, he continues about the professionalization in the sector:

The issue of professionalization was one of the reasons that led us to set up a cooperative… One thing that happens often: more than 90% of musicians who perform on stage, not only here in Belo Horizonte, but in Minas Gerais and Brazil, work in the informal sector. What does that mean? The guy does not have any kind of social security guaranteed. If he is hired to do a show, he goes there and makes the gig, he is paid on that gig, but he will not have a contract. If he has to issue an invoice eventually, he buys the invoice. When he buys it, he is feeding a cold market. In that invoice, he is paying social security, income tax, all tax charges, but that money is not going to be collected and he will not get that on his retirement.27 …with the cooperative, I can issue a legal invoice for my service. If I do a show, I send an invoice and I'll have the tax collected. My owned taxes are paid. (Makely Ka)

Another situation that comes from the annuity of the tax relief laws in Brazil is that the

market works seasonally. There is a gap between the projects being approved, sponsored

and finally starting. By the middle of the year is when people start to make money. We can

see that in Paloma’s discourse, our third interviewee:

Earlier in the year my life is neither stable nor flexible, it is horrible! When is about May is when my life starts to be flexible. I had stability until 18 years old when I lived with my mother and worked in the formal contract. After that, never again… To be stable is to have at least a small amount of money, knowing it will come every month. And then you can start doing calculations, payments. We always feel like being caught unprepared. Now that is January people ask me: are you working? Yes, I'm. I'm working. I work 14 hours a day every day, but I’m not making any money right now. I'm planning to start making money in the middle of the year. It's what everyone does. The ones who are getting a little smarter are saving in the middle of year to be able to do what I'm doing now... Until people start to approve the projects, it is when the wheel starts to spin. (Paloma Parentoni)

Paloma Parentoni28 is a multitask professional, who acts as a DJ, cultural producer and

performer. She also works as light operator, artistic agent, director of music video clips and

promoter of parties. She is the representation of the worker of her generation: she loves

                                                                                                               27 In Brazil, this is a commom situation, not only in the music sector but also performing arts, audiovisual and so on. Artists buy ilegal invoices from firms, as they do not have stabilishe legal formal companies that are allowed to produce invoices.

 28 Paloma Parentoni’s work is available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/palomaparentoni/

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what she does; she loves to tell people that; and can’t think about something else as a

career. 14 hours a day and 5 projects at a time is her normal routine of work, but she

confesses that she is getting tired of this schedule. She also confesses that she thinks

about work 24 hours a day, and that is why her playtime is so attached to her work routine.

For example, if she has to go to a pub to meet friends there is always something about

work underneath the conversation.

I went to work with it because wanted to go to the theater, to the movies, I find it impossible to separate one thing from another. For me it is not uncomfortable, I do not know anything other than work. It's annoying to other people… For me it is a wonder. If I go to visit someone, be sure we'll talk about work. I will not sit with a friend for a beer for nothing, unless you have a purpose. I do not know if it's a defect or a quality, but for me it is great! (Paloma Parentoni)

The same characteristic can be seen in Déa’s thoughts. She is our fourth interviewee:

Work and leisure are very mixed. Poetic and beautifully blended. But there is time for everything. One tour, for example, carries within it the two: work and leisure. In 2010 I was invited to a special tour of the singer Ceumar, and it was intense work as intense leisure. I could see an old friend that I had not seen for a long time, met new people, got emotional with her singing and also with myself, I learned from her path. I got out from there as another artist, so ... It is the substrate; the substance of that type of work is so fluid, so mysterious, so divine, so good quality. There is no such issue. The pleasure, the leisure, the rest happen together… (Déa Trancoso)

Déa Trancoso29 is a true passionate. She breaths music 24 hours a day, singing to her

son in bed, composing, looking for partnerships or fundraising opportunities or even

producing and rehearsing. She is also multi-skilled, working as singer, composer,

phonographic producer, artistic director, musical producer, arranger, repertory researcher

and as a curator of musical events in general. A simple Google search can show that her

first CD (TUM TUM TUM) distributed by the independent Brazilian record label Biscoito

Fino is available internationally in countries such as Japan, United States and United

Kingdom. With a 20 year career she still struggles with some problems in the field,

                                                                                                               29 Dea Trancoso’s work is available at http://www.myspace.com/deatrancoso

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although she believes that strategies like organization and planning had helped her to

overcome those obstacles. With a more holistic and philosophical view of the sector, Déa

presents with great clarity her opinions of the subject.

