ABSTRACT
Music, like most art, is fundamentally a collective activity (Becker 2008 [1982]). Although we may romanticize the imagined lone creative genius, artists and other creative producers rely heavily on “support personnel” to perform tasks that are not considered “art,” although they are necessary for artistic production. Painters rely on craftspeople to supply materials like canvasses and paints, and gallery owners to display and sell their work; dance companies rely on publicists to gain media exposure for their productions and sell tickets. Howard Becker (2008 [1982]) uses the concept of “art world” to describe these networks of artists and support personnel, and the practices through which they produce and distribute art.
