ABSTRACT
The music profession is diverse. It includes musicians who make music in a wide range of different genres; in different combinations (alone, in small or large groups); who have full time employment in music, a port-folio career or work full time in another occupation; those who teach; those who compose, and arrange music and contribute in various ways to its technological production (sound engineers, producers); and those who write about, analyse and critique music. The career opportunities for musicians change over time depending on a wide range of cultural factors. Currently, in the developed world there are few full time performing employment opportunities, for instance in orchestras, although there is variability between countries depending on the extent to which the arts receive state funding. As a result the majority of performing musicians are self-employed for at least part of their work and have what has become known as a portfolio career, which may include teaching, performing, composing, writing and managing (Gembris & Langner, 2006; Creech et al., 2008a; 2008b; Holzenspies, 2009; Coulson, 2010). Those entering the music profession have to learn to deal with the financial insecurity and unpredictability that this brings, the long working hours, and the lack of recognition of practice preparation time in their remuneration (Holzenspies, 2009). This being the case, what underlies motivation to join or stay in the music profession?