…life itself is unstable. The fundamental characteristic of existence is finitude and our history shows the adventures that we have to fulfil this difficult and not less poetic condition. Being flexible, I think is intelligence since the middle way is what I seek... That said, I think the two words, unstable and flexible gain healthier contours. The ‘stability’ proposed by ‘formal professions' from this point of view it is also transient and leads to lack of agenda and time for things. The "instability" from the package of so-called autonomous professions proposes an agenda where time is transformed into ‘stability.’ In our case, the autonomous professions, time is not just money, it's stability and health. I consider my relationship with time a rare kind of stability. I move within my own time… I can wake up in the morning, always have breakfast with my son and my husband, do the homework with my son, I always try to take him to school, and I work at home because the Internet is a phenomenal tool for my job. Anyway, I think in my case is more a matter of learning to plan the recipe. Planning, yes that’s the case. (Déa Trancoso)

For her, the precarity that surrounds the field can be defeated by organization.

It must be said that life is not precarious. The history of human being on earth, yes. The arts are not precarious. The relationships that are around them and with them, yes. I think that the human being is precarious… The lenses that I use to look at these questions are always philosophical. The music itself has nothing to do with it. But to live with it is necessary to understand the market. Be organized. Having the right information to make appropriate decisions. (Déa Trancoso)

Our last interviewee, Jon Bazko is the lead singer, lyricist, producer and relationship

manager of the band The Hell’s Kitchen Project30. He also works digging good contacts for

the band, disclosing their work in social media and helping his colleagues to plan the

actions for the group. 2011 is “the year” for Jon and his band. For the first time the The

Hell’s Kitchen Project has an approved project in the incentive laws and already found a

sponsor. Thanks to their talent as a band, but also because they invest a lot of time, effort

and money in other fronts, like communication. To give a glimpse, their last business card

                                                                                                               30 The Hell’s Kitchen Project ‘s work available at http://www.thkproject.com/

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had a QR code. By scanning the code with a Smartphone the receiver could instantly

download a track of their first EP. For Jon it is the first time he decided to work just with

music, with his own band or as a producer. He keeps the good naivety of those

experiencing something for the first time. If he is going to succeed, only time can tell.

I'm ultra happy that I finally found my area and happy with the prospects that I have with the band… It may be that this semester I did not get any more work as a freelancer and not be hired, and then I'll have to take my knowledge and go to another area. ...But I'm very confident in myself, in my work and the contacts that I can get, but I still want to be happy in my area with a monthly income and recognition, without struggle. (Jon Bazko)

Jon is living his kind of incubation time, as stated by McRobbie (2007):

I’m risking, I can still take risks, because I am under 30. That old gag that says that before 30 you can still play and after 30 the society pulls you and asks: what will it be? Another thing, I still live with my parents, I do not have to pay water, bills, electricity, telephone. I pay my mobile phone and a course that the band is doing. I’m not totally independent because I still can’t afford it.. Relieves me a lot to live here with my parents, share the ceiling. If I were alone, I would have freaked out. (Jon Bazko)

Almost all of them made it clear that they could not handle a so-called normal routine in an

office, for example.

