Musician and author Franz Nicolay discusses his recent book, "Band People"

In his new book Band People: Life and Work in Popular Music (University of Texas Press), Franz Nicolay explores the working and creative lives of musicians. In it, he argues that to talk about the role of a ‘band person’ is not only to talk about art and craft but also to develop a critique of the value placed on fame and a celebrity culture that requires the singling out of individuals from a collaborative enterprise.

Band People foregrounds the political dynamics of cultural labour and the precarity that the working lives of musicians share with a growing segment of the larger economy. It sets out to uncover the wide pyramid of talent and effort that supports the work of making music. The book provides insights into how, in the creative sector, social groups organize themselves, into how musicians navigate aspects of their work such as anonymity and agency, and how the industry creates taxonomies of specialists and stylists, generalists and chameleons, hired guns and band members, road dogs and punch-clock session players, the fan favourite and so on. It asks, who are ‘band people’, the character actors of popular music?