Multiactivity and intermittence in artistic employment: the case of concert musicians in Mexico

Abstract

This article analyzes multiactivity in artistic employment, the quintessence of flexible work. It studies concert musicians in Mexico, a professional group that exemplifies the tensions between working in one’s chosen profession and working to make ends meet. It examines their careers, which follow the path between the random dispersal of simultaneous and discontinuous activities, inside or outside their professional field and the tendency towards their concentration around the “strong points” associated with permanent jobs within one’s chosen profession.