LECTURE 5: REWARDING LABOUR

Question 1

Differing set of goals/expectations between global firms/creatives from 20/30 years ago vs local independent producers

Answer 1

1) global firms - like Prada or Sony - are motivated by increasing market share and profitability
2) local independent producers - endeavour to earn sustainable incomes that allow them to cultivate their creativity- which means making enough money to quit their other jobs.

Question 2

some creatives still hope to become rich and famous but many of the musicians, fashion designers, artists and craft makers I have interviewed say that…

Answer 2

the ultimate goal is not to be the next U2 but to have a balanced, sustainable and enjoyable career.

Question 3

Durham Craft Makers case study

1) Reference
2) Definition of crafting
3) Reason for crafters crafting
4) Highlights that no sales do not mean the end of their craft practice but

Answer 3

1) Jakob (2013)
2) “practice of creative expression and emotional benefits”
3) Saysthat none of the Durham Craft Makers startedcrafting as a way to start a business but had been making crafts for many years
4) … ‘only’ their business and that this observation highlights the fact that craftspeople are driven not by economic considerations but by an incessant creative urge.

Question 4

What kinds of strategies and practices are they developing to mediate the risks? (2)

Answer 4

PROFESSIONALIZING and EMBRACING ENTERPRISE

–> Instead of wanting nothing to do with marketplace/making money, independent producers are acting like entrepreneurs who are tying to work harder and smarter than their competition

Question 5

In Brian’s research, many of the musicians conceded that…

Answer 5

… creativity must be buttressed by a strong work ethic and business savvy to achieve success.

Question 6

Quote about strong work ethic and business savvy to achieve success

Answer 6

“Raw talent will be thrown in the garbage if the rest of the pieces are not together.. you can’t be flaky and still be successful”

Question 7

Jakob (2013)

1) Traditional view of craftsmen as…
2) Why?
3) Contemporary crafters have…

Answer 7

1) “good craftsmen is a poor salesman”
2) because they are so absorbed in the creative process
3) …embraced new digital tools and business practices.

Question 8

So instead of sitting around in coffee shops waiting for the lighting bolts of inspiration to strike, contemporary creatives are…

Answer 8

…making thing happen with hard work and determination

Question 9

How do creatives open up multiple revenue streams to earn a sustainable living? (2)

Answer 9

1) Increase the value of their core creative products as we discuss next week
2) Supplementing their incomes through holding multiple roles and jobs

Question 10

1) Musical theatre actors reference

2) How do they counter the risk of low and uncertain incomes? What does this imply?

Answer 10

Ibert and Schmidt (2012)

2) Work in several related fields and creating multiple identities for themselves
- -> i.e. look for work across a range of genres and platforms not just as actors but also as singers and dancers.

Question 11

Many chose these extra jobs for strategic reasons e.g. of jobs related to music

Answer 11

Some wanted to work in jobs that were related to music like working in a record shop or music equipment shop where they would also get discounts on the technical equipment they use.

Question 12

1) Others said they wanted their other jobs to be completely unrelated so that…
2) E.g.

Answer 12

1) They could save all their creativity for their main project
2) Some worked mindless jobs at factories or delivery firms

Question 13

1) Relying on social/professional networks reference

2) Explanation

Answer 13

1) Vinodrai (2012)
2) Explains that designers take advantage of social and professional networks to access key information about job opportunities, interesting project and events and leading-edge thinking regarding styles and techniques.

Question 14

networks allow for the mobilization of above all two resources (2)

3) Reference
4) Being well > poorly-networked

Answer 14

1) Information
2) Reputation

3) Ibert and Schmidt (2012)
4) Musical theatre actors who are well-networked receive more relevant information earlier than less well-connected competitors and can access and react to a broader range of attractive opportunities more quickly.

Question 15

Emotional support

1) Reference
2) Argument
3) Connects to the rise of the

Answer 15

1) Bain (2005)
2) Suggests that artists use networks to access emotional support, to combat the feelings of isolation and alienation and share material resources like supplies and equipment
3) ‘Sharing economy’

Question 16

Sharing economy definition

Answer 16

People borrow, trade and rent out unused resources either within local or increasingly virtual communities.

