Moral economy, intermediaries and intensified competition in the labour market for function musicians

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.