Summary

The Australian study Making Music Work: Sustainable Portfolio Careers for Australian Musicians (2016-2019) explored the conditions and strategies needed for musicians to sustain successful portfolio careers.

The vast majority of Australian musicians undertake a portfolio career which encompasses a variety of concurrent and often impermanent roles. While this is not a new phenomenon, major shifts in how music is made, paid for and consumed, as well as a changing commercial, funding, educational and policy landscape, all impact how musicians currently develop and sustain their careers.

Making Music Work sought to provide a more nuanced and granular understanding of these key sector dynamics and how musicians navigate them. The study included a national survey of 592 musicians and 11 in-depth interviews with a diverse

group of musicians.

Resources

The final report, summary fact sheets and individual musician profiles are available on the project website.

Methodology

The project drew on data collected through a nation-wide survey of 1,000 musicians, as well as building a more detailed picture through 12 in-depth case studies with musicians navigating portfolio careers. Interpretation of the data was guided in multiple ways including through cluster analysis and multiple regression analysis.

Project ID

LP150100497

Status

Complete

Administering organisation

Griffith University

Partner organisations

	Curtin University Queensland University of Technology
	Create NSW
	Creative Victoria
	Department of Culture and the Arts WA
	Australia Council for the Arts

Click here for more information on ARC Linkage projects.