Question 17

Advertising workers in London

1) Reference
2) discusses networking in the sense of (2)

which is often referred to as…

Answer 17

1) Grabher (2002)
2) ‘Hanging out’in the community of other workers and ‘learning by watching’
2) a community of practice.

Question 18

1) Clare (2013) and women exclusion in advertising

2) What does the lit suggest?

Answer 18

1) Talks aboutwomen in senior positions establishing mentoring networks to help junior women who have been excluded by men
2) Suggests that women who are excluded from professional networks rely on SOCIAL networks (friends/family)

Question 19

1) Example of some women have abandoned the firm-based hierarchy all-together and instead start their own businesses catering to women
2) Reference

Answer 19

1) Mumpreneurs - forge networks of support/colalboration with other mumpreneurs
2) Ekinsmyth

Question 20

Reasons why so many musicians have stopped going to pubs and cafes to network with other musicians (2)

Answer 20

1) View it as a waste of time

2) Realised that every minute they spend social networking, they can’t spend on another creative or non-creative tasks.

Question 21

‘Connectivity’ working

1) Reference
2) Definition

Answer 21

1) Grabher and Ibert (2006)
2) Instead of asking about sources of work, they are using networks to get help with their tasks, not from other musicians but a range of collaborators who have complementary skills-sets e.g. fashion designers or artists

Question 22

‘Connectivity networking; also implies a shift to..

Answer 22

‘just-in-time’ interactionsthrough virtual channels instead of face-to-face encounters in coffee shops, bars and other third spaces

Question 23

Quote about ‘just-in-time’ networking and physical proximity

Answer 23

“You don’t have to necessarily be in physical proximity…There is the virtual component of message boards, blogs and file sharing.”

Question 24

On the surface the ability of virtual spaces to allow musicians to network and collaborate with individuals located anywhere in the world raises concerns that the local matters less but…

Answer 24

.. there is still a strong preference and propensity for locally rooted relationships

Question 25

Far from becoming ‘flat’ the specificity of the ‘local’ remains crucial because…(2)

Answer 25

…musicians can only borrow equipment from people within physical proximity or learn about government grants from people who understand the local institutional landscape

Question 26

interactions in virtual spaces are not replacing face-to-face interaction but rather…

Answer 26

facilitating and extending the shift toward connectivity networking

Question 27

1) the changing networking practices underpin the shift toward…(2) of the DIY model
2) Reference

Answer 27

1) Re-specialisation and the re-configuration

2) Hracs (2013)

Question 28

‘Helpers’

1) Reference
2) Description/role
3) Can be compensated how?
4) Helpers can be whom?

Answer 28

1) Hauge and Hracs (2010)
2) Some musicians are getting help from a range of skilled specialists and free laborers
3) Can be compensated in different ways depending on career stage and financial resources

4) Can be equal partners, scene members who exchange services through bartering or contractors who are simply hired to perform tasks for a fee
- also free labour from family, fans etc in order to earn psychic rewards

Question 29

New research suggests that as creatives professionalize they …

Answer 29

abandon bohemian practices and lifestyle preferences (losing boho luxury and instead turning to more affordable, sustainable and surprisingly uncreative and banal env)

Question 30

Neo-Bohemia book

1) Reference
2) About

Answer 30

1) Lloyd (2006)
2) Clustering of artists in an area of Chicago called Wicker Park, and how they were attracted to gritty urban environments in part because they found crime and danger stimulating

Question 31

‘Too much buzz’ can be…

Answer 31

a hindrance to productivity and the creative process

Question 32

professionalizing musicians in Toronto spoke of the danger of …

Answer 32

being sucked into activities that, in such a competitive climate, might derail their career goals

Question 33

1) In addition to the negative externalities associated with local buzz, other factors include (3) are pushing serious musicians out of…

Answer 33

1) rising rents, overcrowding, competition and changing preferences

Toronto’s downtown core

Question 34

Most prominent pull factor of musicians from cities

Answer 34

Finding cheap or even free space

Question 35

Proximity and cost quote

Answer 35

“Proximity is great, but it has to be economically feasible.”