Sometimes I feel like quitting and think: I want a normal job to earn monthly payments and have 13th salary and holiday season every year. Paid holidays, right? But I think it's the same trip, because we only think of the bad side of things. Basically I guess I could not handle it. Now for example I want to have children and know how much my job will be an advantage for this. I have many friends who say: you will be with your child all the time and adjust your routine. They can’t do that. For them it is 4 months at home and then work 8 hours a day without seeing their son. Everything has two sides. (Elisa Paraíso)

Well, I think that story is the glass half full or half empty. What one considers stable, I'll consider flexible. But as I've worked in business, I am an electronics technician, I worked a while in the Vale do Rio Doce and I'm sure it was not that kind of working relationship that I wanted for my life. So this perspective has given me another dimension. I know it's hard, but I know that every area has its pressures, its difficulties. Actually I think there’s a lack of parameter, who has worked in a company whose goal, steady recovery... (Makely Ka)

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Déa completes: ‘…I have an interesting routine, exciting. I can always be with my family,

enjoying the growth of my son who is 9, and travel to perform my music to other people. I

work a lot on the internet.’ (Déa Trancoso) They are all multiple-skilled workers, but

sometimes they it can get overwhelming with that many obligations. Their artistic career

tends to be in the second level of importance.

I consider myself a multitask worker, although I think sometimes I perform very badly some tasks I should perform well, and sometimes it does not work well because of it. As it turns out that I do everything: I write projects, I look for sponsor, I work as the producer of the shows, and then the singer will be there on the last level. (Elisa Paraíso)

Although the job sometimes can be overwhelming, they tend not to see themselves as that

old type of artist, in charge only of the artistic tasks.

Yes, I am multitasker. Look, I think it’s positive. Imagine myself as an old type vocalist, the roadie holding my mic and my pedestal… The producers do everything and I'm there jus to sing. It looks so cool! Not! I cannot handle! I like to act as a manager. ...All that we learn we apply the band, which we see as a company. So we are entrepreneurs of our own project. (Jon Bazko)

This idea of the artist being artist only is a very old idea… The paradigm have shifted is the work relationship. The musician works within a dimension of the whole. He is aware of the whole process. And it makes much difference. And I think anyone who does not know about the whole process is out of time, you know? That romantic idea of the musician that someone tells him when is time to do things… This prevents many careers and creates that image of the musician who was harmed by the system… (Makely Ka)

It is important to state that however precarity can be seen in their lives, they have the

ability to look for strategies to pull themselves together and be able to work with what they

love, without giving up.

…those that are subjected to processes of precarisation and migration create strategies and tactics in their everyday life that work both against and within hegemonic structures. They are not only experts in the very contradictions inherent to relations of production and

  19  

contemporary governance, but are also the producers of new relations of production and new ways of making a living… (Osten, 2010, p.04)

How do they find room to manouver? It is about formalisation, self-organisation, financial

control, cross-finance jobs, network, self-marketing, and the ability of deal with the

Brazilian funding system. These rules allow them, being individuals (not companies), to

apply for edicts and grants. These laws have created a mass of ‘artists-entrepreneurs’ who

have to deal with skills that go beyond artistic issues like administration and management.

The strategy can be as simple as an early financial planning, as practised by Déa

Trancoso and Paloma Parentoni:

My husband, who is a photographer, and I do our financial planning by year. Thus, in the last quarter of a year, we are organizing ourselves to our demands next year. We know the costs in that year and we will seek opportunities to stay blue. We coulnd’t yet save for an investment, as a home owner, for example. But we can pay the year (rent, school, food, transportation, recreation) and buy a professional instrument, pay half of the production of records and books, etc. (Déa Trancoso)

What I see is that strategy for me to be in the market is the way I have to manage my money. (…) I have two accounts, one regular account that is where I receive my money, and I always try to make the minimum to pay the monthly bills. And what's left I put in a savings account, which has no card. I say that is an ant work. If I earn R$ 100, R$ 10 goes to that account. Approximately 10% of what I earn goes to that account, for those times of drought. And when it does not roll times of drought, which is very rare, I invest in something, equipment for example. But usually the money is there still. (Paloma Parentoni)

Or acquiring skills to act as an entrepreneur in the cultural field: ‘I think it’s a basic need. I

see no musician today who can carry forward his career if he is not an entrepreneur. I can

not see a musician who is able to establish any effective relationship with the market if he

is not an entrepreneur. I think it’s a key thing today…’ (Makely Ka) Déa agrees:

Yes, I see myself as an entrepreneur. I'm on my projects from start to finish. From design to evaluation, through the numerous stages of implementation. I'm organized within the cultural landscape of my country (as an individual and corporate, and artist), of my state also, and I represent a significant culture of my village to the rest of the world, as one of the cornerstones of my career is documentation of

