ABSTRACT
For many musicians the creative process and the love of music are the driving force behind what they do. Many will talk endlessly about the things that inspire them: other musicians’ work, particular sounds, production processes, and club or gig nights that have gone down in the memory as something special. The ‘Holy Grail’ for many of them, as one interviewee described it, is the recording contract. I interviewed a large variety of people who are in different positions in the industry. Some of them are signed to major labels and have released a number of albums, and some of them are just starting out in their careers or have released one or two independent albums. This chapter looks at some of the stories and longer narratives that those musicians have provided and tries to give an overview of their experiences when dealing with the whole issue of recording contracts and the negotiations that they have to go through with companies, managers and other musicians. This chapter in particular gives a sense of the impact of the fi eld of cultural production that is the music industry. By music industry I mean the combination of institutions such as major record companies, legal contract, rights and copyright in general, independent labels, music venues, music outlets, and the networks of meaning that build up to give different musicians a sense of what is required of them in certain situations when engaging in the practice of music making.