Question 36

Musicians also reported being attracted to suburban spaces because…

Answer 36

…the built form is flexible and more conducive to the creative process

Question 37

In addition to needing enough space to store their equipment and hold rehearsals, musicians also need to be able…

Therefore some musicians prefer ___ in the suburbs to ___

Answer 37

… to make noise, often outside of the 9-5 work day
- often need silence to create and recharge from their hectic schedules

larger more isolated spaces in the suburbs to small, crowded apartments in the city with sleeping neighbours next door

Question 38

Perhaps even more important than the ability to facilitate the creative process and provide affordable and flexible space, Toronto’s suburbs allow struggling musicians to sustain their creative passions by providing…

Answer 38

… better employment opportunities

Question 39

In Toronto’s downtown core the oversupply of musicians drives down…

Answer 39

… the value of live music and many musicians end up playing for free.

Question 40

playing shows in the outer suburbs and smaller towns in the periphery often generates better attendance and pay because…

Answer 40

… the market is less saturated with musicians and entertainment alternatives.

Question 41

Based on their own unique criteria, musicians try to achieve the optimum balance between a range of factors including… (4)

Answer 41

the affordability, accessibility and music-friendliness of the physical space and crucially the availability of paid work.

Question 42

Based on my early research in Southampton and neighbouring Eastleigh, the trend seems to be that fledgling creatives are prioritizing the (2)

Answer 42

affordability and supportiveness of places.

Question 43

E.g. of incubation space in Soton

Answer 43

Tower House - and it offers affordable space, a supportive network, a series of events where people can learn practical tips and strategies for improving their business and proximity to other creatives who may become collaborators or contracted helpers

Question 44

• E.g. of incubation space in Eastleigh - used to be their

- Idea was to give…

Answer 44

Sorting office
- old postal building

• fledgling creative spaces and support to develop with the hopes that they would grow to a sustainable level while also remaining located in the region - as opposed to moving straight to London

Question 45

1) What other than incubation spaces is becoming popular?

2) Why (2)

Answer 45

1) Collective display spaces

2)
- Too expensive for low income or emerging creatives to rent our retail space on their own
- Inefficient for the creator to work at the retail space on their own

Question 46

1) Example of groups of creatives in Barcelona

2) So the producers rent out a small space within the larger space to display their items but the key thing is that

Answer 46

1) Getting together to collectively rent and run retail display spaces
2) They pool their money together to hire a clerk or sales manager who works in the space full time to handle the business side

Question 47

Etsy are still responsible for tasks such as

Answer 47

distribution and the opportunities for support and collaboration in a physical face-to-face sense are not the same as Barca case study

Question 48

So creatives are using their spatial freedom to mediate risks by moving within cities but at the micro-scale they are also…

Answer 48

… turning flexibility and spatial and temporal fragmentation into something positive.

Question 49

1) Vinodrai’s (2012) case study of the working conditions of designers in Toronto and Copenhagen (key findings)
2) Copenhagen

Answer 49

• We see that local and national rules and regulations produce very different experiences for workers
• Copenhagen has a well-developed and supportive social security system as well as labour market institutions intended to a assist workers during periods of unemp
• the flexicurity programmes introduced in the 1990s were designed to protect employees against economic hardship while trying to improve labour market participation, decrease unemployment and allow for turnover and mobility in the Danish labour market.
• Thus while in Toronto, designers may enter or exit the profession or the labour force depending on broader economic conditions, the dynamics are different in Copenhagen

Question 50

Vinodrai’s conclusion (2012)

Answer 50

While the dynamics of creative work may—on the surface—appear similar in different geographic contexts, it is necessary to dig a little deeper to understand how creative work is shaped and constrained by the institutional context in which it takes place

Question 51

No matter how precarious specific creative jobs become there will always remain a fundamental difference between…

Answer 51

… individuals in the creative sector and those in the service or manufacturing sector

Question 52

So conclude, I have tried to demonstrate in the lecture today that creatives do enjoy a high degree of autonomy but…

Answer 52

…it is constrained by many factors.