  20  

Brazilian popular culture, especially Vale do Jequitinhonha my hometown. (…) I am a legal entity and thus can compete on several public funding edicts. That is, over the years, I organize myself to breathe music and culture for 24 hours a day! (Déa Trancoso)

There is this image of being his / her own boss, telling himself / herself what to do:

I do not feel exploited, because I do something I love doing so much. I wonder how would be my life doing something else, if I wanted to do something else. (…) I say that I have my own whip that hits me every day, so I feel not depressed and feel going out of bed and doing things. (Paloma Parentoni)

Conclusion, or are they in the right path?

The development of this essay gave me an idea that precarity is not something that affects

only workers in my own field. It gave me also the perspective that precarity is attached to

the world of culture and arts, and that we must understand the rules that are behind the

sectors. Mostly, the experience in a foreign country studying a Master in Creative and

Cultural Entrepreneurship with colleagues from 25 different other countries gave me an

understanding that precarity in the cultural industry is not something that affects only

workers in developed countries like Brazil, which with some naivety I have thought to be

true before coming to the UK. More than that, the overseas experience showed me that

precarity is a universal imperative. It is everywhere and those who learn strategies seem to

play better by the rules. I’m not saying that we have to accommodate ourselves to the

precarity characteristics of the sector, but some times even to fight for better opportunities

and to have our voices heard we have to talk from a place where precarity seems to not

affect us as much. That is why empowerment is the key for this question.

It is important to say that although the way the culture operates in Brazil with a lot of

structural problems, with the tax relief incentive laws being sometimes the one and only

mechanism of cultural policy, they were and still are very important to shape a whole

generation of complete artists that understand the craft of doing arts, but also how to

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operate within the market. The way the law was shaped allowing individuals (not corporate

companies) to apply for edicts and grants has created a vast number of ‘artists-

entrepreneurs’ that master skills like management and financial organization. This mass of

people is helping the country to develop using culture as a tool. Again it is about

empowerment.

After my own experience and the opportunity to talk with other artists, I truly believe that

our chances (being an artist myself) rely on the human and its empowerment: we can fight

for better collective opportunities in a governmental level, like Makely Ka; we can try to be

better professionals, acquiring different skills, like Paloma Parentoni and Jon Bazko; or we

can obtain entrepreneurial skills to succeed, like Elisa Paraíso e Déa Trancoso.

Bibliography Books and articles:

Abbing, Hans. Why Are Artists Poor? The Exceptional Economy of the Arts. Amsterdam:

Amsterdam UP, 2002. Print.

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Barbier, Jean-Claude. "A Comparative Analysis of ‘Employment Precariousness’ in

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Bourdieu, Pierre. Acts of Resistance: against the New Myths of Our Time. Cambridge, UK:

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Buschoff, Karin Schulze. "Greater Flexibility: The Great Hope of German Labour Market

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Governmental reports:

Brazil. Fundação João Pinheiro. Cadeia Produtiva Da Economia Da Música Em Belo

Horizonte. Coord. Marta Procópio Oliveira. Governo De Minas Gerais, Feb. 2010. Web. 5

Jan. 2011. <www.fjp.gov.br/.../396-relatorio-cadeia-produtiva-da-economia-da-musica-em-

belo-horizonte>.

Brazil. IPEA. Cadernos De Políticas Culturais - Política Cultural No Brasil, 2002-2006:

Acompanhamento e Análise. By Frederico A. Barbosa Da Silva. Vol. 2. Brasília: IPEA,

2007. Print.

Other documents:

Conselho Rede Música Brasil. "Carta De Belo Horizonte." Feira Música Brasil 2010. 12

Dec. 2010. Web. 5 Jan. 2011. <http://www.feiramusicabrasil.com.br/noticias/carta-de-belo-

horizonte/>.

Ka, Makely. "Manifesto Pela Música Autoral." Overmundo. 8 June 2009. Web. 15 Jan.

2011. <http://www.overmundo.com.br/overblog/manifesto-pela-musica-autoral>.