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This article examines how environmentally conscious policies pose dilemmas for musicians, conflicting with traditional values tied to extensive international touring. It introduces the concept of ‘cultural dissonance’ to illustrate this tension and suggests expanding it to understand musicians’ positions on environmentalism within the music field. Based on interviews with 57 Norwegian musicians, the study identifies three key structuring principles: professional roles, center vs. periphery dynamics, and generational differences in music.
Sustainability is gaining prominence in the music industry across various genres, impacting both performers and audiences at live events. These events increasingly incorporate sustainable practices such as biodegradable serving materials and locally sourced, organic food. There’s also a push for eco-friendly travel among musicians and featuring more local talent to reduce carbon footprints. However, recent research suggests that environmental practices in music reflect cultural values tied to specific social positions rather than universal values. These practices can be seen as a form of cultural capital within the music field, alongside traditional markers like international touring. This creates tensions for musicians as they navigate conflicting values and forms of capital, termed cultural dissonance. Understanding how musicians engage with environmental values involves analyzing their professional roles, generational perspectives, and geographic considerations. Ultimately, these dynamics shape the relationship between performers and audiences at live music events, highlighting the complexities of sustainability in the music industry.
Live music events, like festivals and concerts, represent intense social gatherings despite their short durations, embodying serious leisure activities where cultural knowledge is exchanged and social bonds are formed. Scholars argue that participation in these events fosters personal growth and the acquisition of status, skills, and experience.
Additionally, such events serve as platforms for promoting environmental practices and influencing attendee behavior beyond the event itself.
The concept of cognitive dissonance, introduced by Festinger (1962), is applied to understand the tension individuals experience when their actions conflict with their environmental attitudes. Surf culture exemplifies this, where environmentally conscious values clash with desires for travel and consumption. This conflict, termed cultural dissonance, reflects broader social dynamics and is observed among professional musicians grappling with the environmental impact of their careers.
Bourdieu’s theory of fields elucidates how musicians navigate competing values and hierarchies within the music industry. Fields represent distinct social spaces with their own rules and forms of capital, which individuals vie for to maintain or alter their positions. The struggle between the autonomous principle, emphasizing artistic merit, and the heteronomous principle, favoring commercial success, shapes musicians’ strategies and relationships within the field.
Generational dynamics further influence these struggles, with older musicians possessing greater capital and status compared to younger counterparts (Bourdieu, 1996). Environmental values, increasingly salient in contemporary discourse, emerge as a new terrain for distinction and recognition within artistic fields (Johnson & Clisby, 2009). Moreover, geographical considerations, such as centrality versus peripherality, compound these dynamics, influencing the perceived prestige of musicians.
This article extends the concept of cultural dissonance introduced by Langseth and Vyff (2021), focusing on musicians’ responses to environmental issues. Musicians often grapple with conflicting values when balancing environmental concerns with career opportunities. The experience of cultural dissonance is shaped by structural factors in the music industry, including professional roles, geographic location, and generational differences. For example, musicians in central hubs may find it easier to adopt eco-friendly practices due to access to prestigious venues, while those in peripheral areas may feel compelled to travel extensively despite environmental convictions.
Younger musicians tend to prioritize environmental issues more urgently, yet they may feel constrained by their limited capital and career prospects compared to older generations. The article challenges Bourdieu’s field analysis by suggesting that conflicting logics of consecration coexist within the same part of the cultural field, leading to cultural dissonance. However, individuals still experience distress when their beliefs and actions contradict.
The concept of cultural dissonance in music extends beyond musicians to audiences, suggesting that environmentalism is becoming increasingly important within the music field. Further research is needed to explore its implications for leisure activities and other cultural practices.
Source:
Sigrid Røyseng, John Vinge & Heidi Stavrum (2024) The cultural dissonance of sustainable live music, Annals of Leisure Research, DOI: 10.1080/11745398.2024.2311900