Moral economy, intermediaries and intensified competition in the labour market for function musicians
研究伦敦功能音乐家劳动力市场，揭示客户、中介与音乐家之间的链条关系，发现音乐家内部存在调节机会分配的道德经济，但中介加剧竞争导致信任瓦解。
This article examines the labour market for ‘function’ musicians in London. It shows how the market encompasses a chain of relationships between clients, intermediaries and musicians, considering how the idea of ‘moral economy’ – a subject of revived interest in employment sociology – fits empirical reality. It shows that function musicians have created a strong moral economy regulating the distribution of opportunities and resources within bands. However, other actors in the chain, particularly agents, are able to impose intensified labour competition on bands. This competition leads trust relationships to fray and social expectations about the distribution of resources to weaken. These tensions are embodied in the role of the fixer: a musician who uneasily straddles market and moral domains.